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Hawaii forest thrushes released on Kauai
Biologists from the San Diego Zoo have released into the wild six endangered Hawaiian forest thrushes raised in captivity in an effort to save the bird from extinction, zoo officials said yesterday.The released birds joined the fewer than 300 puaiohi that live on the island of Kauai, where their numbers have been decimated by cats, rats and disease. Puaiohi are also known as Kauai thrushes.
Biologists hand-raised the birds at the San Diego Zoo's Keauhou Bird Conservation Center on the island of Hawaii. The birds were taken by plane to Kauai and released on Monday.
Disabled workers still have legal recourse
Attorney General Earl Anzai says a U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday means states can't be sued for monetary damages by disabled employees who have been discriminated against.But this does not stop workers from asking a federal court to determine whether the state is violating federal law and should be blocked from further violation, he said.
The 5-4 ruling in Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama vs. Garrett means state employees have no right to monetary damages in federal court, Anzai said.
Hawaii backed the state of Alabama in a friend of the court brief, a move that was opposed by several organizations.
Army hires consultant on Big Isle ammunition
WAIMEA, Hawaii -- No one has found any leftover, unexploded World War II ammunition in the Waimea Hawaiian Homes area on the Big Island, but the Army doesn't want to take any chances.The Army Corps of Engineers has hired a consultant to evaluate Big Island areas used for military training during the war, said a corps spokesman.
Designated as the Waikoloa Maneuver Area during the war, the area includes the present-day Hawaiian Homes Puukapu Farm Lots and Pastoral Lots, said Kanani Kapuniai, president of the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteader's Association.
A meeting between homesteaders and the contractor, Earth Tech, to discuss the program will be held at 7 p.m. today at the Waimea Community Center, Kapuniai said.
Bus collision:
Foundation offers funding for Japan, Hiroshima research
Financial backing and a trip to Japan are available for an island resident interested in research about Hiroshima and Japan.The Goto of Hiroshima Foundation will award a $5,000 grant for study which may also be about general Japanese culture, politics, economics or language.
Preference will be given to applicant from Honokaa on the Big Island under the study grant, according to an announcement.
Applicants must be between 18 and 40.
The foundation was established by Dr. Fumiko Kaya in memory of her uncle, Katsu Goto, with the goal of fostering volunteer activities and research that contributes to mutual understanding between people of Hawaii and Japan.
Application information is available from the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii at 945-7633 or its Web site www.jcch.com
Lupus support group to meet
The Hawaii Lupus Foundation is sponsoring a support group for people with lupus from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 13 at the West Loch Recreation Center, Ewa Beach.Lupus is a chronic disease that affects 7,000 to 10,000 Hawaii residents, according to the foundation. A disorder of the body's immune system, it causes abnormal antibodies that turn inward and attack healthy body tissues.
Symptoms include sun sensitivity, rash, oral ulcers, fatigue, and joint and muscle pain. Left untreated, it can be fatal.
For more information, call 538-1522.
Decision tomorrow on use of former Amfac land
LIHUE -- The State Board of Land and Natural Resources will decide tomorrow whether to allow 17 applicants to use 6,500 acres of state land in east Kauai that had been leased to Amfac/JMB's Lihue Plantation, which shut down sugar operations in November.The Land Board earlier approved a similar arrangement with a consortium of agricultural businesses -- Gay & Robinson Sugar Co. being the largest -- to take over 28,000 acres of state land leased from the state by Amfac/JMB's Kekaha Sugar Co. in west Kauai.
State officials urged the board to act quickly in both cases so that the land -- and particularly the irrigation and drainage systems -- on the former sugar land will be maintained. Formal leases will be negotiated later.
The group seeking use of the east Kauai land includes numerous farmers, many of whom plan to use the land for pasture. Also included are Kauai County and the state, both seeking land for recreational uses.
Tomorrow
Some events of interest
9 a.m., State Capitol: Public hearing re-proposal of the Kahala Senior Living Community Inc., a retirement center to be built on the grounds of the Star of the Sea School. Meeting to be held in the fifth floor conference room in the lieutenant governor's office. For information, call 587-0788.
Corrections
Vichai Sae Tung's name was misspelled in a story yesterday. Sae Tung is better known as Chai Chaowasaree, chef and owner of Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace and Singha Thai Cuisine in Waikiki.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Haleiwa man killed as car slams into tree
A 21-year-old Haleiwa man died when the 1992 Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into a tree along Kaukonahua Road at about 5:50 p.m. yesterday, traffic investigators said.The victim was identified by the medical examiner's office as Adam Hill.
The accident occurred about 1.3 miles southeast of Farrington Highway. Hill was alone in the northwest-bound vehicle. He was wearing a seat belt, and speed may have been a factor, police said.
The man's death was the seventh traffic fatality of the year on Oahu, compared with 10 at the same time last year.
Solo car crash claims life of Kihei woman, 54
WAILUKU -- A 54-year-old Kihei woman died after the car she was driving crashed early this morning in South Maui.Jeanne Finer was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center, less than a hour after the 12:15 a.m. accident.
Police officer Lawrence Becraft said Finer's car was traveling north on South Kihei Road when it veered right, jumped a curb and collided into a hollow-tile wall at Kihei Villas.
Finer was the fourth traffic fatality on Maui this year, compared with two at the same time last year.
Home where dead man was found catches fire
Police are investigating a fire that broke out early this morning at a Waipahu house, where the decomposed body of a 46-year-old man was found yesterday.Neighbors reported not hearing from the man for about two weeks and a bad odor coming from the property at 94-1240 Kahuaina St.
The victim was reportedly disabled and had health problems. Police say no signs of foul play were evident.
The three-bedroom, two-bath house was gutted. Damage was estimated at $170,000.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters keep watch on burned Big Isle area
HILO -- Four Hawaii County firefighters kept a watch throughout the night over a brush fire that burned 20 acres of former sugar cane fields at Ookala, north of Hilo.Following the 10:45 a.m. alarm yesterday, firefighters were able to halt the spread of flames toward Ookala Gymnasium, declaring the fire out at 2:26 p.m.
Woman held after man is knifed on Hotel Street
Police arrested a 37-year-old woman for allegedly stabbing a man with a pocketknife opposite 116 S. Hotel St. at about 10:30 last night.The woman, who has no local address, got into an argument with the 35-year-old man, police said. He was taken to Queen's Medical Center with several knife wounds and confined for observation.
Vacant Nanakuli house is destroyed by fire
A vacant two-bedroom, one-bath house that was being renovated burned to the ground in Nanakuli early this morning, according to fire Capt. Richard Soo.Fire crews were called to 87-1634-E Farrington Highway at 1:12 a.m. and had the fire under control within 15 minutes. Damage to the house was estimated at $60,000.
The cause was being investigated.
McCully man arrested in knife threat on wife
A 30-year-old McCully woman was able to break free from her husband yesterday after grabbing a kitchen knife he was holding, police said.The woman told police her husband had punched and threatened her with the knife at their Pawaa Lane apartment at 1:40 p.m. yesterday.
Police arrested the 34-year-old husband for first-degree terroristic threatening and abuse.
