Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, May 19, 2001

Judge denies media access to trust records

A state judge has rejected a request by KITV-4 News and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin to unseal legal proceedings involving the estate of James Campbell.

In a ruling that could have a major impact on the public's right of access to civil matters, Probate Judge Colleen Hirai said the news organizations do not have standing to intervene.

KITV and the Star-Bulletin had petitioned the probate court to open the proceedings, which involve a multimillion-dollar legal dispute between the $2 billion estate and its former law firm Ashford & Wriston.

Last December, then-Probate Judge Kevin Chang found that Campbell Estate's trustees had mishandled the lawsuit. Chang filed the judgment under seal.

In their pleadings, KITV and the Star-Bulletin argued that the legal dispute involves matters of public interest and that there is a "presumption of openness." The estate argued that the media do not have standing.

The trust also asked Hirai to reconsider Chang's ruling in a filing made under seal. However, the request for reconsideration became moot when the estate and Ashford & Wriston reached a settlement this week. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Feds grant exemption for 1-lane bridge on Maui

WAILUKU >> Maui County appears on its way to keeping one-lane bridges in the Hana District and maintaining the rural character of East Maui.

Federal officials have agreed to grant the county a design exception for a one-lane bridge and fund 80 percent of its construction cost.

The work at the Kaholopo bridge, expected to cost about $1 million, is to start next year.

In the past, county officials built two-lane bridges to meet federal standards for the 80-percent funding.

Cemetery expects big Memorial crowd

Special traffic measures will be in effect at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl to accommodate large crowds expected during Memorial Day weekend.

Traffic inside the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific will be one-way from Friday to Monday, May 25-28. Outside the cemetery, police officers will supervise traffic at three intersections: Tantalus and Puowaina drives, Puowaina Drive and Hookui Street, and Hookui and Auwaiolimu streets. Left turns from Hookui to Auwaiolimu will be prohibited.

Cemetery Director Gene Castagnetti said an estimated 10,000 visitors per day and 1,000 cars per hour are expected next weekend.

On Sunday at 1 p.m., Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will place American flags and leis on 35,000 graves; at 4 p.m. the Pacific American Foundation will honor veterans and military personnel from Pacific islands; and at 6:15 p.m. there will be a Vietnam veterans candlelight service.

On Monday about 2,500 visitors are expected to attend the Mayor's 52nd Annual Memorial Day Service, at 8:30 a.m.

Cemetery hours are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday, with extended hours on Monday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Blessing set for Castle medical plaza, wellness center

A groundbreaking and blessing ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday for Castle Medical Center's new medical plaza and wellness center.

The plaza will improve access to health-care services for windward residents by providing space for medical specialists.

The wellness center will allow physicians to refer patients to nutritionists, fitness counselors and complementary-medicine professionals to help review their lifestyles and habits.

The project should be completed next spring.

Corrections and clarifications

>> For more information about the "More Than Kimono" event at Ward Centre through today, call TEMARI at 735-1860. An incorrect number ran in Tuesday's Today section.

>> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not formally received an application from the state to use caffeine to kill non-native frogs in Hawaii. An A-1 story Wednesday may have given a different impression. The EPA is aware of the pending application, and EPA officials have made verbal comments. Researchers are continuing to gather data for an eventual formal application to the EPA.

>> Bixby Ho has been assistant receptionist at Democratic Party headquarters since September 1998. A "Political File" item Monday said Ho had just been named to the post.

Corrections and clarifications The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Publisher and Editor in Chief John Flanagan at 529-4748 or email him at jflanagan@starbulletin.com.

---

Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Kaimuki man arrested as third suspect in robbery

Honolulu police have arrested a third suspect in Wednesday morning's armed robbery in Makiki.

The 25-year-old man was arrested Thursday at his home in Kaimuki. Police previously arrested a 19-year-old Kaimuki man and fugitive parolee Arthur Birano, 29.

Police believe Birano was the gunman in the robbery of a man and a woman at their Kewalo Street apartment.

The woman fled when the gunman tried to accost the couple in the parking lot of the apartment complex.

The man was forced to the apartment and fled off the lanai as the suspects ransacked the apartment.

Birano is facing numerous other charges related to several incidents over the past two weeks, including drive-by shootings in front of KHON-TV and an Ala Moana area nightclub May 8 and threatening a man with a handgun in Kalihi on May 2.

Aina Haina man accused of family-member abuse

A 42-year-old Aina Haina man was arrested Thursday after allegedly poking his handicapped brother, who uses a wheelchair, in the neck repeatedly and then assaulting his brother-in-law with a bat and a chair for trying to stop him.

The man faces charges of terroristic threatening, assault and abuse of a household member.

The brother suffered red marks on his neck from the poking. The brother-in-law sustained bruises on both arms. Both refused medical treatment.