City, state agree to study second road for Waianae
City and state officials have agreed to a feasibility study for the development of a second access road for the Waianae Coast, according to a news release from City Councilman Duke Bainum.The road would provide a permanent alternate route to Farrington Highway for residents, unlike the emergency route the city is currently planning.
The study, which will concentrate on the Pohakea Pass area, was agreed to by Bainum, who chairs the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Councilman John DeSoto and other elected officials from the Waianae Coast.
Applications available for Maui low-income rentals
LAHAINA >> More than 200 people have applied for low-income rental housing at a new 142-unit Lahaina apartment.About a dozen people have already been assigned units at the Front Street Apartments.
Rent at the complex, located at Kenui and Front streets, ranges from $555 to $585 for a studio, $595 to $681 for a one-bedroom, and $702 to $828 for a two-bedroom.
Under state qualification guidelines, renters are required to earn at or below a gross income level. For example, to qualify for a rental, a two-person household must earn at or below $32,580 annually.
The state Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii encouraged the development of the $15.3-million project through federal and state tax credits.
For information about applications, call Marcus & Associates on Maui, 873-6038.
[WINNERS & LOSERS]
[WINNERS]
<< Old-time resident: Mililiani Mauka residents and local government officials gather last week to honor resident Sarah Armstrong, who recently celebrated her 107th birthday. Relatives say Armstrong still spends a lot of time corresponding with friends.Bookkeeper: State Librarian Virginia Lowell got a thumbs-up evaluation from the state Board of Education. "It means I get to stay, I guess," she joked.
Beatle's beach: Former Beatle George Harrison settled his long-running legal battle with neighbors over a beach path on his Hana, Maui, property. The secret settlement means no one has the right to go across Harrison's property, his lawyer said.
[WINNERS & LOSERS]
Hungry kids: The price of school lunches will rise to $1 from 75 cents, starting July 1. State officials say it's still a great deal, but about 90,000 Hawaii public school students are looking at a 33 percent hike in their meal costs.>> Prison guard: James Allen Thompson, convicted of 19 counts in connection with the sexual assault of five girls in Mililani, has been sentenced to spend at least 80 years in prison.
Welfare cheats: Germaine K. Kam, a former state Human Services employee who worked with welfare recipients, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $112,000 from client accounts. Her parents, Ernest A.F. Kam Jr. and Charlmagne L. Kam, also pleaded no contest to a count of theft in connection with the case.
>> Four of seven Hawaii Government Employees Association units have reached tentative agreements with the state to reduce benefits for new hires and implement a "two strikes" drug-testing policy as part of a new pay-raise contract. The four -- Units 2, 3, 9 and 16 -- must still vote to ratify the contract. Units 4, 6 and 8 are still in negotiation. A story and headline in yesterday's Star-Bulletin implied the entire union had agreed to a contract. 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 staffWAIKIKI Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Australian tourist reports sexual assault by man
A 21-year-old Australian man reported he was sexually assaulted by an unknown man in Waikiki early Friday morning.The visiting Australian was out drinking with friends in Waikiki Thursday night and blacked out. When he awoke, he found an unknown man in his 20s sexually assaulting him, police said.
Hiker rescued after falling at Diamond Head
A fire crew and helicopter rescued a woman, 30, from Japan who fell while hiking up Diamond Head yesterday afternoon.The woman had slipped and fallen while walking on the spiral steps inside a dark tunnel on the trail, said fire Capt. David Mortensen.
Rescuers placed the woman, who had landed on her tailbone, into a basket and carried her to the top of the crater where the helicopter picked her up. The woman was taken to Queen's Medical Center in stable condition.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Maui man dies while swimming at 'Mud Flats'
KIHEI >> A 31-year-old Maui man died while swimming off an area called the "Mud Flats" in Kihei yesterday.The man had been camping with family and friends and was last seen snorkeling around 9 a.m. yesterday, said Asst. Fire Chief Donald Moniz.
The Coast Guard's H-65 helicopter spotted the body at 12:51 p.m. A lifeguard on a jet ski pulled him out of the water and transferred him to a Coast Guard boat.
Rescuers began CPR, but were unable to resuscitate him.
HONOLULU
Police arrest alleged knife-wielding woman
Police arrested a Makiki woman, 51, after she allegedly threw a knife at a 26-year-old Leeward woman Friday.The suspect approached the younger woman on Makiki Street at about 4:30 p.m. and asked her help in getting money from a mutual acquaintance, police said. The younger woman did not want to get involved and walked away.
The suspect allegedly grew angry and threw a knife at the other woman. She missed, and the victim recovered the knife and stopped a passing police officer, who arrested the suspect.
LEEWARD
Waipahu jewelry store robbed, suspects flee
Police are looking for three men who robbed a jewelry store in Waipahu yesterday morning.Two suspects, one armed with a crowbar, threatened store employees and smashed jewelry cases and scooped out the contents at Debbie's Jewelry on Farrington Highway, police said. A third suspect was waiting outside in a stolen car and drove them away.
The robbery was captured on a store security camera.
