Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Monday, August 6, 2001

Changes in fishing rules to be presented to public

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has scheduled a series of public meetings to explain proposed rule changes aimed at reversing the decline in fish populations that has been occurring for a number of years, agency officials said.

The proposed changes are the first step in a more comprehensive plan being developed by the DLNR.

Agency officials said most changes relate to minimum sizes of fish. Other changes would include limiting 'oama fishing to pole and line only, prohibiting nighttime spearing of parrotfish and extending the closed season for mullet by one month.

Public meetings have been scheduled for:

>> Molokai: noon tomorrow, Mitchell Pauole Center, Kaunakakai.

>> Maui: 6 p.m. Thursday, Lihikai Elementary School, Wailuku.

>> Big Island: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 14, Konawaena Elementary School, South Kona; 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15, Thelma Parker Library, Kamuela; 5:30 p.m. Aug. 16, Hilo High School.

>> Oahu: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 21, Waianae Public Library; 5:30 p.m. Aug. 23, Stephenson Middle School, Honolulu; 5:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Heeia State Park, Kaneohe.

>> Kauai: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Wilcox Elementary School, Lihue.

For more information, contact the DLNR's Division of Aquatic Resources: 587-0100, Oahu; 974-6201, Hilo; 327-6226, Kona; 274-3344, Lihue; 243-5294, Maui; Molokai, 567-6696.

Hiroshima bombing memorial to be held

A commemoration service of the Hiroshima bombing will be held at Izumo Taishakyo Mission today at 11:30 a.m. The mission is located on 215 N. Kukui St. The ceremony includes speakers from Japan and singing.

Man shot in the chest today at Ala Moana Hotel

Police are looking for a gunman who shot a 36-year-old man at the Ala Moana Hotel this morning who said he went to one of the rooms to attend a party.

The man is being treated at the Queen's Medical Center for a gunshot wound in his chest. Hospital officials would not release any information on the man's condition.

Police said the victim reported the shooting to the parking attendant on the ground level of the hotel at 2:58 a.m.

The man told police when he knocked on the door to one of the hotel rooms, someone stuck a gun out and shot him. Police found blood at the room where the man said he was shot. However nobody was in the room.

Police detectives said they located the hotel guest assigned to the room, questioned him and determined he was not responsible for the shooting.

Hotel officials declined comment on the incident.

Isle civil rights executive lauded for management

The executive director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission has been honored as an excellent manager.

William D. Hoshijo, a lawyer and longtime advocate for Hawaii residents, was named Manager of the Year for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

He oversees a staff of 32 as executive director of the HCRC, a post he has held since 1997. Prior to that, Hoshijo was an HCRC commissioner and was executive director of Na Loio No Na Kanaka, or the Lawyers for the People of Hawaii.

Hoshijo also helped promote the legislation that created the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission in 1988-89.

Balloonist Fossett glides over Australia

SYDNEY >> U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett's giant balloon floated silently high over the Australian outback today as he entered the second day of a new attempt to fly a balloon solo around the world.

Fossett's mission control in St. Louis, Mo., said he had traveled more than 800 miles since launching from the small town of Northam, near Perth, just after dawn yesterday.

Fossett expects his eastward circumnavigation to take 15 days.

The Chicago millionaire's last attempt at a round-the-world balloon flight ended as quickly as it began on June 17 when gusting winds at this year's original launch site in the Australian desert mining town of Kalgoorlie tore his canopy.

---

Corrections and clarifications

>> Stefan Pampulov and Daouda Senge Ndiaye were two of the competitors in the Kailua Men's Night Doubles tennis tournament. Their names were misspelled yesterday in "Hawaii Beat" and "Scoreboard."

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

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Autopsy set for Molokai man, Wallace J. Silva

WAILUKU >> An autopsy is scheduled today on a Molokai man whose body was found Friday morning in a mangrove swamp about three-quarters of a mile from his home at Kalamaula.

Wallace J. Silva's body was found about 3/4 mile west of his residence within wetlands of Kalamaula.

Silva, 72, who suffered dementia following several strokes, wandered off July 21 and a joint search effort among police and fire officials and volunteers was launched to find him. A search helicopter found him at 8:42 a.m.

Police Sgt. Keith Kawano said no foul play was suspected and the autopsy was being done as a matter of standard procedure whenever there is an unattended death.

Silva once worked as a houseman for Pioneer Inn on Maui and worked as a foreman in dredging water tunnels on Molokai.

Driver killed in collision on slick Kauai roadway

WAILUA, Kauai >> A 41-year-old man was killed after his car crossed the center line on Kuhio Highway and was struck by two oncoming vehicles.

Police said the man, James Dorman, was from Kapaa but that had an Arizona drivers license.

It was Kauai's third fatality of the year, compared with four last year at this time.

"If he had been seat-belted, he probably would have survived," said Lt. Stanton Koizumi, Kauai police Traffic Safety Unit.

The crash occurred at about 9:30 a.m. yesterday near the Wailua Golf Course and 500 feet from the Wailua jail. The occupants of the oncoming car and sport utility vehicle, a 26-year-old man, a 69-year-old man and his wife, 65, were treated at Wilcox Memorial Hospital for minor injuries and released.

The roadway was slick, and that may have contributed to the crash, Koizumi said.

CENTRAL OAHU

Stolen car shears utility pole, closing Kunia Road

Kunia Road was closed this morning as Hawaiian Electric Co. crews worked to replace a utility pole damaged in an accident involving a stolen car just after midnight.

HECO officials said the car sheered off the bottom of the pole, which was being held up by the power lines. The lines remained intact and there was no power outage.

Police said the occupants of the stolen car fled but they believe one of them suffered an injury in the accident and checked himself in to Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi for treatment.

Driver of stolen-car fatality identified

The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified the driver of a stolen car who died fleeing police last Wednesday as Jeremy Purganan, 17, of Makakilo.

Police said Purganan stole a car from a Waipio townhouse just before midnight on Tuesday then crashed the car into a light pole on Pulelo Street in Waikele as police were pursuing him.

Purganan was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Police said Purganan was speeding when he crashed.

HONOLULU

Homicide probe opened in Nuuanu Stream death

Honolulu police have opened a homicide investigation into the death of a man whose body was found in the Nuuanu Stream in Downtown Honolulu Wednesday.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified the body as that of Benjamin Amarino, 59, of Honolulu.

The cause of death was listed as drowning as a result of head trauma. When Honolulu firefighters pulled Amarino's body from the stream, they noticed a gash on his head.

Ex-boyfriend arrested in unauthorized entry

A 25-year-old man turned himself in to police yesterday after he illegally entered his former girlfriend's apartment Thursday.

Police say the 33-year-old woman had reported her ex-boyfriend had pushed his way into her Makaloa Street apartment.

He was arrested on first-degree burglary and first-degree terroristic threatening offenses.

NORTH SHORE

2 men held, none hurt in highway shooting

Two men were in police custody yesterday for attempted murder after one of them allegedly fired gunshots into a car that passed them Saturday night on Kamehameha Highway near Haleiwa.

Three men, 24, 22 and 19, and a woman, 20, told police that the suspects tailgated them after they overtook their car.

The suspects, 20 and 18, then allegedly pulled up alongside the car, and the front seat passenger fired two shots, police said. The bullets, which entered through the driver's open window, struck the inside of the windshield. No one was injured.

The four victims pulled into a Haleiwa service station and reported the shooting to a police officer who happened to be at the station.

Police put out an all-points bulletin, and within two minutes officers converged on the suspects and arrested them. Police say a black handgun of unknown caliber was used but not recovered.

The 20-year-old Wahiawa man was transferred to the main station Saturday night, and the 18-year-old from Wahiawa was taken in yesterday. A 17-year-old male passenger was released.

WINDWARD OAHU

Makiki man, 39, dies at Waimanalo state park

A 39-year-old Makiki man died yesterday at Waimanalo Bay State Recreational Park, known as Sherwood Forest. Fire rescue personnel assisted lifeguards who were trying to resuscitate the man at about 3 p.m. yesterday.He was taken to Castle Medical Center and pronounced dead upon arrival.