Eatery donates $13,000 to diabetes group
Sarento's on the Beach in Kihei/Wailea, on Maui, has donated $13,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International.Aaron Placourakis, president and chief executive officer of the newly renovated restaurant, made the grand opening in May a charity event at $75 per person.
"Diabetes prominently affects Hawaii's residents but also deeply touches my family members and corporate chef George Gomes' 11-year-old son," he said. "We're very proud to be associated with this cause."
Hearing set for proposed Kaiona canoe halau
A proposed canoe halau at Kaiona Beach Park in Waimanalo will be the subject of a Honolulu Planning Department hearing at 10 a.m. Sept. 10, at the Hawaii Kai Public Library, 249 Lunalilo Home Road.The city Design and Construction Department is applying to build the facility at 41-575 Kalanianaole Highway.
Anyone desiring to testify may register at the site and is encouraged to bring one copy of written testimony. Written testimony also may be submitted prior to the hearing by writing City Planning, 650 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813. For more information, call Dana Teramoto at 523-4648 or Arthur Kimbal Thompson at 236-1373.
Church group donates airline tickets to young cancer patients
More than 1,000 interisland airline tickets have been donated to neighbor island children with cancer since 1988 by the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church.Children on neighbor islands who have cancer sometimes must travel to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children for chemotherapy treatments once a month for up to two years.
Medical insurance doesn't reimburse families for travel expenses, so families must pay airline costs themselves or let the child fly alone. When a family couldn't afford the cost of one airline ticket, the child received no treatment.
That changed when the Ladies Philoptochos Society began fund-raising to buy airline tickets for the families, donating the tickets to the Kapiolani Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Transportation Fund.
The society this year gave the medical center 160 airline tickets, raising the total to more than 1,000.
"We'll keep donating these airline tickets until a cure for cancer is found," said Fannie Proskefalas, president and board member of the Ladies Philoptochos Society's Aloha Chapter.
Kathy Hanai-Lee, Kapiolani's medical social worker, said, "This year's tickets came just in time. We were completely out. Families who benefit are thankful, for without the Ladies' help, many parents would not be able to accompany their children to the hospital."
The Greek word "philoptochos" means "friends of the poor."
Hawaii's Ladies Philoptochos Society, founded in 1967, also supports the Institute for Human Services, the Battered Women's Shelter and the River of Life Mission.
U.S. Navy rescues 8 from sinking boat
The U.S. Navy yesterday rescued eight Southeast Asian fishermen from their ill-fated vessel about 600 miles east of Guam.The 40,000-ton USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, answered the distress call at 7 a.m. Hawaii time. "When they received the distress call, the ship was sinking and on fire and taking on water," said U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Gordon.
The Boxer deployed a rescue helicopter with an inflatable life raft, and search and rescue swimmers helped the crew members of the Taiwan-based fishing vessel Ji-Moon Chun 21 safely aboard within three hours of the distress call, Gordon said.
Maui officials still cautious after shark sighting
Maui officials remained cautious yesterday even though a large tiger shark spotted off Kahana Thursday appeared to be gone Friday, Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Debbie Ward said yesterday"Apparently on Thursday there was a very large tiger shark, feeding on a dead turtle about 400 yards from shore," Ward said. "We're not exactly sure how the turtle died. A lifeguard did approach it (on a personal watercraft) and did take pictures."
"After Thursday's incident, the DLNR and the county issued an advisory to warn people that there was a shark offshore," Ward said. Officials did not close the beach.
"Our aquatic man said this was natural behavior (a shark feeding on a turtle carcass), that no one was in danger," Ward said. "Shark sightings occur pretty regularly. It's not necessarily a cause for people to be alarmed. In a natural ecosystem, there are sharks and turtles and they are part of the food chain."
People should always be aware of the possibility of sharks in the ocean, she said.
On Thursday, the DLNR issued an advisory to ocean users of Oahu's Makua and Yokohama areas of the Waianae Coast to be alert to the possible presence of sharks. That advisory followed an observed shark attack on a dolphin off Keawaula a week ago.
UH faculty, teachers to join in labor march
University of Hawaii faculty and public school teacher union members will be taking to the street next Sunday in a Unity Labor March for education and economic justice.UH faculty members took the lead in organizing the march, which was inspired by the state-wide education strike by both unions in April.
"What we were trying to do was keep some of the energy and the inspiration" generated during the strike, said Marcus Daniel, an assistant professor of history.
In addition, the unions want "to keep the public focused on the issues of public education," including the ongoing contract dispute between HSTA and the state over teachers' bonuses, he said.
The UH Professional Assembly and the Hawaii State Teachers Association will be joined by the International Longshoremen's and Warehouseman's Union Local 142, the Hawaii Government Employees Association and Local 5 of the Hotel employees and Restaurant Employees Union and others.
The march will start at Kapiolani Community College at noon, following a meeting of picket captains from the UHPA strike who will be brainstorming ways to keep UHPA members interested and involved in the union, as well as looking for ways to reach out to other units and the broader community.
"We're thinking ahead a little bit about the need to create links with other units and create the basis for the next period of negotiation," Daniel said. The union contract expires in 2003.
The march will join pickets in front of the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, organized by union workers who lost their jobs when then-Hawaiian Waikiki Beach Hotel owners, the Okata Corp., went into foreclosure.
The march will end at the Waikiki Shell, where it will flow into the AFL-CIO concert planned for that day.
PROTESTERS RALLY AGAINST
ALA WAI DEVELOPMENT, AKAKA BILL
Tripler Hospital clinics to close for training
Most Tripler Army Medical Center outpatient clinics will be closed Aug. 31 for a training holiday and all clinics will be closed Sept. 3 for Labor Day.The following clinics will be open Aug. 31:
The TAMC Family Practice Clinic will be open only for acute care. For more information, call 433-3300.
The Pediatric Clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to noon for regular appointments and walk-ins from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, call 433-6697.
The Outpatient Pharmacy will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Call 911 or go to an emergency room for any emergency.
Medical staff will be available through the TRICARE Healthcare Information Line, 800-611-2883, to evaluate a patient's symptoms and recommend the next step.
All clinics will operate with normal hours Sept. 4.
EPA head to speak on land, politics on trip
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman will be in Hawaii the next few days with dual roles to play.Whitman is scheduled to address the Environmental Council of the States annual meeting at the Hilton Hawaiian Village at 11:15 today and also will be featured at a private $500-per-person fund-raiser for the state Republican Party.
State Party Chairwoman Linda Lingle said "a little fund-raiser" will be held today at the Duncan MacNaughton home in Kahala and attended by about 100 people.
"We hope it'll raise about $50,000 for the party" to support local political races next year, Lingle said.
Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey, came to Hawaii in 1998 to support Lingle's gubernatorial campaign. Hawaii is her first stop as she mixes official appearances with political events in coming weeks.
The Environmental Council of the States meeting will include discussions and workshops covering a ride range of environmental issues such as EPA programs dealing with water, air and waste, environmental education, enforcement, children's health, new technologies, environmental justice and "smart growth."
Workshops featuring Hawaii issues include ecosystems, beaches and Hawaiian voyaging will also be held.
>> Kapolei resident Melvin Guzman was selected to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Los Angeles. He will tour local medical schools and clinical facilities and will interact with a number of leaders in the medical field. Guzman will join 350 high school students from around the country for the 10-day forum. [TAKING NOTICE]
>> Goodwill Industries Hawaii has named the following individuals as board officers: Jay Conley, chairman; Douglas Smith, first vice-chair; Michael B. Cutler, second vice-chair; Jim Wayman, secretary; and Marty Jaskot, treasurer. In addition, Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Rich Halverson, George Norcross and Sharon Serene have joined Goodwill Industries as board members.
>> Dr. Roger Fujioka has been awarded the American Water Works Association's George Warren Fuller Award. Fujioka, a graduate faculty professor at UH-Manoa, was selected for his distinguished service in the water supply field and leadership that best characterizes the life of George Warren Fuller. He was recognized during the AWWA national conference June 18-21 in Washington, D.C.
>> The following individuals were recognized as winners of the Historic Hawaii Foundation's Seventh Annual Keiki "Color a Historic Building" Contest: Janelle Quiocho, Randee Arakawa, Michaela Carranza, Tiana Koch, Angela Landerth, Taylor Dureg, Annalei Alcaide, Philip Lin, Sana Kuwahara, Tristen Inoue, Kahana Santana, Cameron Chestnut, Honour Booth, Olivia Fatongia and Nanci-Noelle Funamoto. A total of 18 winners were selected from almost 1,000 entries statewide. The winners were honored during ceremonies May 16 at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel.
>> The Hawaii State Judiciary has received a $25,000 grant from the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts. The money will enable state judges to attend a three-day conference to learn about scientific and health-related genetic issues that may arise in the Hawaii courts system.
>> David Yoshida has been selected to participate in the 18th Annual Research Science Institute. Yoshida, a student at Iolani School, is one of 51 high school students from around the United States selected to participate. He will travel to the East Coast for six weeks to attend the program.
>> Rowena Acierto, Tammy Doan and Karen Ng have been awarded 2001 Kathleen M. Bauske Scholarship Awards. Acierto is employed at Kalihi Kai Elementary School. Doan is a teacher at Waialae Elementary. Ng teaches at Kalihi Uka Elementary. The Bauske Awards are given to women who teach full-time at any public or private school and are interested in increasing their knowledge of space themes and activities. Each teacher received a $500 award to participate in Future Flight Hawaii programs.
>> Ewa Beach resident Alexa Paulino has been inducted as a lifetime member into Alpha Sigma Nu, a national honor society for Jesuit universities. Paulino is a senior at the University of San Francisco (Calif.). She is studying journalism.
[WINNERS & LOSERS]
[WINNERS]
<< Museum man: William Yancey Brown from the National Audubon Society was selected out of a field of 178 candidates to be the new president of Bishop Museum. He will take office Oct. 1, replacing Donald Duckworth, who retired in June.Young readers: An $18.7 million federal grant will be pumped into about 90 isle public schools for the state's "Reading First" program, which aims to make children proficient readers by third grade.
Federal workers: Being on Uncle Sam's payroll in Hawaii is paying off for about 25,000 residents who are benefiting from a cost-of-living allowance reimbursement. Up to $80 million is earmarked for Hawaii's past and present workers, some of whom will receive checks for $20,000.
[LOSERS]
>> Campaigning councilman: City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura agreed to pay $3,532.06 to settle an investigation into questionable use of his campaign funds, including travel expenses and tuxedo rentals.Eating crow: The Honolulu Police Department was rocked by the indictments of two high-ranking officers for an alleged theft scheme in which funds for prisoners' food were diverted to pay for food for police officers. "It hurts," said police Chief Lee Donohue.
Murderer sentenced: Roberto Miguel, 20, was sentenced to life in prison for the June 3, 1998, murder of Chief Warrant Officer John Latchum. Miguel expressed no remorse for the killing of the father of two.
Corrections and clarifications
>> Diane K. Jones is the wife of University of Hawaii head football coach June Jones. A second reference in a Friday Newswatch item about the couple's separation incorrectly referred to her as Diana.>> The name of the captain of the USNS Sumner, Troy Erwin, was misspelled as Irwin in a photo caption with an Aug. 18 story on Page A7 on the recovery efforts of the Ehime Maru.
>> Noelani Ng is a docent at the Kalapana painted church. A story on A1 Monday incorrectly spelled her last name as Ing.
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. Corrections and clarifications
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
WINDWARD OAHU
Kailua pedestrian dies 2 days after truck hit him
A 46-year-old Kailua man died yesterday, two days after he was hit by a pick-up truck while crossing the road in his wheelchair.The man was in a crosswalk crossing Kihapai Street at the intersection of Hoolai Street when he was hit by a 1998 Ford Ranger driven by a 61-year-old Kailua man, police said.
The man who was hit was taken to Castle Medical Center with head injuries. He was transferred to Queen's Medical Center, where he died.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Missing Molokai child was really just misplaced
Police say a 2-year-old child reported missing in Halawa Valley on Molokai was really not missing.A search was underway yesterday afternoon after the child was reported missing near the family home, which is deep in a mountain area with very dense foliage. But the child was discovered with another family member within an hour.
HONOLULU
Wheelchair pedestrian is run over by automobile
A 22-year-old Honolulu man was in critical condition last night after being run over by a car on Friday.Police said the man, who was in a wheelchair, was crossing Awa Street when he was hit by a car making a left turn toward King Street. The accident occurred just before 9 a.m.
The man was not in a crosswalk at the time and visibility may have been a factor due to the height of the wheelchair, police said.
Abducted girl reunited with her grandmother
A 9-year-old Virginia girl, abducted three months ago by her mother, was reunited with her grandmother yesterday in Honolulu.The girl's paternal grandmother, who has legal custody of the girl, flew in to Honolulu from Virginia. They were scheduled to fly home to Virginia yesterday afternoon.
The girl's mother, Teresa Feather, 27, was arrested on a Virginia warrant for custodial interference, said Letha DeCaires, CrimeStoppers coordinator for the Honolulu Police Department.
Feather allegedly abducted her daughter in mid-May from her daughter's Virginia home.
A detective, through phone records obtained with a court order, verified Feather may be on Oahu, DeCaires said. The grandmother also received a collect call from the girl, who described her surroundings.
Flyers were passed out and posted in Waikiki.
Two beat officers who recognized the girl's mother from the poster stopped Feather on the street. They convinced her it was not in the best interest of the child to keep running, DeCaires said.
"Not that the mom doesn't love the girl, but what is in the best interest is a safe environment," DeCaires said.
Mother arrives on isle to bring her child home
The mother of a 12-year-old boy from Los Angeles who stowed away on a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Hawaii arrived in Honolulu yesterday morning to bring her son home, said Officer Joe Self of the Honolulu Police Department's Missing Persons Division.Matthew Matautia walked from his home in Hawthorne, a Los Angeles suburb, to the airport last weekend, boarded a plane and turned up in Honolulu.
Matautia told Self he was trying to get to his grandfather, who raised the boy in Samoa.
Matautia was caught trying to shoplift an item from an airport duty-free shop, but no charges were filed.
The boy's relatives were contacted and he has been staying with an uncle on Oahu.
Woman critically injured after morning car crash
A woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition after a three-car accident Friday morning.Police said a 37-year-old man was driving a Chevrolet van and entered the intersection of Queen and Cooke streets against the red light, police said. The van collided broadside with the sedan driven by the 48-year-old woman, who suffered unspecified head and chest injuries.
A third truck then struck both the van and the sedan. None of the other drivers suffered injuries in the 10:30 a.m. accident. Police believe that all parties were wearing seatbelts. Neither speed nor alcohol were believed to be factors.
