Mililani library will open with new paint and hours
The Mililani Public Library will be closed for two weeks beginning Sept. 4 for painting and renovation work.Customers may continue to use the book drop or may call in renewals at 586-3652.
When the library reopens at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 17, new hours will go into effect: Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m.; Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Workshop will evaluate medical info on the Web
The Hawaii Medical Library's Consumer Health Information Service is presenting a workshop to help consumers evaluate Web sites and help separate authoritative information from fluff."Consumer Health Information for Professionals" will be held at noon Thursday at the library. It will be repeated at noon Sept. 18, Oct. 11 and Dec. 28. The hour-long workshop is free, but space is limited. For reservations and information, call the Consumer Health Information Service, 536-9302, ext. 127.
Bush names Marumoto to advisory commission
State Rep. Barbara Marumoto (R, Waialae Iki) has been named to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders."It is important that the various communities and individuals of Americans of Asian and Pacific Island extraction express their concerns, needs and desires to the national government," Marumoto said. "Increased participation by these important components of contemporary society will lead to greater interest and buy-in, with the eventual result of broader-based democracy. It is especially critical for Hawaii, with its large Asian Pacific population, to have a stronger voice in national issues."
State Supreme Court lets DUI tests stand rejected
The Hawaii Supreme Court issued a decision yesterday affirming a lower court decision that suppressed the results of blood or breath alcohol tests in 49 drunken-driving cases based on "faulty" instructions given by police officers when advising drivers of the consequences if they refused to take the tests.The District Court had suppressed the results of those cases based on the October 1999 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in State v. Wilson.
In that decision, the justices found that instructions read by officers from HPD Form 396B, the Administrative Driver's License Revocation Law, were "faulty," and required that any incriminating test results obtained when drivers followed such advice should be suppressed.
The law as read to drivers reads in part that if drivers arrested for suspicion of DUI refuse to submit to blood alcohol tests, their driving privileges would be revoked for one year if they had no previous DUI arrests five years prior. But if they choose to take the test and fail, their driving privileges would be revoked for three months.
The decision reached by Chief Justice Ronald Moon and Justices Steven Levinson and Simeon Acoba did not say what the errors were in the instructions. Justices Paula Nakayama and Mario Ramil dissented.
The state had appealed the suppression of the test results in the 49 cases, arguing that the high court's ruling in Wilson was based on a misinterpre-tation of another case. Even if the interpretation was correct, Wilson should not be applied retroactively, the state said.
Suspects plead not guilty in Nuuanu murder
Two men have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder for allegedly beating a man in a dispute over a cigarette and tossing him into Nuuanu Stream where he drowned.Alvin Samau and Pedro Velarde, both 18, entered their pleas via video yesterday from the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Both are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail each. Trial has been set for Oct. 29.
Benjamin Amarino, 59, was punched, kneed and beaten with beer cans and bricks before he was "clotheslined" and knocked into the stream, witnesses told police.
Former Maui man pleads not guilty to robberies
A former Maui air traffic controller accused of robbing nine banks in California pleaded not guilty yesterday before a federal magistrate. Rick Lee Davis, 43, is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen Friday.Davis has been released to a halfway house in lieu of a $150,000 signature bond posted by relatives and an acquaintance.
Davis, president of the air traffic controllers union at San Francisco International Airport, told detectives he robbed banks to fly his children to and from Hawaii to visit him and also pay for child support.
Jewelry store owner faces suspect in Aug. 12 robbery
The owner of a Pearl City jewelry store robbed by two men at gunpoint earlier this month faced a man accused in the case in court yesterday. Jennifer Lu Tran said she is still shaken by the Aug. 12 robbery."All this time, I still nervous," said Tran, owner of JT Jewelry and Watch at Pearl Kai Shopping Center. "I still have nightmare."
Tran identified Edward Benson, 33, as the robber who filled a backpack with Hawaiian bracelets from her store while another man pointed a gun at her brother-in-law and two young children.
District Judge Tenny Tongg sent Benson's case to Circuit Court for trial. He remains in custody in lieu of $25,000 bail. Police are still looking for the second suspect.
Police released video of the robbery captured by the store's surveillance camera. The armed robber can be heard on the video ordering people on the floor, and Tran can be heard yelling at the robber. She said she was afraid the robber was going to shoot her children.
Corrections and clarifications
>> A quotation attributed to Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue in the Quotables column Saturday should have been attributed to Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee. The quote concerned the charges against two Honolulu Police Department officers in the theft of food meant for prisoners. Lee said, "We don't think it's any laughing matter. It was inappropriate and was illegal." Donohue's name was also misspelled in the item.
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 Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Kalihi convenience store robbed at gunpoint
Police are looking for a man who tried to rob a convenience store in Kalihi last night at gunpoint.Police said the robber walked into the Island Mini-Mart at 1403 School St. about 7 p.m., selected several items and placed them on the checkout counter. As the clerk was ringing up the items, police said, the man took out a handgun. He fled empty handed when the clerk set off the alarm, police said.
Water-line repair closes Moanalua Freeway
Two Ewa-bound lanes on the Moanalua Freeway between Kaahele Street and Kaahumanu Street remained closed this morning as Honolulu Board of Water Supply crews worked to repair a leaking 36-inch transmission line.The leak was discovered last night at 98-790 Moanalua Road near Waimalu Elementary School. Board of Water Supply officials said the leak is not affecting any customers.
Missing Makiki woman found in Tantalus ravine
Honolulu Fire Department rescue team members recovered the body of a 54-year-old Makiki woman in a ravine off Tantalus Drive yesterday.The woman was last seen in her car near the ravine Aug. 20. Nearby residents told police they saw the woman in her vehicle in the 4000 block of Tantalus Drive about 6:30 p.m. When they went back to the area about 10:30 p.m. they told police the car was parked in the roadway, its lights were on, passenger door open and keys in the ignition. Police had the car towed as a traffic hazard.
On Sunday, the woman's landlord reported her missing.
As Honolulu police SWAT team members were searching the area yesterday, a resident told them that a man told him on Saturday that he heard a woman calling for help on Aug. 23. Police called a fire rescue team to rappel into a ravine to search for the woman.
The firefighters found the woman's body at 4:20 p.m.
Police are awaiting an autopsy to determine how the woman died and for positive identification.
LEEWARD OAHU
Ewa Beach man arrested in sexual assault of wife
A 30-year-old Ewa Beach man was arrested yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting his wife.Police said the man's 34-year-old wife said she was showering in the couple's home when her husband dragged her into the bedroom and sexually assaulted her. She later left the residence and called police.
The husband was located and arrested without incident.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Unidentified body found in burned Big Isle home
HILO >> An unidentified body was found yesterday in the charred remains of a shack in the Ranchos subdivision in Kau.Firefighters responded to a structure fire at the corner of Jasmine and Maikai streets at 11:10 a.m. The fire was extinguished 30 minutes later.
Firefighters discovered a body in the bedroom. It is believed an unattended stove started the fire, said Capt. Craig Nagamine of the Pahala Fire Station.
Swimmer drowns at Hapuna Beach
HAPUNA BEACH, Hawaii >> A 35-year-old man apparently drowned while swimming at Hapuna Beach in west Hawaii yesterday, the Fire Department said. His name was not immediately released.Fire Department paramedics responding to a 5:28 p.m. call found bystanders trying to revive the man on the beach. He had been struggling in the water, became unconscious, and was brought to shore by personnel from the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, they said.
