Meeting to give answers on Waimanalo landfill
A question-and-answer meeting regarding city plans to expand the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Kapolei Hale.The meeting will be held as scheduled, although the official period for accepting public comments about the project has been extended until Oct. 8, said Herb Lee Jr., who is a communications consultant on the project and will moderate the meeting.
Deputy Director of Environmental Services Frank Doyle will make a presentation about various alternative locations and disposal methods that the city and its consultants have studied, Lee said. Then city and consulting staff will be available to answer questions.
Kona developer to pay $3.9 million in back taxes
HILO >> Would-be Kona developer Nansay Hawaii Inc. will pay $3.9 million in back taxes to Hawaii County under an agreement worked out last week.Nansay was unsuccessful in developing a resort near the Kona airport in the early 1990s.
About that time, the company ran up the tax debt, although it paid taxes for later years. This week, Nansay agreed to pay $277,600 per quarter until 2005.
The agreement allowed disclosure of a letter from Nansay to the county, which had been secret, leading the newspaper West Hawaii Today to sue for its release. County attorney Lincoln Ashida said the law required keeping the letter confidential during negotiations.
In the letter, Nansay President Philip Ho accuses former Mayor Stephen Yamashiro, a lawyer, of a conflict of interest in representing a family claiming part ownership of the Nansay land during a 1998 trial.
Yamashiro had been cleared by court action to handle the case. He lost the trial.
Police, alcohol programs receive federal grants
U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink (D, Rural Oahu-Neighbor Islands) announced the distribution of $1,125,000 to Maui and Kauai County Police Departments for their COPS in Schools Program, and $359,208 to the state's Underage Drinking Laws Program from the federal government.The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services gave Kauai about $500,000 to hire four more police officers, and $625,000 to Maui to hire five officers.
Community policing officers teach crime prevention and substance-abuse classes, monitor troubled students, and build respect between law enforcement and students, among other services.
The Underage Drinking program sponsors task forces that target establishments suspected of violating state laws on sale and consumption of alcohol by minors. The program also educates establishments about drinking laws through advertising, and sponsors programs to fight underage drinking.
Navy warns of fake telephone solicitations
Navy officials warned that someone claiming to represent the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society called a sailor's spouse and asked for a donation for victims of the attack on the Pentagon.Although the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society is a legitimate charitable organization, it does not solicit contributions by phone.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the following organizations may contact them directly at:
>> Navy & Marine Corps Relief Society Pentagon Assistance Fund, (703) 696-4904, www.nmcrs.org
>> Army Emergency Relief society Pentagon Victims Fund, (703) 325-0463, www.aerhq.org
>> Federal Employee Fund & Assistance Fund, (303) 933-7580, www.feea.org
Big Isle Visitors Bureau re-energizes its efforts
The Big Island Visitors Bureau announced a 45-day marketing plan yesterday to immediately boost the island's economy in the wake of the tourism slump that hit after the Sept. 11 attacks."We need to pull out all the stops to get visitors back to the Big Island," said George Applegate, Big Island Visitors Bureau executive director.
The plan calls for renewed sales efforts, tactical advertising, targeted public relations and a new kamaaina Web site, Applegate said.
California and kamaaina markets are being targeted in the first of the two-phase plan. The Web site, www.bigislandkamaaina.com, is due to be launched for kamaaina packages Oct. 1.
The second phase will target the Japanese market.
Free consumer credit workshops next month
Hawaii residents coping with financial hardship after the Sept. 11 attacks can participate in free consumer credit workshops next month on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii will offer the workshops in cooperation with the State Judiciary, Hawaii State Bar Association, Hawaii Community Colleges, volunteer attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries and consumer credit counseling professionals. Specific dates and locations will be set at a later date.
A pre-workshop meeting for those wanting to help will be held Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. in the conference room of the state Supreme Court building at 417 S. King Street.
Interested Hawaii residents are asked first to call Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii at 528-7046 on Oahu and 1-800-839-5200 on the neighbor islands.
Bikers collect donations for NYC victims fund
The Christian Motorcycle Alliance will have a "Ride for the USA" Saturday to benefit the Uniformed Firefighter Association New York Widows & Children's Fund. The nondenominational club will collect donations from riders, businesses and churches on Oahu.Riders will meet at 8 a.m. in the parking lot of Anna Miller's Pearl City, ride through Honolulu, stop for a brief service at Ala Moana Park, then continue through Waikik,i past Diamond Head and on to the Windward side. For information, contact Jason Holm at 922-3143 or e-mail APStyle7@aol.com.
Group offers grants for community work
Organizations with community projects to help better their neighborhoods may qualify for grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation.Friday is the deadline for applications for neighborhood grants that will be awarded in amounts from $1,000 to $5,000. Applicants need not be registered as nonprofit organizations.
At least half of the group members must live in the neighborhood targeted for a project.
Information is available by calling grants coordinator Amy Luersen at 566-5550.
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 staff
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
CENTRAL OAHU
Man charged in Mililani burglary confrontation
Police charged a 39-year-old Wahiawa man yesterday with robbery, kidnapping and burglary after he allegedly broke into a Mililani home Wednesday.Alan Shimabukuro broke into an Alapoai Street home 3:38 p.m. Wednesday, police said, and confronted a 31-year-old woman and her two small children in her living room.
According to police, he demanded the woman's money and car keys and then ordered her on the floor and told her to kiss him. When she refused, the man fled in her car, police said.
Police said officers stopped Shimabukuro in the stolen vehicle Thursday and he was arrested.
After an investigation, Shimabukuro was identified as the suspect in the Wednesday break-in, police said. Shimabukuro is being held on $50,000 bail.
On Friday, police said the man was linked to several burglary cases in Mililani in which he forced the female victims to kiss him.
11-year-old boy beaten by man in robbery
An 11-year-old boy told police he was beaten and robbed by a man in his 30s in Mililani.Police said the boy was on Makaikai Street and Meheula Parkway when the suspect asked him for directions. The man allegedly took the boy's bag and hit him. The boy sustained minor swelling and abrasions. Police are investigating the case.
LEEWARD OAHU
Girl, 14, allegedly punches teacher in chest
A 14-year-old girl was arrested for assault Friday after she punched her male teacher in the chest, police said.The incident occurred in Waianae at 1:10 p.m., but police would not reveal the name of the school.
The teacher, 47, had instructed the student to leave the area. She became agitated and hit the teacher, police said. The girl was released Friday afternoon pending further investigation.
HONOLULU
Motorcyclist critically injured in H-1 accident
A motorcyclist was in critical condition last night after an accident on the H-1 freeway.Police said the 23-year-old man was heading westbound near the Radford Drive overpass when the accident occurred shortly before 7 p.m. He was taken to The Queen's Medical Center.
It was unclear whether other vehicles were involved. Police closed the two right lanes of the freeway while they investigated.
BIG ISLAND
Emission from valve causes racket at plant
POHOIKI, Hawaii >> A hole in a control valve caused a loud release of steam at the Pahoa geothermal electrical generation plant at 3:38 a.m. yesterday, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department.Six fire units responded to the 4:32 a.m. alarm within minutes. No one was injured. The leak was brought under control at 5 a.m. by Puna Geothermal Ventures personnel.
Puna Geothermal Ventures said no readings of sulfuric acid were detected by any monitors.
"I apologize for alarming our neighbors with the noise," said Barry Mizuno, company spokesman.
"We isolated the entire section of the faulty valve, and will not reopen it until repairs have been made and a thorough inspection conducted."
State and county regulators were notified as required, Mizuno said.
