Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs Robin L. Higgins will speak Thursday about preserving values and freedoms in times of crisis during the fourth forum in the Nisei Veterans Endowed Forum Series. Forum for freedom
is open to publicThe forum will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel.
Higgins will be visiting Hawaii in conjunction with activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
As Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Higgins is responsible for policy, management and operation of the National Cemetery Administration, directing the operation and maintenance of 120 national cemeteries.
The forum is open to the public.
Bento lunches will be available for $14. The deadline to RSVP is tomorrow. Call UH Manoa Colleges of Arts and Sciences at 944-7773 to RSVP and place a lunch order.
The Moiliili Community Center will hold a Women's Assault Prevention Course from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday in response to community concern about preventing assaults. Center to offer women
a class in self-defenseThe course, in Room 305 in the center, will include workouts and practice, situational reactions to assaults according to statistics, self-defense utensils in a parking lot, a flat tire demonstration and umbrella fighting lesson.
Training manuals will be provided.
The instructor will be Steven J. McLaughlin, author and sensei of the Hawaii Jujitsu KoDenKai, with 29 years experience teaching assault prevention and self-defense.
He holds a fourth-degree black belt in DanZanRyu Jujitsu and has black belts in judo, aiki-jitsu and karate.
For more information, call 955-1555.
Host families sought for exchange students
Volunteer host families are needed for the spring semester, mid-January to mid-June, for high school exchange students 16 and 17 years old.The International Hospitality Center is seeking homes for students from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Russia and the Independent States.
The students, sponsored by the Center for Cultural Exchange, will attend high schools in the district where the host lives.
They undergo an extensive application and selection process, personal interviews and orientation. All are covered by health and accident insurance and have their own spending money.
Hosts serve as volunteers and provide the students with bed and board. The students become family members, sharing culture, language and friendship with the American host.
For more information, call Barbara Bancel, International Hospitality Center executive director, at 521-3554.
Families needed to care for special-needs kids
Adoption Connection is looking for families interested in caring for special-needs children.Those interested in providing a nurturing home for such children may obtain more information at a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Casey Family Programs, 1848 Nuuanu Ave.
For more information, call 441-0999. Neighbor islanders can call collect.
Untreated sewage spills into Nanakuli Stream
Honolulu city officials say some 2,200 gallons of raw sewage entered Nanakuli Stream, adjacent to Nanakuli Beach Park, yesterday after overflowing from a manhole.The Department of Environmental Services says since the mouth of the stream is blocked, the spill remained in pond water.
Warning signs were posted and the pond was also secured with warning tape.
The city says the spill came from a 10-inch sewer line that was clogged by debris. The clog was caused by debris that fell into a broken manhole and the resulting grease build-up.
The affected waters are being tested and monitored.
Computer glitch snarls concert ticket sales
A computer glitch shut down phone, online and credit card purchases through Ticket Plus Inc. for two hours yesterday just as tickets went on sale for the second show of Earth Wind and Fire on Jan. 6.The credit card server shut down at about 9 a.m. and callers were told to call back in 15 minutes or to go to Foodland Super Markets, Sack 'n Save Foods or the Blaisdell box office, where tickets could be bought with cash, a Ticket Plus phone operator said.
"Now we're back up so (people) can purchase it anywhere," the operator said.
California professor to discuss drug 'Ecstasy'
Dr. Charles Grob, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of California Los Angeles, will discuss "Ecstasy: Sorting Fact from Fiction" at a workshop at 9 a.m. Tuesday at McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana Park.The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and Harm Reduction Hawaii are co-sponsoring the workshop for a $10 fee, which includes a continental breakfast. Contact hours credit are available for substance abuse counselors.
Grob will focus on social history and neuropharmacology of the drug MDMA, known as Ecstasy, which is popular among Hawaii's youth.
Grob conducted the first investigation approved by the Food and Drug Administration examining the drug's effects on humans. He has written extensively about hallucinogens, particularly related to adolescents.
Risks of Ecstasy use will be discussed and perspectives given by a panel including Alan Shinn, executive director of Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii, and Kai Takayama. William Wood, University of Hawaii sociology professor, will be moderator.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The workshop, continuing to noon, is free to full-time students. For more information, call 988-4386.
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
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Century Square fire inconveniences tenants
A fire on the 22nd floor of the Century Square building at Bishop and Beretania streets locked out dozens of building occupants for more than two hours yesterday.When firefighters got to Suite 2211 shortly after the alarm at 3:23 p.m., the building's sprinkler system had apparently put the fire was out and firefighters helped clean up water damage, said Battalion Chief Paul Gerard.
Water from the sprinkler system affected the 22nd floor down to as far as the 15th floor.
The cause of the fire, which started in a kitchen area, was under investigation last night. Fire damage was estimated at $5,000 to the building and $2,000 to contents, said HFD spokesman Capt. Richard Soo. The fire department doesn't estimate water damage. No one was injured.
Fire near school in Kalihi thought to cover burglary
Police and fire investigators are looking into a fire at 1555 Laumaile St. near Kalihi Uka Elementary School that may have been deliberately set to cover up a burglary.The fire on the ground floor of a two-story building occurred in Mike's Electrical Inc. about 6:32 a.m. yesterday.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire in minutes after their arrival. It caused an estimated $13,000 damage.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo said it appeared office machines had been removed prior to the fire.
Man, 30, arrested in woman's alleged assault
A 30-year-old man was arrested after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in her Amana Street apartment and threatening her with a knife, police said.The man got angry over a misunderstanding and refused to let the 23-year-old woman leave the apartment for five hours on Thursday night, police said.
Neighbors heard the woman screaming and called the police. The suspect fled before police arrived but was arrested the next day when he returned to the scene.
Child abuse possible in 8-month-old's injuries
Police were investigating a possible case of child abuse yesterday after an 8-month-old boy suffered a skull fracture.Police said the injury occurred sometime Wednesday at a Kalihi residence. There was no suspect in the case yesterday, but police said the boy was being treated at a hospital for an "unexplained depressed linear skull fracture."
There were no further details available yesterday.
5 men allegedly steal items from Portlock cars
Five men suspected of stealing from cars in Portlock were arrested early Friday morning as they drove away from the scene.A police officer had pulled the men over after seeing a car speeding out of Nawiliwili Street. In the meantime, the officer was informed by dispatch that a car was just broken into on Nawiliwili Street.
Police said two men in the car matched a witness' description of two men seen running from the scene at about 3 a.m.
When the driver allowed a search of the car, police found stolen property from five vehicles. The complainants identified their property and the men, ranging in age from 18 to 21, were arrested.
