Hotel room tax collections decline 25 percent
New state tax figures show that hotel room tax collections have dropped 25 percent in November, compared to November of last year.Also down was the broad general excise tax category, although the drop was not as significant, 3.4 percent.
The figures are a reflection of the downturn in the state economy following the September terrorist attacks.
Overall the figures from the state tax office show that tax collections in Hawaii are running 2.6 percent ahead of the same period last year.
The state's council on revenues, which forecasts the coming year's economic activity, has predicted that the state's tax collections will decrease 0.7 percent. But state tax officials noted that today's collection figures are only for the first five months of the fiscal year.
About 25 percent of the state's tax collections come from tourist-related expenditures, so the big drop in tourist collections is expected to ripple through the entire state economy, according to state tax officials.
The declines were balanced in today's report by a $6.1 million increase in individual income tax deposits, according to the tax office.
Confirmed dengue fever cases up to 90 in Hawaii
There are 90 cases of dengue fever in Hawaii, according to the state Department of Health.A case of the mosquito-borne illness in Hana was confirmed on Friday, bringing to 66 the number of cases on Maui.
Since the virus was first detected in September, the state has confirmed 20 cases on Oahu and four on Kauai.
Most of the cases were confirmed in September and October. Only two new cases have surfaced since Nov. 1, the department said..
All but 10 of the Maui cases are in the Hana area, while all but three of the Oahu cases are in Windward Oahu.
8 groups win humanities grants
The Hawaii Council for the Humanities has awarded eight grants totaling $151,315 to the following private, nonprofit groups to support public educational projects in the humanities:>> Centennial Committee of Korean Immigration to the United States, University of Hawaii Center for Korean Studies, $54,591.
>> Hawaii Public Television, $48,999.
>> Children's Literature Hawaii, UH-Manoa Department of English, $15,000.
>> Hawaii Council of Teachers of English, Hawaii Writing Project, $10,225.
>> Bishop Museum, $10,000.
>> Lyman Museum, $5,000.
>> Hawaii Heritage Center, $5,000.
>> UH-Manoa Department of Philosophy, $2,500.
Officers elected for the 2001-02 term include historian Eileen Tamura, chair; attorney Larry Myers, vice chair; and Alfred Castle of the Samuel and Mary Castle Foundation, secretary-treasurer.
Barbara Marshall, Gail Ainsworth, Karen Motosue, Myers and Castle received appointments to serve on the board of directors.
Anti-drunken driving display set on fire
A life-size drunken driving display in Mililani was set on fire early yesterday morning.An on-duty police officer discovered the fire at the display of a wrecked car at about 1:25 yesterday morning at the corner of Kamehameha Highway and Meheula Parkway.
Damage to the trailer was estimated at $1,200. A banner was also stolen, police said.
>> Oahu Math League results for Nov. 10 meet at Radford High School: [Taking Notice]
>> A Division: Iolani, first place; Punahou, second; McKinley High, third; Kamehameha Schools, fourth; and Roosevelt High, fifth.
>> B Division: Hanalani School, first place; Sacred Hearts, second; and Molokai High, third.
>> JV Division: Iolani, first place; Kamehameha, second; and McKinley, third.
>> Perfect scorers: Stephany Ho of Hanalani; Cameron Taketa of Hawaii Baptist Academy; Matthew Ardo, Elizabeth Au, Jared Bulosan, Ryan Lau, Kelly Nakamura, Ricky Nguyen, Carol Pham and Anne Yeung of Iolani; Lu Lu and James Park of McKinley; and Jenny Chan and Nyssa Thompson of Punahou.
>> The Hawaii Chinese Association and Taiwanese Association of Hawaii has raised more than $20,000 for the World Trade Center disaster fund.
>> Jenny Joao of Kailua attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C.
>> Timothy Goshi, a junior at the University of Hawaii College of Engineering, has been awarded the 2001-03 Eric N. Jacobsen Memorial Scholarship from Bonded Materials Co. Goshi receives two years of undergraduate tuition and a paid internship with Bonded Materials in summer 2002. President Jeff Deer says the scholarship is to reward community involvement and academic excellence by engineering students. It is named after the late product manager of Bonded Materials.
>> Debbie Kim Morikawa is vice president of programs for Lanakila Rehabilitation Center. She recently was a management consultant specializing in organizational development, human resources and special projects.
>> St. Francis School has new directors: Stephen M. Teves, an attorney with Case, Bigelow & Lombardi; Carl E. Choy, senior vice president, financial adviser at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Niki van den Hurk, finance director at Aloha Hyundai; and Kim Cummings, senior agency field consultant for State Farm Insurance.
>> Goodwill Industries Hawaii has been awarded $5,000 from Kmart toward its Island Career Center, 1075 S. Beretania St.
>> Genice Yamamoto, seventh-grader and student council secretary at Kaimuki Christian School, is the recipient of the $1,000 2001-02 Helen McKenzie Merit Scholarship.
>> Outback Steakhouse in Hawaii raised more than $60,000 at the recent "Dine Out for America" fund-raiser. Outback contributed 100 percent of the gross sales on the evening of Oct. 11 to support the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
>> Moanalua Gardens Foundation has received grants: $5,000 from the G.N. Wilcox Trust for the Forest Treasures workshop on Kauai, and another $5,000 from the Hawaiian Electric Industries Charitable Foundation for the Moanalua Gardens Foundation Partners in Education Program.
>> The Hawaii Library Foundation has announced election of new officers: Nathan Y. Yoshioka, president; Michael Nakahara, vice president; Sally Harper, secretary; and Allan T. Yasue, treasurer; and trustees Anthony R. Guerrero Jr., Akemi Kurokawa, Benjamin M. Matsubara, Lloyd T. Sueda and Charlotte Vick.
>> The Hawaii Community Foundation received $4,558 from Marc Resorts Hawaii for the Sept. 11th Fund. Marc Resorts matched each dollar donated by employees in a two-week fund-raising campaign.
>> Moiliili Community Center received grants: $21,000 from the McInerny Foundation and $21,000 from the Frear Eleemosynary Trust toward the purchase of a new school bus; $10,000 from the Hawaii Community Foundation for Neighbor to Neighbor, a Community Voices Project; $10,000 from the Kosasa Foundation; $911 from Foodland's "Give Aloha" campaign; and $3,000 from the Hawaii Hotel Association and Hotel Industry Foundation for Elder Care Services.
>> Goodwill Industries of Hawaii has been awarded $25,000 from the Atherton Family Foundation toward its enhanced safety and health program for employees.
>> Read Aloud America has received $8,000 from the McInerny Foundation to expand the Read Aloud Program to a new school site in 2002.
>> Vernon Wong has been named president of the Hawaii Lupus Foundation Inc. for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2002. Other new officers and board members include Joyce Yanagisawa, vice president/Finance; Glenn Young, vice president/Programs; Joyce Borthwick, secretary; Terence Young, treasurer; and Adelbert Green Esq., board of directors member.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com. Corrections and clarifications
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffLEEWARD OAHU Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Teenager will be tried as an adult in beating death
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult after a Family Court judge waived jurisdiction over him in connection with the July beating death of a man at Waianae District Park.Bail for Victor Nelson Faagau was set at $100,000 yesterday for a second-degree murder charge. According to a police affidavit, eight teenagers confronted William Van Winkle, 35, in the early morning of July 14 after Van Winkle had fought earlier with one of their friends. His body was found on the basketball courts at the park. The Honolulu Medical Examiner said Van Winkle died of blunt head trauma.
At least six teenagers have been arrested in connection with Van Winkle's death.
Two 18-year-olds -- Branden Adkins and Calvin Dole -- were charged with murder earlier this year.
Police arrest suspect in Waikele robbery, assault
Honolulu police have arrested a man suspected of attacking three people with a hammer and a knife last week in Waikele.Robert Flubacher was arrested yesterday after he was pulled over for a traffic violation. Police later discovered that the vehicle Flubacher was in was an unreported auto theft.
According to CrimeStoppers, Flubacher was wanted for questioning in a Dec. 4 robbery during which, police said, he hit a female victim in the mouth with a hammer, then assaulted two of the victim's friends, stabbing one in the leg and striking the other with the hammer. He allegedly stole the victim's car.
Single-car accident sends 4 to hospital
Four people were taken to Queen's Hospital in guarded condition yesterday following a one-car accident near Leeward Community College.Capt. Roland Harvest of the Waipahu Fire Station said the driver was traveling on the H-2 freeway in a white 1992 Suzuki Sidekick with three passengers when he lost control, causing the vehicle to overturn near the H-1/H-2 junction.
Witnesses said the driver was speeding and may have been racing with another car.
Two victims were found 150 feet from the vehicle, Harvest said. Police closed all town-bound lanes of the freeway around 4:45 p.m. and reopened them around 6:15 p.m.
LEEWARD OAHU
Mililani shooting suspect faces additional charges
A 20-year-old man charged in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Mililani boy was charged with additional offenses after police found 27 marijuana plants on his lanai.Jared Lee Williams was charged Friday with first degree burglary, theft and promoting detrimental drugs, the city prosecutor's office said.
Williams was earlier charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Robert Rhoda Jr. last Wednesday.
The shooting occurred in Williams' sixth-floor apartment at 95-257 Waikalani Drive.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Island firefighters put out Puna house fire
Hawaii County firefighters battled a two-story house fire in Puna this morning.A fire dispatcher said no one was injured but the fire was fully involved when fire crews arrived on scene.
The fire was reported at 5:11 a.m. on Rainbow Drive in the Ainaloa subdivision and was extinguished at 6:04 a.m.
Big Island man dies after his car hits a utility pole
HILO >> An unidentified Big Island man died Sunday after losing control of his car and ramming a utility pole in Puna, police said.The man was driving a light-blue, two-door 1988 Plymouth Reliant just east of the Pohoiki Road and Route 132 junction. Police, who were called to the scene just before 11:30 Sunday night, said the man was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.
He was pronounced dead at 2:23 a.m. yesterday at Hilo Medical Center.
