Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, December 22, 2001

Increased security ends Water Board tours

Tours to the Halawa Shaft and Waihee Tunnel have been suspended for security reasons by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

The Halawa Xeriscape Garden, designed to educate the public on water conservation in landscaping, is also closed until further notice, according to board spokesman Arthur Aiu.

The heightened security measures are being taken by the agency in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Aiu said.

Big Isle boy is indicted in Japan student's death

HILO >> A 17-year-old Big Island youth has been indicted for murder in the February bludgeoning death of Tetsuya Takahashi, a University of Hawaii-Hilo student, the prosecutor's office announced this week.

In October, Family Court waived jurisdiction over the suspect, Michael Frank Verece, who was 16 at the time of the attack.

The body of Takahashi, 20, of Tokyo, was found by the side of a road in Keaau, south of Hilo. An autopsy determined he died of blunt trauma to the head. A possible motive for the slaying has not been revealed.

Besides the murder, Verece was indicted for two counts of robbery in an unrelated case. Judge Riki May Amano has ordered him held without bail.

Humane Society will have holiday adoption schedule

The Hawaiian Humane Society will have special holiday visiting and adoption hours as follows:

>> Monday, Dec. 24, 10 a.m. - 5 a.m.

>> Monday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

>> Closed Christmas and New Year's Day (except for lost animal retrieval).

The society is open daily for animal intake and emergencies, 24 hours a day.

Normal hours for McInerny Dog Park and adoptions are weekdays, noon to 8 p.m., and weekends, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

UH to honor professor of Japanese literature

Columbia University professor emeritus Edward Seidensticker, who is credited with contributing to the revival of interest in Japanese literature following World War II, is set to receive an honorary degree from the University of Hawaii.

Seidensticker's work includes making the literature and culture of Japan accessible to the English-speaking world through his translations of classic works such as "The Tale of Genji" and modern works of writers including Nobel Prize winner Kawabata Yasunari and renowned author Mishima Yukio.

His own works include "Japan," "Genji Days," "Low City, High City" and "Tokyo Rising."

He is scheduled to receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters tomorrow at UH-Manoa's Fall Commencement ceremony.

Seidensticker has served on various graduate student committees at UH, as well as the Japanese Student Endowment Committee. He contributes the Edward Seidensticker Award in Japanese Studies annually for the best paper on Japan in the School of Hawaiian, Asian & Pacific Studies Graduate Student Conference.

Corrections and clarifications 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.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

CENTRAL OAHU

Rescue crews find 3 hikers in Wahiawa

Honolulu Fire Department rescued three hikers who were stranded on a Wahiawa trail last night, a fire official said.

A 23-year-old man and two women, ages 21 and 27, were hiking without any light about a mile or two above the end of California Avenue, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. The hikers called the Fire Department at 6:48 p.m. on a cell phone. The Fire Department's helicopter airlifted the hikers, who were not injured, at 9:45 p.m.

Juvenile arrested in car break-in; stereo is found

A juvenile male was arrested in Wahiawa early yesterday morning after he returned to the scene of a crime, police said.

A man spotted the Wahiawa youth standing near his car. When the man checked the vehicle, he discovered the car stereo missing.

The car owner called police. Upon their arrival, police officers found the suspect had returned to the car. The youth was arrested for breaking into the car, and the stereo was recovered, police said.

WEST OAHU

Police arrest 13-year-old in sex assault on cousin

Police arrested a 13-year-old Waipahu boy yesterday for first-degree sexual assault.

His 13-year-old cousin said he forced her to have sexual intercourse on one occasion in March, police said.

The suspect was released yesterday morning, and the case is pending investigation.