Police follow candy trail to catch a thief
Police followed a trail of candy to catch a 31-year-old burglary suspect with a sweet tooth yesterday.Police responding to an alarm at the Checker Auto Parts store at 1555 Dillingham Boulevard at 2 a.m. found broken glass on a door.
They followed a trail of dropped candy and found a 31-year-old man hiding in some bushes. Officers said he was carrying a T-shirt filled with more than $60 worth of M&Ms, Reeces and beef jerky.
Waianae school library gets free security system
Waianae High School was one of 104 schools in the nation to receive a security system for its library from the 3M Salute to Schools program.The school received a system worth about $9,000 to prevent the loss of library materials, Waianae account clerk Betsy Mason said.
The 3M company donated a total of $1.5 million to middle and high school library media centers with limited resources.
The program is sponsored in partnership with the American Association of School Librarians.
Information meetings set for Kahoolawe cleanup
WAILUKU >> The Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission has scheduled a series of public information meetings next month on its draft access and risk management plan.The plan attempts to balance the task of providing for native Hawaiian cultural practices, volunteer restoration projects and educational programs against safety concerns stemming from unexploded ordnance.
When the Navy's cleanup of Kahoolawe ends in November 2003, a significant portion of the former target island will still contain explosives from the years of military exercises.
The Navy used Kahoolawe as a live-fire training area from 1941 to 1994.
Commission remediation specialist Stanton Enomoto said a risk-management plan had been on the commission agenda all along. But he said it has become increasingly critical as it became evident that the Navy was not going to be able to complete the cleanup job that had been planned.
Under the original cleanup plan, the surface of the entire island was to be cleared of all unexploded ordnance and other debris, with subsurface clearing to have been completed on about a third of Kahoolawe.
The Navy says about 70 percent of the island will be "surface cleared" meaning any debris located visually on the ground surface will be removed.
About one-third of the island will be examined with ground-penetrating detectors for subsurface objects
UH receives more than $638,000 in fed grants
The University of Hawaii has been awarded $638,592 in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The grants were made available through a federal initiative called the Alaska Native- and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions program, passed by Congress to help America's indigenous people overcome the socioeconomic factors that impede their personal and professional growth, according to U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D, Hawaii).
This is the first time the grants have been made available.
Three grants are for UH-Manoa projects: The FAST Track: Career Pathways to Food, Agricultural Services and Technology; Diversified Agriculture/Entrepreneurship Curriculum Development; and Bio-Resources and Technology Academic Subject Certificate.
The other, at UH-Hilo, goes to a project called Enhancing Undergraduate Agriculture Education for Under-Represented Students.
Kona Blue Water Farms gets $1.5 million grant
The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Kona Blue Water Farms under the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program.The program provides cost-shared funding to non-profit organizations and universities to help advance research and development projects that have the potential to spark economic or social benefits for the United States.
Kona Blue Water Farms of Kailua-Kona has received the award to fund its project: "Overcoming an Impediment to Marine Fish Hatchery Culture: Zooplankton Harvesting and Mesocosm Culture."
The project focuses on farming wild zooplankton for human consumption to balance the trade deficit for seafood by reducing the pressure on wild fish.
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 staffNEIGHBOR ISLANDS Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Hilo man electrocuted at Pepeekeo power plant
HILO >> A 28-year-old man died Monday from being accidentally electrocuted at a power plant, Big Island fire officials said.Hilo police, however, identified the man as 33-year-old Joel Kudo of Hilo.
Firefighters found Kudo at the Hawaii Electric Light Co.'s Pepeekeo substation at 3:20 p.m. with electrical burns, fire officials said.
He did not have a pulse and was not breathing.
An aluminum ladder he was carrying apparently came into contact with a 69,000-volt electric line, fire officials said.
He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Man assaulted and robbed while walking in Hilo
HILO >> A 60-year-old Hilo man reported he was robbed of his wallet yesterday morning while walking along the sidewalk in downtown Hilo, police said.An unknown male allegedly struck the victim on his head while walking along Kamehameha Avenue, knocking the man to the ground.
The victim felt pain to his face and hip but declined medical attention, police said.
The assailant took his wallet and fled on foot toward Mamo Street, police said.
He is described as a male in his late teens, 6 feet tall, 160 pounds, wearing a blue shirt, red shorts and shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hilo Police Station at 935-3311 or 961-2213. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
HONOLULU
Kapolei man arrested in Kaimuki bank robbery
A 28-year-old Kapolei man was arrested Monday for a Dec. 7 bank robbery.Police said the robber walked into the American Savings Bank Kapahulu branch and said he wanted to open an account. He then demanded money from a teller while holding his left hand in a paper bag.
The robber did not say that he had a weapon but police said the teller believed there was a weapon in the bag.
Police identified the suspect through their investigation and located him at a home in Palolo, where he was arrested.
WAIKIKI
Tourist dead in surf near Royal Hawaiian
A 65-year-old visitor died yesterday in waters off Waikiki.A lifeguard spotted the man floating face down about 11:40 a.m. in front of Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Lifeguards and paramedics performed CPR but were unable to resuscitate the man.
He was then taken to Straub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Honolulu Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
WINDWARD OAHU
Catamaran towed after stalling off Kailua Bay
Rescue crews from the Honolulu Fire Department and Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe helped a catamaran operator who was stranded about two miles off Kailua Bay yesterday between Mokapu Point and the Mokulua Islands.The catamaran, which had a single jib sail and no main sail, had been blown offshore by a Kona wind, said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada.
Its motor had also gone out, he said.
The sailor called for help on his cell phone, and the Marine Corps rescue boat responded first.
The fire department responded next with a rescue boat from Waimanalo.
The man initially refused help, but eventually allowed the Marine Corps to tow him in from the two-mile marker to the 3/4-mile marker, and the fire rescue boat took over from there, Tejada said.
Tejada said that although the man was not in imminent danger, he probably would not have made it back with the way the winds were blowing.
"He was out on the horizon," Tejada said. "You needed binoculars to see him."
The rescue took about 45 minutes, and the boat was brought in at 5:05 p.m.
