UH-West Oahu graduate receives science grant
A University of Hawaii-West Oahu graduate earned one of four National Science Foundation grants from the Society for American Archaeology.Deona "Nona" Naboa received her bachelor's degree this spring in social sciences with an emphasis in anthropology. She now will go to archaeological field school in Rapa Nui in the southeastern Pacific for the summer and use the credits toward her master's degree in Pacific Island Studies at UH-Manoa.
Naboa, who already has traditional archaeological experience, expects to work with advanced technological devices in Rapa Nui.
"Anthropology doesn't feel like work," she said. "In the field, it's fun. I get to walk through private places. I am outside in the wilderness and it's quiet. I don't consciously know I am in school and learning."
Passport fees to rise starting next month
Americans traveling abroad will pay $15 to $30 more for passport fees starting Aug. 19.First-time adult passport applicants will pay $85, instead of $60. The passport fee for children under 16 years old will increase to $70 from $40. Adults renewing their passport will pay $55 instead of $40.
Expedited service for two-week passport delivery will increase to $60 from $35. Routine passport processing takes up to six weeks. Applications submitted prior to Aug. 19 will be processed under the old fees.
For information on applying for a passport, call the Honolulu Passport Agency at 808-522-8283, or the National Passport Information Center at 900-225-5674, or visit travel.state.gov.
Mink defends support for bill with pay raises
U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink (D, Rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands) defended her recent vote approving a spending bill but rebutted accusations from a Republican challenger that she voted in favor of a pay raise for members of Congress.The bill approved Thursday opens the door for rank-and-file members to receive a raise of about $5,000 a year, but approval of the bill is not the same as approving a raise, Mink said in a news release yesterday.
State Rep. Bob McDermott, who is challenging Mink in this year's election, criticized Mink's approval of the bill, saying he would never vote to increase members' pay.
Under a 1989 law, congressional pay raises, determined by a complicated formula that includes a measure of private industry employment costs, go into effect automatically unless lawmakers vote to block it.
The House Rules Committee refused to allow an amendment to the bill to freeze members' pay, Mink said.
A motion to override the Rules Committee and allow the amendment to freeze pay was defeated 258-156, Mink said, adding that if it had come up she would have voted against a raise.
Mink accused McDermott (R, Salt Lake-Aliamanu-Aiea), of distorting the facts.
She called his allegations "nothing more than a cheap shot."
Funds released to build rehab unit on Maui
WAILUKU >> Gov. Ben Cayetano has released $500,000 to help to build a 16-bed rehabilitation unit at Hale Makua in central Maui.The development of the unit will help in the rehabilitation of patients who require long-term care and relieve a hospital bed shortage for acute care patients at Maui Memorial Medical Center, Hale Makua officials said.
The Hale Makua facility will be designed to help patients recovering from health problems, such as strokes and hip fractures.
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>> The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation has awarded $30,000 to the Kauai Economic Opportunity for families in need of temporary assistance with rental and mortgage payments due to job loss or reduced income following the Sept. 11 disaster. The foundation is providing a total of $150,000 for housing assistance across the state, including Kauai. [Taking Notice]
>> Winners at Work has received $10,000 from Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc. to provide pre-employment training to learning disabled adults and others who qualify.
>> Navy Chief Petty Officer Associations on Oahu have kicked off a worldwide campaign to raise $250,000 to restore the battleship USS Missouri with a collection of $5,000 from local military and civilian contributions. Checks should be mailed to CPO Battleship Fund, P.O. Box 240818, Honolulu, HI 96824.
>> The Mabel Wilcox Foundation Trust has given the American Cancer Society $1,500 for quality of life programs on Kauai to help patients meet the emotional, physical and cosmetic needs related to cancer. Beauticians Linda Espino of Anara Salon; Bobbi Stumpf, Mahealani Sarmiento and Holly Robinson of Waiohai Salon; and volunteer program coordinator Julie Gelfand donated their expertise.
>> The Ellen M. Koenig Memorial Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation has granted $22,000 in scholarships to allow disadvantaged children to attend the Salvation Army's Camp Homelani on the North Shore.
>> The Atherton Family Foundation has given $10,000 to support the Salvation Army's efforts to develop and build a community skateboard facility in Waimea on the Big Island.
"Taking Notice" runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Please send items to City Desk, Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.
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>> A test of a new communications system utilizing a remote-controlled solar-powered aircraft happened Saturday off Kauai. A story on Page A3 yesterday incorrectly stated the test was set for Thursday. Corrections and clarifications
>> The Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe was misidentified as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl in a letter on Page A14 on July 19 because of an editing error.
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.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
CENTRAL OAHU
Man allegedly strikes female city bus driver
Police arrested a 68-year-old man for allegedly interfering with the operator of a public transit vehicle after he allegedly slapped the female driver on the arm prior to exiting a city bus.The alleged incident happened at the intersection of Lanikuhana Avenue and Kamehameha Highway in Mililani about 1 p.m. Sunday. The 26-year-old driver told police she felt pain to her right arm. The man was arrested at the scene, then released pending investigation.
LEEWARD OAHU
Ewa house fire leaves family of 4 homeless
The American Red Cross is helping an Ewa family of four after their home burned yesterday afternoon.Firefighters said the three-bedroom Hamiha Place residence was engulfed in flames when they arrived at 1:12 p.m. Though firefighters brought flames under control in eight minutes the fire still caused an estimated $200,000 in damage.
Fire investigators are still determining the cause of the fire.
Man flees on foot after robbing ATM customer
Police are looking for a masked gunman who robbed a 64-year-old woman outside the American Savings Bank Waipahu Branch Sunday.Police said the woman had just used the bank's automated teller machine at 94-229 Waipahu Depot Road about 10 p.m. and was getting into the passenger seat of a car driven by a 41-year-old woman when the robber approached the driver and demanded money, police said.
The robber then went to the passenger side of the vehicle, demanded money from the 64-year-old woman and fled with the woman's coin purse, police said.
He was last seen fleeing mauka on foot Waipahu Depot Road.
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[The courts]
Prisoner names state in voting rights lawsuit
A prison inmate who said he was denied his constitutional right to vote in November 2000 has filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, claiming there are no policies and procedures to ensure those in custody can vote.The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and inmate William Remmers Jr. are suing Dwayne Yoshina, state chief elections officer, and Ted Sakai, director of the state Department of Public Safety, and various Public Safety employees.
Remmers filed the complaint on behalf of himself and all other pretrial detainees or prisoners incarcerated in Hawaii's prisons who were denied their right to vote, current and future detainees, and prisoners eligible to vote. Remmers had been eligible to vote in 2000, but was arrested and detained at the Oahu Community Correctional Center prior to the Nov. 7, 2000 elections.
According to the lawsuit, a Public Safety employee told Remmers and others that if they wanted to vote in the upcoming election by absentee ballot, they had to fill out a sign-up sheet. Remmers and other inmates in Module Three were not told that applications for absentee voter ballots were available and therefore did not receive one, the lawsuit said.
Remmers filed three complaints with the department and was given various explanations why he and others could not vote, according to the complaint. Among the reasons given included were that no certified officials present at the prison to monitor the absentee ballots or that the prison was not responsible for distributing absentee ballots to inmates, the suit contends.
Yoshina said yesterday that the Office of Elections has worked with department for about a year to get affidavits and voter registration forms into all of Hawaii's prisons and at the Hawaii Paroling Authority. The department has assured them that they are putting out the forms and making them available to eligible inmates, Yoshina said.
He said his office overlooked the Federal Detention Center, but is looking into whether inmates or pretrial detainees there are eligible to vote. "We try to get as many people who are eligible to vote, to vote," he said.
Sakai could not be reached for comment.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages and a system to ensure that prisoners who are eligible to vote are allowed to do so.
Young Brothers sues ILWU over job action
Young Brothers Ltd. has filed suit against the union that represents its longshore and warehouse workers, saying the union has cost the shipping company irreparable loss and damages for authorizing illegal work stoppages in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.The complaint, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court against the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, Local 142, also names business agent Tyrone Tahara.
According to the suit, Tahara instructed union workers to stop work on Feb. 8, 2002, after he was told to leave Young Brothers' offices because a meeting he was to attend had been canceled. He also was denied a meeting with the Honolulu barge terminal superintendent.
Work on the docks stopped for more than two hours because Tahara stood in the middle of the cargo handling area in the path of forklifts, the complaint said.
Young Brothers is seeking among other things, a permanent injunction to prevent union employees from violating or threatening to violate provisions of the collective bargaining agreement
ILWU officials and Tahara could not be reached for comment.
