New hepatitis-C support group to meet in Kaimuki
A new support group for people with hepatitis C will be meeting on the second Tuesday of each month, starting at 7 p.m., at Coffee Talk Restaurant at Waialae and 12th avenues in Kaimuki.At least one out of 50 people in the United States is infected with the hepatitis C virus, which can cause serious liver damage, the group said.
Those in high-risk groups are encouraged to be tested for hepatitis C, a "silent killer."
They include people previously diagnosed with A or B hepatitis or HIV; who share drug, body-piercing and tattoo needles and inks; with elevated liver blood tests or rejection from a blood bank; who had a blood transfusion or solid-organ transplant before 1992 or treatments with blood clotting products before 1987; long-term kidney dialysis; accidental needle sticks; blood contact with the eyes, nose, mouth or broken skin, born to a mother with hepatitis C; unexplained fatigue or discomfort under the lower rib cage where the liver is located.
Hepatitis C can lie dormant for 10 to 35 years without symptoms and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver disease and liver cancer.
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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 staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
LEEWARD OAHU
Police seek gunman in robbery near ATM
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 at about 10 p.m.. She 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 running away on Waipahu Depot Road.
Ewa house fire leaves family of 4 homeless
The American Red Cross is helping an Ewa family of four after their home was damaged in a fire yesterday.Firefighters said the three-bedroom Hamiha Place residence was engulfed in flames when they arrived at 1:12 p.m. Firefighters brought the fire under control in eight minutes.
Damage was estimated at $200,000. The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Pit bull attacks boy, 2, at home of baby sitter
A 2-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull yesterday at his baby-sitter's home on Maui, officials said.The boy was bitten on his neck, face and head. He was taken to Maui Memorial Center and was recovering from reconstructive surgery, officials said.
The toddler was left unattended while playing with a puppy at a Loha Street home when an adult pit bull attacked at about 8:30 a.m., Maui Humane Society officials said. The 6-year-old pit bull was tied to a tree and the boy was playing nearby.
The dog's owner voluntarily turned in her dog to the humane society where the animal was euthanized, authorities said. The animal had no prior history of violence.
Hilo drug-sniffing dog leads to arrest of 3
A parcel containing more than a pound of crystal methamphetamine has been intercepted by authorities at the Hilo International Airport and led to the arrest of three suspects.A police drug-sniffing dog on Monday alerted authorities to the package at the airport's Federal Express office, police said. The 472 grams of ice inside the package had a street value of at least $35,000, Capt. James Day said. Officers took the package, which originated from the mainland, and delivered it to its destination -- a Lehua Street home in Fern Acres.
When someone at the home accepted the shipment, officers executed a search warrant and found 236 marijuana plants growing on the property, police said.
Three men were arrested in connection with promotion of a dangerous drug and commercial promotion of marijuana. They were released yesterday pending further investigation.
CENTRAL OAHU
Man accused of hitting bus driver on arm
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 in her right arm. The man was arrested at the scene, then released pending investigation.
BACK TO TOP
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[THE COURTS]
Waialua man indicted in 2000 traffic death
A state grand jury indicted a Waialua man yesterday in the traffic death of a 54-year-old Haleiwa man in November 2000.Richard Dayton was charged with first-degree negligent homicide and failure to render aid in the Nov. 27 incident that killed Isaac Kapua.
Kapua was standing in the driveway of his Haleiwa Beach Road home when a green, two-door Cutlass skidded out of control and struck him and a parked Aerostar van.
Police at the time said alcohol and speed were factors in the crash.
Nature group appeals land reclassification
The Sierra Club is challenging the state Land Use Commission's recent decision to reclassify 762 agricultural acres in Waipio and Waiawa to urban use.The conservation group filed a notice of appeal yesterday in Circuit Court asking that developers be enjoined from proceeding with the Koa Ridge Project until an acceptable environmental assessment is prepared.
Named in the complaint were Lawrence Ing, vice chairman of the Land Use Commission; Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc.; Pacific Health Community Inc.; the state Office of Planning; the city Planning and Permitting Board; and the Mililani/Waipio/Melemanu Neighborhood Board No. 25.
The Land Use Commission approved the reclassification on June 21 after a series of hearings despite opposition from the Sierra Club and others.
The redistricting was requested by developer Castle & Cooke, which wants to build a 3,237-home subdivision, and Pacific Health Community, which plans to build a 210-acre health care campus, part of which would replace Wahiawa General Hospital.
2 plead not guilty to tax-avoidance charges
Two men charged with conspiring with others to promote tax-avoidance schemes to defraud the Internal Revenue Service pleaded not guilty Monday in U.S. District Court.Michael Kailing, 56, a tax accountant, and Fred M. Ortiz, 58, a tax-return preparer, were indicted along with Royal Lamarr Hardy, 46, and two others on July 10.
Hardy is the executive director of the Cornerstones of Freedom Research Foundation based in Honolulu that conducts seminars and sells anti-tax packets to residents in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and elsewhere.
Kailing and Ortiz are accused of preparing opinion letters included in these packets that allegedly fraudulently represent that U.S. citizens are not required to file income tax returns or pay taxes. Hardy pleaded not guilty Friday.
Prosecutors amend charge in cop's death
WAILUKU >> The Maui County Prosecutor's Office has filed a more serious charge against a Lahaina man in the June 14 traffic death of retired police Detective Antonio Funes.Deputy Prosecutor Marie Kosegarten amended the charge yesterday to manslaughter from first-degree negligent homicide against 56-year-old Bruce Mauvais.
Manslaughter carries a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison. First-degree negligent homicide carries a 10-year maximum.
Results of a toxicology test show Mauvais' alcohol level was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.
Funes, 54, retired from the police force in 1998. He was struck by a pickup truck near Maalaea while he was working in his private business directing traffic through road construction.
Doctor fined $12,500 for failing to file taxes
A Kaneohe physician has been sentenced to a year of probation and fined $12,500 for failing to file his general excise tax returns from 1996 through 2000.Dr. Taying Yang operated a private medical practice and earned a gross income of about $1,824,656 in the four years, said a news release from the state Department of Taxation. Yang also received rental income of more than $49,000 during that time, the release said.
Yang appeared before District Judge Derrick Chan yesterday and pleaded no contest. Chan also granted Yang a deferred plea, meaning the tax charges will be erased if he abides by the probation terms.
