HILO >> The Hawaii County Council moved yesterday to stop the use of condominium laws to divide up agricultural lands without roads, water and other services. Hawaii Council moves to reform condo laws
Although the word "condominium" normally suggests apartment units, the law has also been applied to homes and land parcels.
The council unanimously gave preliminary passage to a bill that requires rural condominium land parcels to meet the same infrastructure requirements that subdivided parcels require.
County Planning Director Chris Yuen said the process of subdividing big parcels into smaller ones has many rules attached.
Developers have bypassed subdivision rules by dividing land using condominium laws, he said.
The only major objection to linking condominium approval to subdivision standards came from the state Real Estate Commission, which wrote that the county does not have the power to make the linkage.
County lawyers determined the county does have the power, Yuen said.
The bill provides exemptions for three groups of property owners who began the process of using the condominium law to divide their land before June 19, 2001: those who filed a written declaration of their intent, those who had two dwellings or permits for dwellings on one parcel, or those who committed money such as attorneys' fees.
Murdered woman had numerous stab wounds
Ruby Mabanag died Saturday of multiple stab wounds to her abdomen -- two in the front and two on the left side, said Kanthi Von Guenthner, city chief medical examiner.
Mabanag, 53, also had what Von Guenthner described as defensive stab wounds to the palms of both hands and to her left arm and forearm. She also had cuts to the back of her thighs.
Von Guenthner testified yesterday in the preliminary hearing of Mabanag's accused killer, Samie Raspado Calaro.
Following Von Guenthner's testimony, Honolulu District Judge Clarence Pacarro determined that there was enough evidence to support the second-degree murder charge against the 44-year-old Calaro and forwarded the case to Circuit Court for trial.
Calaro's arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 12. He remains in custody in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Calaro was arrested at the Wahiawa residence he shared with Mabanag. Before she was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital, where she later died, Mabanag identified her boyfriend Calaro as her attacker.
Electricity usage topped records
on humid Monday and TuesdayMuggy, humid weather on Monday and Tuesday pushed electricity usage to all-time highs, according to the Hawaiian Electric Co.
Oahu surpassed a day usage peak of 1,213,000 kilowatts of electricity set in September 1997 by using 1,227,000 kilowatts yesterday and 1,219,000 kilowatts on Monday.
The neighbor islands also recorded record peaks on Monday: Maui used 180,400 kilowatts and the Big Island used 161,700 kilowatts.
Chris Shirai, HECO vice president for energy delivery, said air conditioners are mainly to blame for the high usage.
"Electric usage goes up during the day usually because air conditioners are working harder to cool buildings and homes," he said.
Jeff Powell, a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service, said the "uncomfortable" humid weather was caused by a moisture bubble over the islands.
The bout brought no record temperatures, but the air felt hotter than it really was because of the wet air, he said.
Pali Highway accident snarls kailua-bound traffic
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Traffic came to a standstill yesterday afternoon on Pali Highway when a flatbed truck lost control and slid sideways, pinning a car against a guardrail and blocking both lanes of Kailua-bound traffic. Police used saws to separate the truck's rear bumper from the car's front passenger-side fender, taking a little more than an hour before finally clearing the accident.
Electric wheelchairs available for seniors
Electric wheelchairs are available from Miracle on Wheels for nonambulatory senior citizens, usually at no out-of-pocket cost if they qualify, the company announced.The wheelchairs are provided to those who cannot walk or propel a manual wheelchair in their home or independent living quarters and who meet other qualifications. The service also may be available to permanently disabled people of any age.
Call 800-749-8778 for more information, or see the Web site www.durablemedical.com.
The program's goal is to develop public awareness that there are options to allow senior citizens and permanently disabled people to remain independent in their own homes, Miracle on Wheels said.
'An Afternoon of Art' on tap as fund-raiser
The Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii will sponsor "An Afternoon of Art" from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Pegge Hopper Gallery on Nuuanu Avenue.The fund-raiser will feature artwork for viewing and sale by Hopper and other local artists. Part of the proceeds will benefit the coalition.
Indigo Restaurant will cater the event. Tickets may be purchased from Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies for $45 for one person and $65 for two. Tickets can be reserved by calling the coalition at 951-5805.
The 16-year-old nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving healthy outcomes in pregnant women, their babies and families through community coordination, education and advocacy.
Heart group to host benefit walk and fair
The American Heart Association of Hawaii will hold its ninth Hawaii Heart Walk and Health Fair Aug. 10 at Kapiolani Park, with registration at 6 a.m. and the walk starting at 7 a.m.Participants can go either one mile around the park or 4.5 miles around Diamond Head.
Larry O'Brien, chief executive officer of Kapiolani Medical Center and co-chairman of the heart walk, said heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in Hawaii and is responsible for nearly half of all deaths.
"Every 33 seconds someone dies from cardiovascular disease, and every 53 seconds someone suffers a stroke," he said.
The walk will include a keiki fun fair, live entertainment, food booths and a health fair offering free blood pressure and cholesterol screening, stroke risk assessment and other activities.
For more information, to register a team or to obtain a walker packet, call the American Heart Association of Hawaii at 538-7021.
[Taking Notice]
GRANTS
>> Hawaii Public Television/PBS has been granted renewed support by the Verizon Foundation, Verizon Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University and the Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust.>> The Hawaii Primary Care Association has received grants of $60,000 from the Robert Emens Black Fund and $40,000 from the Gwenfread Elaine Allen Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation. The grants will be used to help community health centers deliver dental and mental health services.
>> The Life Foundation, Hawaii's largest AIDS service organization, has received a $25,000 donation from a partnership between Macy's and M.A.C. cosmetics.
>> The Disabled American Veterans has been awarded a three-year $25,000 grant from First Hawaiian Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank, to support the veteran's Keehi Lagoon Memorial. The grant will help the organization build three small pavilions to be used by youth, veteran and community groups.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
>> Kit Okimoto, a 2000 graduate of Iolani from Waianae, has received the Ralph White Prize in Mathematics and the President's Prize at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.>> U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink has been honored with the Henry T. Yost Award for congressional leadership in higher-education issues by the American Association of University Professors.
COURTESY PHOTO
Bess Press donated books to the Hawaii State Library at a ceremony earlier this year. From left: author Sandi Takayama; Edna Weeks, head of the Hawaii State Library's Young Adult Section; Benjamin Bess, publisher of Bess Press; Dave Del Rocco, Children's librarian, Hawaii State Library; and author Sandra Kimberley Hall.
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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
HONOLULU
Man drowns, possibly after suffering stroke
A 41-year-old man drowned at Ala Moana Beach yesterday after apparently suffering a stroke.Police said the man was at the beach with his family when he died. Details were not available but police said the drowning occurred close to shore about 4:30 p.m.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Island police seek escaped male prisoner
HILO >> Police were searching this morning for an inmate who escaped from the Hale Nani Correctional Facility yesterday.Floyd Chapman III, 32, was discovered missing from the minimum-security facility, which is south of Hilo, during an 11:40 a.m. head count, police said.
Chapman is 5 feet 9, 140 pounds, slim, with brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with the words "Hale Nani" on the back.
Anyone with information is asked to call Big Island police, 935-3311; or CrimeStoppers, 961-8300.
Hilo area man held in death of wife, 27
HILO >> Police have arrested a 38-year-old Pepeekeo man for investigation in the murder of his former wife Tuesday night.Gloria Gorospe, 27, of Old Onomea Road, Pepeekeo, was found dead on the floor of her Pepeekeo home, police said. Police did not say how she died, but an autopsy has been ordered. Police said they were notified by a phone call at 9 p.m. Tuesday. They found the suspect at a house in Hilo, and he led police to the Pepeekeo home where the victim's body was found.
The couple had been married "until recently," police said.
