Society dinner honors Japan's consul general
Japanese Consul General Minoru Shibuya and his wife, Harumi, will be honored Sept. 24 at the Japan-America Society of Hawaii annual dinner at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel.Registration and no-host cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m.
Shibuya, who will leave his post Sept. 20, will deliver a farewell address. He will be available to meet the public in the hotel's Niihau Suite from 4 to 6 p.m.
For more information on table sponsorship, individual seats or donations, call 524-4450.
Federal health grant to aid fight against TB
Hawaii is one of three states to receive a federal grant for "Improving Tuberculosis Contact Investigations in Foreign-Born Populations," a project aimed at stopping the spread of tuberculosis.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the Department of Health's Tuberculosis Control Program $166,810 a year for two years for the project.
"Hawaii's TB rate is one of the highest in the nation, with a high proportion of foreign-born cases, which means we must take an aggressive approach to TB control," said Dr. Jessie Wing, chief of the state's TB program.
An outreach team works with a patient's household, social and occupational contacts, offering free testing, evaluation and TB preventive medicine if necessary.
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>> Seventh-grader Mary "Toka" Beech of St. Andrew's Priory has been selected as one of national 400 semifinalists in the 2002 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge contest. Her entry was her sixth-grade science project, titled "The Effect of Light on the Vitamin Content of Juice," at the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools Science and Engineering Fair. [ TAKING NOTICE ]
>> The University of Hawaii-Manoa's School of Travel Industry Management's Bachelor of Science program recently received the Tourism Education and Quality Certification from the World Tourism Organization.
>> James Campbell High School has been selected as one of six schools nationwide to participate in a research project on how to improve college preparation, access and success for students. The Pathways to College Network is focusing on low-income underrepresented minority and first-generation students.
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>> Lisa-Katherine Otsuka was charged with one count of criminal contempt of court, and her bail was set at $10,000. A story on Page A3 yesterday incorrectly reported that she was charged with four counts and that bail was set at $40,000. Corrections and clarifications
>> Pam Witty-Oakland, a City Council candidate for District 1 (Leeward Coast-Ewa-Kapolei), moved from Makakilo, where she had lived since 1987, to Kapolei earlier this year. An article Tuesday on Page A5 said incorrectly that she lived in Mililani.
An article on Page D3 on Monday incorrectly listed the contact number for registration for the upcoming Bamboo Ridge Writers Institute in October. The correct number is 626-1481.
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
HONOLULU
Police seek assistance in identifying suspect
Police want help identifying a man caught on surveillance camera video breaking into cars in a Makiki condominium parking lot in June.
The man was seen in the video shattering the driver's-side windows of several cars at 1251 Heulu St. between the evening of June 1 and the early morning hours of June 2, police said.
He is described as in his late teens or early 20s, 5 feet 8, 160 pounds, with a medium build, short dark hair, clean shaven, wearing a dark shirt and denim shorts.
Anyone with information may call Detective Walter Calistro at 547-7213 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Police arrest man, 70, on sex assault charge
Police charged a 70-year-old University area man yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl.Police arrested Lon Polk at 4:30 p.m. yesterday while he was attempting to check in at Queen's Medical Center. Earlier this week, the victim's family confronted Polk after she disclosed the assaults, police said.
Police charged him with one count of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of attempted sexual assault.
Polk remains in custody in lieu of $150,000 bail.
Woman finds bomb in Makiki Heights
A woman discovered an explosive device in Makiki Heights yesterday morning, police said.The 51-year-old Makiki woman was showing groundskeepers where they were to work, when she noticed an object on the ground under some bushes and picked it up, police said.
She noticed it appeared to be an explosive device, placed it on a storm drain near the street and called police. The police bomb squad recovered the improvised explosive and "rendered it safe."
The incident occurred near Makiki Heights Drive and Makiki Street.
WINDWARD OAHU
2 men accused of helping in escape
Police arrested two Kailua men for hindering prosecution for allegedly helping 10 teenage girls escape the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.Police arrested the men, ages 18 and 23, at 2 p.m. yesterday at 555 Keolu Drive in Enchanted Lake.
The inmates escaped the Kailua facility Aug. 31 after overpowering two guards employed by Child and Family Services. Three of them were still at large last night. The men were released pending further investigation.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle firefighter critically hurt in fall
HILO >> A Hawaii County firefighter who fell 100 feet Wednesday in a huge, old lava tube has been identified by the Fire Department as Brent Matsuda, 41. Matsuda remained in critical condition at Queen's Medical Center last night, the hospital said.Matsuda suffered broken ribs and vertebrae and injured internal organs in the fall, which took place while he was searching with other firefighters for three hunters reported missing in the area of "Captain's Trail," which leads through heavily forested land toward the Puu Oo eruption area from the rural Fern Forest subdivision south of Hilo.
Matsuda was pulled from the 100-foot-deep hole by fellow firefighters using ropes, then taken by helicopter to Hilo Hospital. From there he was transferred by air ambulance to Queen's.
The three hunters walked safely out of the forest without assistance.
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[ THE COURTS ]
Bank claims Fongs are behind on mortgage
Bank of Hawaii has filed a foreclosure suit against Senator Fong's Plantation & Gardens Inc. in Kahaluu.The 725-acre nature garden is a popular tourist attraction, especially to Japanese visitors.
According to the suit filed yesterday in Circuit Court, former U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong and his wife, Ellyn, obtained a $1 million loan in April 1987 to purchase the land under the gardens.
The Fongs transferred the property in April 1988 to the corporation, which assumed the mortgage.
In 1996 the Fongs and the corporation sought an extension of the loan for three years on the principal amount of $880,202. The loan was subsequently extended for another year until November 2001.
The suit said the corporation defaulted on its obligations to pay in full all amounts owing on or before Feb. 15, 2002.
As of Aug. 31 the corporation owed $698,867, plus $5,555 in interest and $54,792 in late charges, the suit alleges.
The suit asks that judgment be entered in favor of Bank of Hawaii and that the bank be allowed to sell stock that the Fongs pledged as security for the loan, among other relief.
The Fongs could not be reached for comment.
Hawaii Kai resident admits to porn charge
A 31-year-old Hawaii Kai resident pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing child pornography over the Internet.Ryan T. Ching faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 30 by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.
U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. said Ching admitted to setting up a file server in Internet chat rooms and using it to trade child pornography.
A file server allows others access to a computer directly enabling users to download files into their own computers.
Moreover, Ching admitted to setting up a system where users were given a certain amount of credit to download data. If users exhausted their initial credits, they had to send images to Ching's computer to obtain new credits which could be used to get more images, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs Service's Office of Investigations and state Attorney General's Investigation Division.
Businessman charged with tax violations
A Honolulu grand jury has charged the owner of Page Marine Tours Ltd. with multiple misdemeanor and felony violations.Jeffrey Page was charged with three counts of failing to file the corporation's annual general excise tax returns for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000; one count of failing to file the corporation's annual state withholding tax return for the year 2000; two counts of filing false individual income tax returns for the years 1999 and 2000; and one count of theft in the second degree for receiving state tax refunds for the years 1999 and 2000 that he was not entitled to receive.
Page faces a $25,000 maximum fine and a year in prison for each count of failure to file a tax return; a $100,000 maximum fine and up to three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return; and a $10,000 maximum fine and five years in prison for the theft count.
