Ala Wai dredging finishes first phase
The first phase of the $7.4 million Ala Wai Canal dredging was completed Thursday, the Department of Land & Natural Resources said.Since August about 15,000 cubic yards of sediment have been removed from the canal between the Ala Moana and McCully Street bridges.
The contractor, American Marine Corp., will move dredging operations to the mauka side of the McCully Street bridge for Phase 2, the department said.
The department reminds canal users that the bacterial content of the waterway near the dredging work may be higher than normal and that washing with soap and water after contact is recommended.
The entire canal is expected to be dredged by midsummer.
9/11 health benefits program ends Dec. 31
A program established in a special legislative session last year to provide health coverage for people who lost employer-sponsored benefits after Sept. 11, 2001, will end Dec. 31, the state Med-QUEST Division points out.Applications for the 9-11 Net Program will be accepted by the state Department of Human Services through Nov. 20.
For more information, call the DHS at 692-7980 or 692-7982. On the neighbor islands, call toll-free 800-574-0911.
Applications may be obtained from the Med-QUEST Finance Office at 1001 Kamokila Blvd., Suite 317, Kapolei, from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Service to honor slain Arizona nursing staff
A candlelight service will be held from 5 to 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at Central Union Church in tribute to three nursing faculty who were murdered last Monday by a student nurse at the University of Arizona College of Nursing.The Rev. Ted Robinson, senior pastor at Central Union, will perform the service, open to all nurses, educators and nursing students. Deans of local programs will be present.
Contributions will be accepted to the memorial fund for families of the victims.
For more information, call 227-3859.
Maui office move may delay permit services
WAILUKU >> Maui County officials plan to close the offices providing building inspections and electrical and plumbing permits on Wednesday and Thursday.Employees will be moving from trailers and the aquatics conference room into the old Real Property Tax offices at the War Memorial Gym complex.
County officials said during the move, there may be delays in telephone and computer reconnections that may hamper services.
Services are expected to resume Friday. Inquiries may be directed to 270-7379.
Tour shows recycling by city and businesses
For those curious about how the City and County of Honolulu and a number of Oahu businesses reduce trash, recycle it or make good use of it, the city's Tour De Trash 2002 on Nov. 13 may be just the ticket.The annual event features several different bus tours of recycling facilities, waste processors and workplaces with recycling programs. Participants may choose from among six different tours. Among the sites visited are the Honolulu Recovery Systems, Intech, Unitek Solvent Services, AES, Hawaiian Earth Products, HPOWER, Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill, EcoFeed, Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant and more. For a full agenda for each tour, visit www.opala.org.
Participants in the free event must register by Wednesday by calling 692-5410 or online at www.opala.org. The tours all begin at 9:15 a.m. at the Diamond Head parking lot (Piers 5 and 6, near the Navatek Pavilion) and end at 5 p.m. at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.
EPA orders state to fix Lihue runoff problem
LIHUE >> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the state Highways Division on Wednesday to immediately correct a storm runoff problem at a construction site in Lihue.The EPA charged that the agency allowed storm runoff from the project to run into Puhi Stream, which empties into Nawiliwili Bay, for five months. It accused the state of failing to apply for a runoff permit or develop a plan to minimize runoff.
According to the EPA, the Highways Division has been cited twice before for similar violations at other construction sites and is aware of the Clean Water Act requirements.
The Highways Division, which is subject to fines if it does not comply, did not return calls seeking comment.
Yearly HPD blood drive to take place Saturday
The Honolulu Police Department is holding its 12th Annual Windward Community Blood Drive at Benjamin Parker Elementary School in Kaneohe from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday."The blood drive is extremely important because it leads right into the holiday season," said Robyn Yim, Blood Bank of Hawaii president and medical director.
The Windward blood drive is one of the largest one-day blood drives of the year, and it set a record for the most pints collected in a single day in 1999.
Police officers and Blood Bank representatives are scheduling donor appointments for the drive at Windward Safeway stores, Longs Drug stores and keiki ID fairs.
Appointments can also be made by calling the Blood Bank at 845-9966. Walk-ins are also welcome.
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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
WAIKIKI
Waikiki man charged in slaying of prostitute
A Waikiki man has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a prostitute whose body was found Saturday in an apartment next to his fifth-floor apartment.Bail for Donald Marks, 39, of 2509 Ala Wai Boulevard, was set at $100,000.
Police said the victim, a 38-year-old Moiliili woman, was a prostitute who frequented Waikiki. The Honolulu Medical Examiner is withholding her identity pending notification of her next of kin.
Police said the woman's boyfriend went looking for her after she failed to return to her apartment. Her nude body, with multiple stab wounds in the upper torso, was found in an apartment at the Pacific International Condominium.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man held in Big Island stabbing investigation
A 39-year-old man remains in custody in a Kailua-Kona cell block pending an assault charge in connection with the stabbing of a Kailua-Kona man Saturday.Officers responding to a call of a stabbing at a Kailua-Kona apartment complex Saturday night found a resident, a 44-year-old man, with two puncture wounds in his upper torso, police said.
The victim was taken to Kona Community Hospital where he underwent surgery and is now in satisfactory condition.
HONOLULU
Boy, 16, arrested for alleged BB gun threat
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy yesterday morning after he allegedly threatened a hospital security guard with a BB gun.Sometime before 3 a.m., police said, the boy entered the emergency room at Queen's Medical Center, brandished a BB gun and threatened two men -- ages 16 and 26 -- as they entered the hospital.
Police said no verbal threats were made, only "what and why comments."
Confronted by hospital security, the boy lifted his shirt, revealing the BB gun, and said, "What, I'll cap you, too," police said.
The boy was being held for investigation of second-degree terroristic threatening charges.
WINDWARD OAHU
Police investigate baby's head fracture
Police are investigating how a 6-month-old girl's skull was fractured.The infant was taken to Kahuku Hospital where staff found fractures on the right side of her skull, police said. The infant was taken to the hospital between 5 and 8 a.m. Saturday. She later was transferred to Kapiolani Medical Center.
