High court refuses Kauai firm's appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to hear an appeal of a challenge to a federal rule requiring tour helicopters in Hawaii to fly at a minimum 1,500 feet.Kauai-based Safari Helicopter Tours had challenged the Special Federal Aviation Administration Regulation (SFAR 71) issued in 1994 after a rash of deadly helicopter and tour plane crashes in the islands.
It was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 1995 challenge brought by the Hawaii Helicopter Operators Association, and again in August after Safari challenged the FAA's move in 2000 to extend the original SFAR 71 for three more years. Safari argued that the rule actually decreases aviation safety and increases the risk of predictable accident scenarios.
Safari's attorney, David Bettencourt, said he was disappointed by the high court's decision not to consider the challenge to the rule. "It's made helicopter flights more noisy and more dangerous," he said.
In support of its 1994 rule, the FAA noted last year that between 1982 and 1991, during a nine-year period of substantial growth in the tour industry, there were eight air tour accidents in Hawaii resulting in 24 deaths. It noted that in the following three years through July 1994, there were 20 air tour accidents and 24 deaths.
In the challenge to extending the rule for three years, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court in San Francisco ruled Aug. 26 that the FAA had a rational basis for the rule and had not denied Safari an opportunity to participate in the rule-making process.
State transportation has new spokesman
The state Department of Transportation named Scott Ishikawa as its new spokesman, effective today.Ishikawa, a reporter for the Honolulu Advertiser since 1996, replaces Marilyn Kali, who will work in the department's Airports Division.
Ishikawa is charged with handling news media inquiries as well as working with the community on various state transportation projects.
"I've covered the communities for nearly a dozen years, and I'm very aware of the area traffic congestion problems, commuting from Mililani to downtown each day," he said. "I hope to use that expertise and my relationship with community leaders in helping resolve those traffic issues."
|
>> The suspect in Saturday's fatal shooting in Waipahu is Emanuelu Tunoa. A story on page A 1 in yesterday's afternoon edition had an incorrect spelling of the suspect's first name. Corrections and clarifications
>> The exhibit called "The Legacy of Chiune Sugihara" will open at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii. An incorrect time was printed Saturday on Page A10. Also, the public -- at $3 per person -- is invited to view the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays until April 30.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Opihi picker drowns off the Big Island
PAHALA, Hawaii >> An 18-year-old Big Island man died yesterday when he was swept into the ocean while picking opihi at Kawa Bay near Punaluu in the Kau District, the county Fire Department said.Police identified the victim as Dino Kaaawa, of Naalehu. Kaaawa was picking opihi shortly after 1 p.m. when the accident happened, family members told officials at the scene.
Two county helicopters were unable to locate Kaaawa, but a snorkeler noticed his body in 60-foot-deep water, fire officials said. Fire Department divers then retrieved the body.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Big Island police are looking for $45,000 worth of 19th-century Chinese artifacts stolen last week from a Hilo residence. Some of the items include a carved ivory tusk (top), an ivory incense burner (left) and a jade carving of flowers (right).
Hilo thief makes off with Chinese artifacts
Big Island police are seeking the public's help in locating more than $45,000 worth of 19th-century Chinese artifacts stolen from a Hilo residence last week.Police said the items were stolen sometime between March 18 and Wednesday along with several pieces of jewelry -- a necklace, rings and a bracelet -- valued at more than $500. The stolen artifacts were an ivory incense burner, valued at $22,000; a carved ivory tusk, valued at $3,500; and a jade carving of flowers, valued at $20,000.
Anyone with information about the theft or the whereabouts of the stolen items is asked to call officer Darren Horio at 961-2311 or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
HONOLULU
Coast Guard saves powerboat at Ala Wai
U.S. Coast Guard rescuers assisted four people in a 16-foot powerboat that was swamped near the entrance to the Ala Wai Canal yesterday afternoon.Coast Guard officials said that about 3:20 p.m., high surf overcame the powerboat and almost pushed it up against the rocks. Two Coast Guard vessels were sent out to assist, one to transfer people off the powerboat, while another vessel towed it to a nearby boat ramp. Coast Guard officials said the people in the boat were not injured.
EAST HONOLULU
Man arrested in probe of car theft
An 18-year-old man was arrested yesterday for car theft investigation after police found him pouring beer onto a stolen car.Police said a 19-year-old woman reported that she parked her car on Halemanumau St. near Niu Valley Shopping Center and left her keys in the ignition. Shortly after, about 12:35 p.m., she saw a man drive off with her car.
Police found her car about 6:10 p.m. on Kumukumu Street in Hawaii Kai. Two men were pouring beer on the car, police said. One of the men, an 18-year-old Kuliouou resident, was arrested.
BACK TO TOP |
[The Courts]
Judge finds suspect fit for murder trial
Circuit Judge Reynaldo Graulty has found a Waikiki man fit to go to trial on a murder charge stemming from allegedly pushing former Star-Bulletin freelance sportswriter Jack Wyatt into the Ala Wai Canal, causing his death.Graulty concurred yesterday with three doctors who examined Cline Kahue, 48, and concluded that he understands the charges against him and can now assist in his defense.
Kahue is accused of shoving Wyatt and a woman into the canal and attacking another woman on June 18. He allegedly had stopped taking his medication and had been admitted to the Queen's Medical Center psychiatric unit just a couple of days earlier.
Isle high court orders lawyer to stop practice
Honolulu attorney Don Wilkerson has been put on inactive status by the Hawaii Supreme Court effective last Friday due to disability, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel announced yesterday.Wilkerson will not be allowed to practice law until the Supreme Court determines he is capable of continuing.
Wilkerson, whose past clients included convicted city housing official Michael Kahapea in the Ewa Villages scandal, could not be reached for comment.
Malicious prosecution claims are dismissed
Circuit Judge Gary Chang has dismissed claims by former Kamehameha Schools trustee Richard "Dickie" Wong against the Attorney General Department for malicious prosecution.But he kept alive claims against two investigators who did work for the state attorney general in the alleged kickback case against Wong that involved Bishop Estate land in Hawaii Kai.
The state had obtained indictments in 1999 against Wong, former wife Mari and her brother, local developer Jeffrey Stone. A state judge later overturned the charges, saying state prosecutors had illegally bolstered the grand jury testimony of Stone's former attorney, who was convicted of federal money-laundering charges. The Hawaii Supreme Court later upheld the ruling.
