Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin Staff
State security system retains yellow status
The state security alert system will remain at level yellow despite the federal government's decision to lower the national terror alert level from orange to yellow yesterday."While there is still no credible threat to Hawaii, current intelligence indicates Hawaii should maintain the current yellow level consistent with the federal level," said Gov. Linda Lingle.
"It's important for all of us to remain vigilant, as our military and local security team continue to ensure our homeland security."
City wants Audubon to manage Waimea Park
The Harris administration announced yesterday that it wants the National Audubon Society to become the new manager of Waimea Falls Park, beginning June 26.Under the proposal, the society would lease the 1,800-acre park for 30 years at $1 a year.
The city is expected to complete purchase of the formerly privately owned facility under condemnation proceedings this summer.
City Council approval is needed to finalize Audubon's selection as park manager.
The conservation group was one of two qualified applicants who made proposals to operate the park.
The other was Waimea Management Corp., the park's current operator. Company president Ray Greene's proposal, which he never made public, was characterized as being more oriented to amusement and adventure activities.
Audubon's proposal features development of the park's botanical, cultural and conservation aspects, with an emphasis on education and serving local residents, said Diana King, Audubon project manager.
City Managing Director Ben Lee said he didn't expect Greene's objection to slow the transfer of operation to Audubon.
Fajardo's fees again before police panel
An attorney representing retired Assistant Police Chief Rafael Fajardo asked the Honolulu Police Commission yesterday to reconsider its denial of having the city pay Fajardo's legal fees in the 2001 cellblock food case.Commission Chairman Ronald Taketa said members have yet to make a decision.
On July 31, four commissioners voted not to pay Fajardo's legal fees.
Fajardo pleaded no contest to second-degree theft in February. He was accused of authorizing purchase of food consumed by police officers and higher-ups under the pretense that they were feeding detainees at the Central Receiving Division.
End-of-life care expert will hold workshop
Ana Zir, project coordinator for improving end-of-life care at the Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii, will be featured in a workshop from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ward Warehouse.Zir has more than 25 years of experience working with terminally ill people and their families, and she has a practice providing care for the dying and support to survivors.
"Coping with End of Life Issues: Facing Impending Death and Feelings of Grief and Loss" is free but donations are welcome. It will be held in the Kakaako Room on the second floor of the complex.
For reservation or more information, call 591-2771. The Alzheimer's Association-Aloha Chapter is sponsoring the event.
Schools are invited to Kuakini open house
Kuakini Health System invites schools to attend its annual open house from 8 a.m. to noon May 8 and 9.Teachers or parents interested in placing a school on the invitation list should call 547-9168. Schools must be on the list to be eligible to attend.
About 1,300 students, from preschoolers to high school seniors, attended the event last year to learn about health care, careers and a healthy lifestyle.
The open house will feature exhibits from Kuakini's medical departments, including dietary, emergency and imaging services, surgery and medical education. Hands-on displays will feature a city ambulance, city lifeguards and a U.S. Army medevac helicopter.
For more information, call Kuakini's public relations office at 547-9168.
Arthritis group plans indoor mall walks
The Arthritis Foundation has scheduled two one-mile indoor mall walks to raise funds to fight arthritis, which affects one in four Hawaii residents.About 300,000 children nationwide suffer from juvenile arthritis, which is more prevalent than juvenile diabetes or cerebral palsy, the foundation said.
The walks will be held May 4 at Windward Mall and May 18 at Pearlridge-Uptown. Registration will be at 8 a.m. and the walks at 9 a.m. Participants should meet by the food court at the malls.
No registration fee is needed, but participants are encouraged to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Anyone who raises $100 will receive a T-shirt and Arthritis Today magazine.
Call 596-2900 to register and receive a fund-raising packet. Registration also can be done online at: www.arthritis.org/events/ArthritisWalk/form.asp.
Sports medicine update set for health workers
Advances in surgical, evaluation and rehabilitation in sports medicine will be presented at a seminar for health care practitioners Saturday at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel.Dr. Andrew Nichols, University of Hawaii head team physician, and Tom McConnell, physical therapist and owner of Greater Pittsburgh Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, will be among speakers.
The event will begin with continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and continue to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $175. Meals are included. For information, call 432-2180.
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>>Pearl Harbor Federal Credit Union employees sold more than 1,200 bags of chocolate chip cookies and 130 entertainment books recently to raise nearly $2,000 to donate to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii. [Taking Notice]
>>The International Association for Exhibition Management, Hawaii Chapter, has donated $1,000 to Hawaii Pacific University to support an endowed scholarship fund established in honor of Allan Woodrow, former HPU instructor and a leader in the tourism and convention industry.
>>The YWCA of Oahu received two grants for Dress for Success Honolulu, a program providing career attire and emotional support to women in transition. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation awarded $10,000 through the "Sharing the Joys of the Holiday" project. The Bank of Hawaii Foundation donated $15,000 to the program.
|Taking Notice runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. L Please send items to City Desk, Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.
>> Eighty percent of the petroglyph carvings on the Na Kii Pohaku (Petroglyph) Walk at the Big Island Waikoloa Petroglyph Preserve comprise dots and circles. In the Hawaii's Back Yard column on Page F1 Sunday, the word "percent" was omitted. Corrections and clarifications
>> Outgoing Big Island Circuit Judge Riki May Amano signed an order April 8 imposing fines on two attorneys involved in the police exam cheating case. An article on Page A3 Tuesday incorrectly said that she had signed the order on Friday.
>> Maui Memorial Medical Center no longer has a helicopter pad; an April 2 story on Page A9 incorrectly said that it does. The story also had emergency medical technician Scotty Schaefer saying that it takes seven hours for airplane ambulance service to get a patient from a Molokai accident scene to an Oahu hospital. Schaefer clarified that it usually takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours, but a seven-hour trip can occur due to weather and multiple calls for air ambulance.
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
HONOLULU
Police defend closing part of freeway
Homicide and traffic investigators had to close a portion of the H-1 Freeway yesterday morning to investigate the death of a 44-year-old woman who apparently jumped onto the Koko Head-bound lanes from the Queen Emma Street overpass, said police traffic division Maj. Bryan Wauke.The closure, from 5:25 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., caused traffic jams on all the major roadways into Honolulu from Leeward Oahu, the Pali Highway from Windward Oahu and all the surface streets in Honolulu. Numerous motorists who had to endure bumper-bumper traffic for hours complained to police.
But the closure was necessary to allow evidence gathering, Wauke said, and "I think (the investigators) did it relatively quick."
5 people escape fire that damages home
Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire that damaged a home at 2375 Roundtop Drive yesterday.Five people were home but all escaped unharmed, said Capt. Kenison Tejada. The fire damaged a room in the three-story concrete home, he said.
Hawaii fugitive to be extradited from Calif.
Francisco Mendes, 34, wanted on a grand jury indictment charging him with sexual assault of a girl, was arrested in San Diego Saturday.Mendes was featured in a CrimeStoppers bulletin. He is expected to be extradited to Honolulu next month for trial.
NORTH SHORE
Robber slashes woman who refuses demands
A robber slashed a woman with a knife last night when she refused to give him money, police said.The woman, 25, was walking on Haleiwa Beach, across from Jameson's By the Sea restaurant, at about 9 p.m. when the robber came up from behind, police said. He put a knife to her throat and demanded money. When she refused his demand, he slashed her chest and fled empty-handed.
The woman received a superficial cut from a small knife, police said.
The robber is described as in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches, with light brown, shoulder-length hair and a fair complexion. He was wearing a light-colored T-shirt and khaki shorts.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Murder charges filed in head-injury death
Detectives charged a 28-year-old man with second-degree murder yesterday in the death of Michael Rhett Hackmeyer, who died of head injuries.Casey Eason of North Kona was arrested Monday. He is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
On April 10, family members reported Hackmeyer missing. That night, his partially decomposed body was found along the road to Makalawena Beach by a family member.
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[Courts]
Former health center exec, husband charged
The former executive director of the Waimanalo Health Center has been charged as an accomplice for allegedly helping her husband obtain more than $19,000 in welfare assistance to which he was not entitled.Radine Kamakea-Ohelo, 50, who goes by Kawahine Kamakea-Ohelo, and husband Clyde Kamakea-Ohelo, 52, were indicted yesterday by an Oahu grand jury with second-degree theft.
Kamaka-Ohelo's husband is accused of reporting that he was living on the beach when in fact he was living with his wife.
He would not have qualified for public assistance if he was living with his wife, said Deputy Attorney General Rick Damerville.
Last December, Kamakea-Ohelo was removed from her position without pay amid allegations that she misused state and federal funds and complaints from former employees that she intimidated them.
Photos of girl lead to soldier's indictment
A federal grand jury has indicted a 33-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier for allegedly engaging in a sexual act with a 15-year-old girl.Jesus Norberto Evans-Martinez, an Army sergeant, was arrested on March 21 for allegedly taking pornographic pictures with the girl at his home at Schofield Barracks.
FBI agents seized computers at his home and discovered images of Evans-Martinez touching the girl's breasts and genitalia and having other sexual contact, according to the indictment.
Evans-Martinez faces a maximum jail term of 15 years and a $250,000 fine for sexual abuse of a minor. He is being held at the Federal Detention Center.
Woman indicted over minors' sexual images
A 25-year-old Manoa woman was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for allegedly possessing a computer hard drive that contained images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.Lani L. Hansen faces maximum penalties of five years in jail and a $250,000 fine for sexual exploitation of children.
According to a court document, the images were produced, shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce. A date for Hansen's arraignment has yet to be scheduled.
2 men charged in case involving Viagra sales
Two men were charged for allegedly dispensing 180 Viagra tablets to an individual.According to a special agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the male impotence pill is a prescription drug that can only be dispensed by a licensed practitioner.
Based on an affidavit, an individual told two special agents on March 17 that he or she had purchased numerous Viagra tablets from Yoshiro Kurashima and Morikatsu Hirata for six months.
The person called Kurashima and asked for six bottles of Viagra and was told that it would cost $300 a bottle, according to a court document.
On April 15, Kurashima and Hirata met the person at the Honolulu Zoo parking lot where they handed the individual six bottles of Viagra, the document said.
