Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin Staff
Isle airports receive $23 million from DOT
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded more than $23 million to Hawaii airports, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Urban Oahu) said yesterday.The funding is primarily for safety and security improvements, and includes $10.31 million for Honolulu Airport, nearly $3.8 million for the Kalaeloa airport in West Oahu and more than $3.4 million for the Lihue airport on Kauai.
In addition, the Keahole-Kona airport will receive about $2.9 million, the Hilo airport will receive about $2.4 million and Kahului's airport will receive $187,500.
Attorney suspended for harassing official
The Hawaii Supreme Court has suspended Big Island attorney Mark Van Pernis from practicing law in the state for at least three months.The suspension was for "harassing a court commissioner and using means which had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay or burden that commissioner," the high court said in a statement this week.
In suspending Van Pernis, of Kona, the court cited three previous disciplinary actions as evidence of a pattern of recidivism.
Van Pernis, 56, was defending a client when he interfered with the foreclosure order and the court commissioner, the court said.
The suspension begins Aug. 10, and he will not be allowed to practice law in Hawaii until reinstated by the Supreme Court.
Mighty Mo will be part of world radio event
Amateur radio enthusiasts can experience a U.S. battleship's radio room aboard the USS Missouri as part of the annual "Museum Ships Weekend" from tomorrow through Sunday.The event is part of a worldwide amateur radio event that highlights long-distance ham radio communication, which was highly used before the arrival of personal computers, satellites and the Internet.
Members of the Missouri's amateur radio club, KH6BB, will participate in the worldwide communication from 2 p.m. tomorrow to 2 p.m. Sunday. Participants will showcase their radio skills while talking with others on museum ships around the world.
The Missouri's radio room will be open to visitors, offering a rare behind-the-scenes view of the communications room -- an area once used for emergency communication, code breaking and transcribing classified information.
The Battleship Missouri Memorial's hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information on the Missouri, call 423-2263, toll-free at 877-MIGHTYMO, or visit www.ussmissouri.org.
Videotape gives advice to adults who stutter
A 55-minute videotape with therapy strategies to help people who stutter is available at the McCully-Moiliili Public Library and Manoa Public Library."If You Stutter: Advice for Adults" was produced by the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation.
Barry Guitar, University of Vermont professor who is one of six experts appearing in the video, said it is "meant to give stutterers some insight into the tools they need to begin dealing with stuttering, but it also offers good ideas for family members, speech-language pathologists and health care professionals."
Men and women who stutter discuss their experiences and techniques that have helped them. To get a copy of the tape, send $5 for postage and handling to Stuttering Foundation, P.O. Box 11749, Memphis, TN 38111-0749. Call 800-992-9392 for more information or see www.stutteringhelp.org.
Learn how to help people with dementia
Suggestions and products to help keep people with dementia from wandering will be presented from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 26 in the Kakaako Room on the second floor of Ward Warehouse.Sara Funamura, education and training coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association-Aloha Chapter, will give a talk titled "There's No Place Like Home" from 10 to 11 a.m.
Families and caregivers are invited to the free program, which will be followed by a products exhibit from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Safe Return registration also will be available for a $40 fee. Scholarships are available for those needing financial aid.
For reservations or information, call 591-2771.
Free immunizations offered to school kids
The Salvation Army's Kona Community Clinic will provide 200 Kona and West Hawaii schoolchildren with immunizations and physical exams, thanks to a $4,922 grant from the West Hawaii Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation.The grant enables the clinic to provide the services to families without medical insurance and those with limited coverage.
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[Taking Notice]
>> Castle High School senior Sean Connelly has received the $1,000 National Federation of Independent Business Free Enterprise Scholars award for demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit and initiative. He plans to attend California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo this fall.>> Dr. Valli Kalei Kanuha, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has been awarded the 2002 W.E.B. DuBois Research Fellowship from the National Institute of Justice. The annual award is given to a researcher who will contribute to the institute's research on crime, violence and the administration of justice.
>> Holo Ho'opai, of Ke Kula 'O Nawahiokalani'o pu'u (Nawahi campus), a Hawaiian immersion school that is a satellite campus of Hilo High School, is the first immersion student to earn the valedictorian title among eight others from Hilo High. He plans to attend Stanford University and study political science.
>> Jana Yakushiji, of Mililani, has received $1,500 from the Scholarships for Military Children program at Schofield Barracks. She plans to attend the University of the Pacific.
>> William Shimomura, of Lutheran High School of Hawaii, has been selected to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference this summer in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
"Taking Notice" runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Please send items to City Desk, Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffWINDWARD OAHU
Waimanalo man in custody over alleged failed robbery
A 26-year-old Waimanalo man turned himself in to police Tuesday in connection with a botched Kailua robbery on July 2.Police said the suspect is under investigation as one of three masked men who demanded payment of a debt from a man but fled when they realized they had the wrong man.
The victim, 33, told police the masked men kicked down the door to his room and called him "Bobby." One of the masked men also hit him on the head with the butt of a shotgun, the victim reported.
The masked men fled in a stolen car, which officers spotted and followed to a wooded area in Waimanalo. The men fled, and police recovered a loaded shotgun in the car.
The suspect was being held for investigation of robbery, kidnapping, two firearms violations and auto theft.
WAIKIKI
Bomb threat suspect allegedly seen on tape
Honolulu police and the Army Criminal Investigative Division are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who allegedly called in a bomb threat at the Hale Koa Hotel on Monday evening.Hotel surveillance photos captured the suspect on hotel property sometime after the threat was made at 8:30 p.m. The threat was directed to the Armed Forces Recreation Center at the Hale Koa.
The suspect is described as in his mid-30s, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing 250 pounds, with a heavy build, curly red hair, a mustache and a fair complexion. He was last seen wearing a black Irish Rose Saloon T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.
Anyone with information about this case may call Jennifer Bryan, Army Criminal Investigation Division special agent, directly at 655-6773. Anonymous calls may also be made to CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Fraud suspect caught by Big Island police
CrimeStoppers and the Hawaii County Police Department announced that Henry Kaiser, who was wanted for a theft indictment, was arrested on the Big Island earlier this week.Kaiser, 46, was wanted for questioning in Big Island theft cases and a construction fraud case in which a man paid for services that were never completed, police said.
HONOLULU
Man allegedly punches his sleeping wife in eye
Honolulu police arrested a man for assault after he told his wife he hit her face while she was sleeping yesterday.Police said the couple were arguing at their Kukui Street residence when the woman, 49, went to the bedroom to go to sleep. The victim then woke up at 3:45 a.m. and realized her left eye was swollen.
The victim woke up her husband and asked him what happened, and he said that he punched her in the eye while she was sleeping, according to police. Police later arrested the suspect for second-degree assault.
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[The Courts]
Maui man could get 15 years for child porn
A Maui man arrested last week by federal agents tracking mail orders of pornographic material was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on two child pornography counts.Edward John Dugan, 42, of Kihei, was charged with possession of photographs of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and with receiving videos depicting similar conduct in interstate commerce.
The indictments point out that Dugan was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in November 1998. Because of the previous conviction, Dugan faces a mandatory 15-year minimum prison sentence if convicted.
Dugan appeared in U.S. District Court last Thursday, the day after federal agents searched his home. An affidavit filed by postal inspectors said that Dugan received material mailed by Ecuadorian Angel Mariscal, who was arrested earlier in Miami.
Honolulu man charged in July 1 bank robbery
A federal bank robbery charge was filed yesterday against a Honolulu man who was arrested July 1 after leading pursuers on a chase from Kapiolani Boulevard to Waikiki.Dennis Dale Pace, 34, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the July 1 robbery of the American Savings Bank Kaheka branch at 1600 Kapiolani Blvd.
A teller told investigators that the robber claimed to be armed when he passed her a note demanded money, and left with more than $4,000.
The pursuit of Pace began when a bank supervisor followed him and pointed him out to police Detective Robert Cravalho, on his lunch break nearby.
The officer commandeered a passing SUV and had the driver follow Pace's taxicab. The officer then continued the chase on foot near McCully Street and was joined by four pedestrians as Pace headed toward Waikiki.
Civilian pursuers detained Pace on Pua Street in Waikiki, joined quickly by police who arrested him.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
