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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Blown tires force Sydney flight to return
An Air Canada flight from Honolulu to Sydney returned to Honolulu shortly after takeoff early yesterday because of blown tires.Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said Air Canada Flight 033 left Honolulu Airport about 2:34 a.m. and returned about 3:15 a.m. after the pilot had sensed something was wrong with the aircraft after takeoff.
A total of 176 passengers and crew were on the plane. There were no injuries, Ishikawa said.
Officials had closed two runways to make sure that they were clear of tire debris. Ishikawa said the runways were reopened at 7 and 8 a.m. respectively.
Photos of the damaged tires were sent to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board for inspection, said Ishikawa.
Air Canada officials were not available for comment.
American instructors sought for Japan tour
The Consulate General of Japan is accepting applications for the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program.The program offers 600 American teachers a three-week study tour of Japan. They will meet experts in education and government and learn about the culture.
Applications are available at the consulate, 1742 Nuuanu Ave., or online at www.iie.org/ pgms/fmf. Deadline to apply is Dec. 10.
Daughters of Hawaii celebration announced
The Daughters of Hawaii will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a day at Queen Emma Summer Palace on Oct. 4.There will be free museum tours, Hawaiian food, Hawaii-made arts and crafts, baked goods and hula performances.
Olomana, Puamana and the Royal Hawaiian Band will perform.
Festivities will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for juniors and $1 for children.
Kapiolani Park to host hula fest
Hula halau will perform at 11 a.m. Sunday at the 63rd Na Hula Festival at Kapiolani Park Bandstand.Puanani Alama Hula Studio, Halau Hula o Hokulani, the Royal Hawaiian Band and others will perform. The event is free and open to the public.
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Police, Fire, CourtsStar-Bulletin staff
WINDWARD OAHU
A 24-year-old man was killed and two others critically injured Saturday in a single-car accident near Malaekahana State Park.
Man dies, 2 injured when car hits poleOfficials say Jason K. Idica, of Punaluu, was one of two passengers in a white Subaru that was traveling Kaneohe-bound on Kamehameha Highway about 9:40 p.m.
The vehicle veered off the roadway, struck a utility pole and overturned, police said. Honolulu Fire Department personnel were called to pry the occupants from the vehicle.
Police said Idica was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and a 20-year-old passenger were flown by helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.
Speed and alcohol were factors, said police.
The accident knocked out power to about 780 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers from Kahuku High School to Brigham Young University-Hawaii, said HECO spokesman Jose Dizon. Power was restored to most customers by early yesterday morning, Dizon said.
BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
Police say speed and alcohol were factors in this single-car accident near Malaekahana State Park that killed a 24-year-old man on Saturday.
HONOLULU
Police charged a 48-year-old man on Friday with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Moiliili two months ago.
Man charged after girl, 16, alleges sex assaultThe victim told police that she was sexually assaulted by a male acquaintance. Walter Y. Funakoshi was charged with sexual assault in the first degree and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Agency says shaking may have injured baby
A 5-month-old baby was admitted to Kapiolani Medical Center with serious injuries Friday, police said.Officials from state Child Protective Services reported to police that a baby from Maui had suffered from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome. No other details of the case were available.
Police seek suspect in morning robbery
Police are looking for a male suspect who robbed three people in Iwilei yesterday.Police said three friends ages 14 to 20 were walking home from the Volcanoes Night Club at 1130 N. Nimitz Highway about 3:30 a.m. when they were confronted by two male suspects at the intersection of Nuuanu Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard.
Police said the suspects demanded money and then physically assaulted the victims after they told them they did not have any.
Police said the victims eventually gave the suspects an undisclosed amount of cash before the suspects fled.
Police arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of three counts of second-degree robbery.
The other suspect is described as a teenager or young adult, 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 170 pounds. He has ear-length black hair and was wearing a black shirt.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Firefighters continued to battle hot spots from a brush fire that has burned more than 1,600 acres in Central Molokai since Tuesday.
Brush fire on Molokai consumes 1,600 acres"We have a handle on it. ... We're maintaining the fire lines," said Maui Assistant Fire Chief Gordon Cordeiro.
It may take another week before the fire is extinguished, Cordeiro said.
Four Maui firefighters were flown in Saturday to assist in the fire. Cordeiro said firefighters are worried about heavy kiawe trees with large roots that are embedded in the ground that would allow the fire to smolder.
Cordeiro said the cause of the fire has not been determined.
LEEWARD OAHU
A 15-year-old boy was taken to St. Francis Medical Center-West in critical condition yesterday after he was pulled from waters near Ulehawa Beach Park in Nanakuli.
Teen suffers possible head trauma in oceanAbout 2:54 p.m., the teenager was swimming with friends at a popular swimming spot known as Channels, less than a mile from the beach park.
His companions discovered that he was in trouble, said Capt. Gordon Tamarra, of the Waianae Fire Station.
Emergency Medical Services District Chief Jason Kaneshiro said the teenager did not have a pulse and was not breathing when officials got to him. Kaneshiro said the boy may have hit his head on some rocks.
Paramedics were able to revive the teenager by the time the ambulance reached the hospital, Kaneshiro said.
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