Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Bus union, managers do not plan new talks
Four weeks into the bus strike, no new talks have been scheduled, officials for Oahu Transit Service Inc. and Local 996 of the Teamsters Union said yesterday.The last negotiation session was Wednesday. Bus talks were expected to resume this week.
The strike by 1,336 bus workers began Aug. 26 and is now in its 22nd day.
Bus workers are seeking pay increases in the second and third years of a three-year pact. Management officials at OTS say there is no money for raises.
Navy looks into death of civilian truck driver
The Navy is investigating the death of a civilian truck driver killed Friday while unloading fender piles at Hickam Air Force Base.
CORRECTION
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003>> Yamashiro Trucking is working for Healy Tibbitts Builders, a subcontractor for Bodell Construction Co. A "Newswatch" item on Page A3 Tuesday about the death of a Yamashiro driver incorrectly said that Yamashiro is a subcontractor for Bodell.
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.
Nobuo Tani, a driver for Yamashiro Trucking Co., was killed 3 p.m. at a construction site at Bishop Point at Hickam while unloading high-density polyethylene fender piles from his truck.
Fender piles are used to protect ships from berthing wharfs.
Yamashiro Trucking is a subcontractor for Bodell Construction Co., which is building a $9.8 million training facility for the Army Reserve's 9th Regional Support Command's 545th and 548th Transportation Corps Detachment.
Judge issues gag order in child custody battle
A Kauai District Family Court judge issued a gag order yesterday for proceedings involving the custody of the non-Hawaiian student from Kauai who is attending Kamehameha Schools on Oahu under a federal court order.Judge Walton Hong continued yesterday's hearing until next month to allow the boy's mother time to obtain a lawyer. Hong said his gag order affects only issues in the case before Family Court and not the related issue of Brayden Mohica-Cummings' attendance at Kamehameha Schools.
Because the Family Court case reopens a 1994 paternity case, proceedings are considered confidential, said Judiciary spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa.
The Family Court case was filed Sept. 5 by the boy's father, Kenneth Mohica, alleging the boy's mother, Kalena Santos Cummings, violated the 1994 court order that gave Mohica visitation rights.
Cummings filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 18 challenging Kamehameha Schools' Hawaiians-only admission policy after the school first accepted her son as a student and then reversed that decision, saying Cummings had not proved he was of Hawaiian ancestry.
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[Taking Notice]
>> The law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel volunteered to assist callers with legal questions as part of the Hawaii State Bar Association's Legal Line Hotline program in August. Attorneys who volunteered their time included Sean Clark, Regan Iwao, Gregory Jackson, Derek Kobayashi, Richard Philpott, Emily Su Lan Reber Porter, Scott Morita and Roy Tijoe.>> The PacifiCare Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., has contributed $5,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii. The funds will be used to help pay for the cost of installing a fire escape and staircase to meet fire code requirements.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a residential facility that serves as a home away from home for families seeking specialized medical treatment for their ill children.
>> The Kings' Shops at Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Big Island raised a record-breaking $27,380 during the 12th annual Rubber Duckie Race and Fourth of July Celebration to benefit the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii.
>> Marc Resorts Hawaii has given its Team Member of the Quarter awards to Trudy Edelman, assistant manager at Kona Bali Kai; Bernacion Marquez, front desk/night auditor at Island Colony; and Wanda Bulawan, reservations/sales agent at Marc's home office.
>> Claire Haranda, of La Pietra School, has been awarded a scholarship, valued at $10,000 over four years, by the Fukunaga Scholarship Foundation. She will attend the University of Michigan, where she hopes to start an international business incorporating her graphic arts, language and business skills.
>> Three students have been awarded scholarships to attend Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.: Erin Kimura, of Kaneohe, an $8,500 Valedictorian/Salutorian Scholarship; Brett Kagawa, of Mililani, a $4,000 Whitworth Scholarship; and Kari Nupen, of Mililani, a $7,500 Presidential Scholarship.
>> Waimea Middle School has received $696,000 from Ho'kako'o Corp., a nonprofit that supports excellence in education. The funds enable the public conversion charter school on the Big Island to reduce class sizes, improve remedial reading, enhance programs for the gifted and talented, and increase parent and community involvement.
>> Aloha United Way has distributed new computer systems, donated by IBM and valued at more than $8,800, to Keiki o Ka Aina Family Learning Center, Hina Mauka, KCAA Pre-Schools of Hawaii, Mental Health Kokua, Hawaii Literacy and Helping Hands Hawaii.
"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 staffNORTH SHORE
Mokuleia crash victim is identified as sailor
The Navy has identified Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric R. Singer, 21, of Orlando, Fla., as the victim who died early Sunday in a one-car crash in Mokuleia.Singer was assigned to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
Police said Singer was speeding about 12:10 a.m. Sunday and failed to make it around a turn, crashing into a bunker.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. Speed and alcohol appeared to be factors, police said.
CENTRAL OAHU
Wahiawa fire blamed on propane tank
A fire at a Wahiawa coin-operated laundry and residential complex caused $100,000 in damage yesterday, after the building's owner attached a 1-gallon propane tank to the complex's gas system.Owner Dickey Lau told fire investigators he hooked up a small propane tank to the system at 261 Olive Ave. because the four-unit complex's larger tank was empty.
The system fuels heaters for the dryers in the laundry, where the fire started. Fire officials blamed the gas system for causing the fire.
Four people were home at the time of the 8 a.m. fire. Lau's wife and a boy who lives in another unit were taken to Wahiawa General Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and were later released.
John Hanus, who lives in the studio apartment closest to the laundry's dryers, said he smelled smoke from the fire and then heard a neighbor yell at him to get out. When he ran, he said he saw Lau trying to put out the fire with a garden hose.
Hanus was the only resident left homeless by the fire. He is being assisted by the American Red Cross.
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