Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
GREEN HOPES
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
On the Ewa side of the Pali Highway near Waokanaka Place, a Board of Water Supply crew worked yesterday to tap into a water main to irrigate the landscaping around the new Nuuanu community sign.
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Water conservation measures still in effect
Despite increased rainfall and decreased water use, voluntary water conservation measures remain in effect.Last week, consumption was at 159.57 million gallons a day, 9.45 million gallons less than the previous week.
Chief engineer Clifford Jamile reported yesterday to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply that the groundwater level at the Punaluu well remains at a critically low level, while Kaimuki, Beretania, Kalihi, Moanalua, Halawa and Kalauao wells are at low water levels.
Board of Water Supply stations indicate rainfall is at 52 percent of normal.
Firm fined for selling illegal insecticide
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined a San Francisco wholesale company $3,168 yesterday for selling an illegal insecticide to a Honolulu business.The EPA said the insecticide, Miraculous Insecticide Chalk, poses a particular risk to children because it is indistinguishable from common blackboard chalk.
Inspectors for the state Department of Agriculture discovered the insecticide chalk being sold by a vendor at the Kam Drive In Swap Meet in September 2001. The vendor, Sally's Connections, was not fined.
The San Francisco business is Kwong Sang Lung Co. Insecticide chalk is mostly illegally imported from China.
Water board OKs gift of Haiku Stairs land
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply approved a measure yesterday to give the city 244 acres located at the base of the Haiku Stairs, better known as the "Stairway to Heaven."Board manager and chief engineer Clifford Jamile said the agency does not want the property because of liability issues.
The 224-acre parcel and a nearby 20-acre parcel would allow hikers to the stairs a large area to explore.
Elderly employee at Shriners earns honor
An employee of Shriners Hospital for Children is to be honored today as Hawaii's Older Worker of the Year by Experience Works, a national nonprofit organization that provides training and employment services for elderly workers.A ceremony is to be held this afternoon for Faith Nakano, a 61-year employee at Shriners Hospital for Children. Nelson Befitel, director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, is to present the award to Nakano, 80, at a ceremony in the hospital courtyard.
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[Taking Notice]
HONORS
>> The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has presented awards to several employees for sustained superior performance in the past year. They are:Dierdre "Dede" Mamiya, Land Division administrator, Manager of the Year;
Charlene Unoki, a supervising land agent in the Land Division, Employee of the Year;
Brian Kanenaka, an aquatic biologist, and Reginald Kokubun, a research statistician, of the Division of Aquatic Resources;
Eric Hirano, Engineering Division administrator, who coordinated the removal of the Salvinia molesta aquatic weed from Lake Wilson.
A special Team of the Year award went to the field and support staff of several DLNR divisions, led by Hirano, for the Salvinia removal effort, which involved clearing nearly 300 acres of water along some 20 miles of shoreline over two months.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
>> Erin Low and Nicole Shea, formerly "little sisters" under Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu, have received $500 scholarships from Aloha Shoyu Company. "Big Sisters" volunteer mentors Maxine Chieng and Linda Siu also received $500 scholarships from The Jack in the Box Foundation.>> Michael K.K. Tom of Punahou School has won the Rensselaer Medal, given to juniors in high school who are the most promising mathematics and science students. Each medalist who is accepted and subsequently enrolls at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York receives a $60,000 scholarship.
>> Renee Bell, a Hawaii Community College food services student, has received the Masaki and Momoe Kunimoto Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Career and Technical Education.
Bell, who is physically challenged, was commended for the extra effort she makes to succeed, and has helped a hearing-impaired classmate with note-taking and communication. She also took a sign language class in the evening to better communicate with her classmate.
>> Papa John's Pizza restaurants has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Marie Jane Agsalda Pascual, a multiple award-winning graduate of Moanalua High School. She will be attending Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles and will be majoring in nursing.
>> Olivia Hatton, a graduate of Kaiser High School, has received The Dow Chemical Scholar Award at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. The four-year scholarship is given to students with superior academic performance who are majoring in chemistry and planning careers in the chemical professions.
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 staffNEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle police seek witnesses to fatal crash
A 52-year-old Puna man died Saturday after his motorcycle collided with a car on the Keaau-Pahoa Road.Police said Ezekiel Kalani Abraham was headed toward Keaau about 11 a.m. when a car emerging from the Makuu Drive intersection struck his motorcycle. Abraham was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police are asking for anyone who witnessed the collision or who has information about the crash to call officer Norbert Serrao of the Hawaii County Police Department Traffic Enforcement Unit at 961-2332.
HONOLULU
Taxi driver robbed of cash at knifepoint
Police are looking for a man who allegedly robbed a taxicab driver by knifepoint in Ala Moana.The taxi driver, 38, told police that the robbery occurred at a Keeaumoku Street parking lot about 4 a.m. Sunday when the suspect demanded money and his car.
Police said the driver gave the suspect cash but did not give up his car. The suspect walked away when the victim called police.
The suspect is described as a man in his mid-20s, 5-foot-7 with a slim build.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
