Newswatch
AN ARMY MOM IS LAID TO REST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Romig, center, consoled William Swartworth Jr., second from left, during a funeral ceremony for his mother, Chief Warrant Officer Sharon Swartworth, yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. Swartworth, who was one of six soldiers killed in a Nov. 4 downing of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq, was on her last mission before retiring to Mililani, where her husband and son live. She is the first female soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Behind, second right, is Navy Capt. William Swartworth, the widower, a Navy occupational health physician at Pearl Harbor.
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Graduation standards meeting is postponed
A public meeting to discuss proposed changes to high school graduation requirements that was scheduled at Farrington High School tonight has been postponed.A separate meeting on the subject will be held as planned by the state Department of Education from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at Kealakehe High School on the Big Island.
The first meeting on Oahu will be from 6 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Kalani High School, followed by a meeting Thursday at Radford High School, also 6-8 p.m.
The Farrington meeting was postponed because the facilitator had a medical emergency; a new date has not been set.
For information on other meetings statewide, visit doe.k12.hi.us.
Maui mayor approves shoreline setbacks
WAILUKU >> Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa has approved shoreline setback rules that limit construction along a coastline based on its rate of erosion.Adopted recently by the Maui Planning Commission, the rules are to take effect 10 days after they are filed at the County Clerk's Office.
The rules had been supported by the Planning Director Michael Foley and some University of Hawaii consultants. Some property owners opposed the rules because of limits on how they could develop their land.
Arakawa said the commission adjusted the rules so property owners will be able to repair their homes if they are damaged by a fire or disaster not caused by a coastal hazard.
City's Ala Moana office will close for 10 days
The Ala Moana Satellite City Hall and City Store will close for 10 days beginning Saturday so the shopping center can complete construction work, the city has announced.Ala Moana Center needs to reinforce one of the walls to accommodate an adjoining tenant, the city said.
The satellite and store will reopen Dec. 4.
Service will be available at the remaining satellites while the Ala Moana site is closed.
Other satellites are located in downtown Honolulu at 1000 Fort Street Mall; Kalihi at City Square at 1199 Dillingham Blvd.; Hawaii Kai at 6600 Kalanianaole Highway, Suite 101; Pearlridge Center; and Windward Mall.
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[Taking Notice]
Orr receives award for plant conservation
David Orr, collections manager at the Waimea Valley Audubon Nature Center, has been awarded the annual Star Award from the Center for Plant Conservation.The award honors those who demonstrate concern, cooperation and personal investment to conserve imperiled native plants, according to the St. Louis-based nonprofit organization.
The Board of Trustees of the Center for Plant Conservation passed a resolution expressing "profound gratitude to David Orr for more than a decade of commitment to preserving the priceless collections of imperiled native flora at Waimea Valley."
The Center for Plant Conservation, a network of more than 30 botanical institutions, is dedicated to preventing the extinction of America's imperiled native flora. Its Web site is www.centerforplantconservation.org.
"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 staffHONOLULU
Police seek man who robbed bank in Kalihi
Honolulu police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who robbed the Kalihi branch of Hawaii National Bank yesterday.
CRIMESTOPPERS
This is a surveillance photo of the suspect in yesterday's robbery of Hawaii National Bank in Kalihi.
Police said the man walked into the bank at 1620 N. School St. at 11:42 a.m. and gave the teller a note saying he was armed with a gun. He was last seen walking through the Kamehameha Shopping Center parking lot in the direction of Likelike Highway.
Investigators believe the same man might be responsible for two other bank robberies, including the Mapunapuna Bank of Hawaii on Oct. 7 and First Hawaiian Bank in Kalihi on Oct. 3. The suspect is described as 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds, with a thin build, mustache and dark complexion. He was last seen wearing a polo shirt with white vertical stripes, light-colored pants and slippers and carrying a black bag.
Police said that although the note said the suspect had a weapon, witnesses did not see a weapon.
Anyone with information about this case may call Detective James Nobriga at 692-4507. Anonymous calls may also be made to CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or to *CRIME on a cellular phone.
CENTRAL OAHU
Possibly bogus bills turn up in parked car
A police officer discovered what appeared to be counterfeit money in a car being investigated for a parking violation in Wahiawa on Sunday.The officer identified the 43-year-old Waipahu man sitting in the driver's seat as wanted on outstanding warrants and arrested him.
The officer then noticed money, which appeared to be counterfeit, on the driver's seat, police said.
The man was arrested 10:30 a.m. Sunday for investigation of first-degree forgery and contempt.
LEEWARD OAHU
Girls claim sex assault by family friend, 54
Police arrested a 54-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting two teenage girls left in his care in Pearl City Sunday.The girls, ages 13 and 15, said the man was a family friend, police said.
The suspect was arrested yesterday on three counts of third-degree sexual assault.
The case is pending investigation.
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[The Courts]
Murder defendant's wife pleads no contest
A Manoa woman whose husband is accused in the disappearance and murder of a Kaneohe man in September has pleaded no contest to first-degree hindering prosecution.Jody Awana, 35, pleaded before Circuit Judge Marie Milks yesterday only to assisting her husband, Gregory Awana, in the commercial production of marijuana.
Gregory Awana, 39, an investigator with the city Medical Examiner's Office, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Yorck K. Woita Jr., 28, who disappeared Aug. 29 after going to Awana's Oahu Avenue home.
Woita's friends who followed him to Manoa to "watch his back" and left just before 8 p.m. reported him missing when he did not return. An hour later, the sport utility vehicle Woita had been driving was found burned and abandoned in Waimanalo. His body has not been recovered.
Jody Awana is seeking a deferral of her no-contest plea, which would allow her to remove the conviction from her record if she abides by the court's conditions.
A hearing on her motion is set for Feb. 3.
Woman will stand trial in son's near drowning
A Palolo woman accused of attempting to drown her 9-year-old son has been found fit to go to trial.Marlene Mexia, 45, pleaded not guilty yesterday to second-degree attempted murder after Circuit Judge Derrick Chan ruled she could understand the proceedings against her and assist in her defense. A Feb. 9 hearing has been set to determine whether Mexia understood right from wrong at the time of the incident and could act in accordance with the law.
Mexia allegedly called 911 on July 29, saying she had drowned her son. Police who arrived at her Palolo home found the boy floating on his back in the bathtub and near death.
Defense attorneys have said Mexia suffers from a mental illness and has been receiving treatment. The boy has since recovered and is with his father, who was not home at the time.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
