Newswatch
TRAFFIC SIGNS
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Students from Waianae Intermediate School held signs and waved to passing motorists yesterday in front of their school on Farrington Highway as part of their Project Citizen Program, raising awareness of vehicle and pedestrian safety problems. They say crosswalks are fading, stop signs are unreadable and people drink and drive. The project is part of an eighth-grade social studies effort to help students take part in their democracy.
Lingle to attend World AIDS Day observance
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held in a World AIDS Day observance at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave.Gov. Linda Lingle is expected to proclaim World AIDS Day in Hawaii and attend the community event, which will honor those who have died in the epidemic and recognize those living with HIV/AIDS.
An AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed and new panels presented. A candle lighting will follow the ceremony in the church, and refreshments, entertainment and fellowship are planned in Weaver Hall.
Free parking is available in the church lot, and overflow paid parking in the Varsity Twins lot.
Events scheduled on the neighbor islands for World AIDS Day include:
>> Kauai: A ceremonial lighting of the first World AIDS Day candle will start at 6:30 p.m. during the Kauai Hospice annual candlelight memorial service at the Kilohana Carriage House at Gaylord's. For information, call Malama Pono, HIV/AIDS service agency on the island, 246-9577.>> Big Island: Open house will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Hilo and Kona offices of the Hawaii Island HIV/AIDS Foundation, followed by a candlelight memorial service at 5:30 p.m. at the ocean at both locations. For more information, call West Hawaii, 331-8177, and East Hawaii, 981-2428.
>> Maui: World AIDS Day observance and ceremony of hope will be from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church by the Sea in Kihei in remembrance of friends and family members lost to HIV/AIDS and in celebration for those living with the disease. Call the Maui AIDS Foundation, 242-4900, for more information.
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[Taking Notice]
>> Atlantic Philanthropies Inc. has awarded $420,000 to the University of Hawaii in recognition of its expertise in assisting Vietnam with its Second Language Studies program. The UH program has improved the quality of postgraduate education and training for teachers of English, and will establish a UH interuniversity center in Hanoi for Southeast Asia.>> Saint Louis School alumnus Greg Gomes has donated $25,000 to his school via his recently created Webco Foundation.
A 1956 graduate, he has raised more than $1 million for the St. Louis Educational Foundation for financial aid and scholarships.
>> The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation has donated $5,000 to Windward Spouse Abuse Shelter Inc., one of 51 shelters in the nation to receive such a grant in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month during October.
"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 staffBRUSH FIRE BURNS IN NANAKULI
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Firefighters said a Nanakuli brush fire at the end of Helelua Street came within 100 feet of two townhouses yesterday afternoon. Firefighters managed to stop the fire from advancing and extinguished it two hours later. The fire burned about 12 to 15 acres of brush but did not damage any property.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police halt search for lost Maui surfer
LAHAINA >> Authorities have called off the search for Maui surfer Todd Ripplinger, who was last seen last Thursday leaving work at Media Systems Inc. in Lahaina.Ripplinger's car was found by a friend Monday in the parking lot of Kamehameha Iki Park near 505 Front Street Shops & Restaurants, an area fronting a surfing site.
Maui police Detective Tim Gapero said there was no evidence of foul play in the car.
"His personal belongings, including his wallet, were secured in the car," Gapero said.
Police have been unable to locate Ripplinger's white 9-foot, three-skeg surfboard.
Ripplinger, 28, a novice surfer, had indicated he might go surfing, and the faces of waves were more than 10 feet last Thursday, a friend said.
Authorities looked along the coastline, underwater and by helicopter Tuesday but found no trace of Ripplinger.
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[The Courts]
Group sues to stop Bus Rapid Transit
A nonprofit organization is seeking a federal court order to block the U.S. Department of Transportation and the city from constructing the first segment of the Bus Rapid Transit system.The suit was filed by a group called Sensible Traffic Alternatives and Resources Ltd., also known as the Alliance for Traffic Improvement, in U.S. District Court Monday afternoon.
In the filing, the group alleges the city is in violation of federal and state environmental laws because it is already requesting bids for BRT construction contacts, which involve "dangerous 13-inch high platforms ... along major roads" and "283-ton" bus stops.
Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris said: "For 35 years a small group of naysayers has stopped every effort the city has undertaken to reduce traffic congestion on this island.
"It's time we move forward with the first phase of these express electric buses."
Accident victims' mom claims driver was DUI
The family of two men who were in a car crash in August has filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court against the estate of the man who was driving that night.The victims, Jason Idica, 19, and Wayne Huddy, 20, were riding in a car driven by Micah McGee, 19, near Malaekahana State Park on Aug. 16.
Idica was killed and Huddy hospitalized in critical condition after McGee veered off Kamehameha Highway and the car struck a utility pole less than a mile south of Adams Road.
According to the lawsuit, McGee was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.
The suit was filed by Diane Huddy, who is listed as the mother of both Idica and Wayne Huddy.
Accountant sentenced to 27 months in prison
A U.S. District Court judge has sentenced a 64-year-old Honolulu public accountant to 27 months in prison for not paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in income taxes.According to federal prosecutors, Raymond A.C. Nip failed to report his 1994 income taxes. Among the unreported money was $202,896.79 in payroll taxes, which prosecutors said Nip collected from a corporate client but failed to remit to the IRS.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
