Newswatch
FLIPPED OUT
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
At Harbor Square Parking lot at 700 Richards St. yesterday, a firefighter waited for a tow truck to upright an overturned truck. The truck first slid, clipping a curbing, and then turned over inside of the ramp.
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Children's Zoo loses 3 tortoises to thieves
Three star tortoises were stolen from the Honolulu Zoo on Saturday, city officials said yesterday.Someone cut a hand-size opening in the screen of the tortoise display at the Children's Zoo and took three juvenile tortoises, which were born in October and are 2 to 3 inches long. Star tortoises can grow 10 inches long and are native to India and Southeast Asia, according to a city press release.
Honolulu police are investigating the theft of the tortoises, which are valued at $300 to $600 each, the release said.
Sewage spill blamed on meter malfunction
About 15,000 gallons of waste water overflowed from a tank at the Kaneohe Preliminary Treatment Facility and into Kawa Stream yesterday.City officials blamed the spill, which was detected at 2 p.m., on a defective meter that is supposed to trigger a pump when waste water reaches a certain level in the holding tank.
Warning signs were posted at Kawa Stream, and state Health Department officials were notified, city officials said.
Princeville Library trims operating hours
Princeville Library on Kauai will reduce its operating hours because of a staff shortage, opening one hour later each weekday, effective today.The North Shore library, the only one on the island with weekend hours, will continue to operate 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Its new weekday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 1 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. The library is closed Sundays and Mondays.
Princeville normally has three full-time staff members, but one resigned in mid-November, according to Paul Mark, information specialist for the library system. The library is working to fill that position and restore service hours.
Big Island councilman calls for disaster fund
HILO >> Hawaii County Council Chairman James Arakaki wants to create a special fund to pay for cleanup efforts following natural disasters.Arakaki is calling for putting aside between $100,000 and $500,000 a year until the fund reaches $5 million.
The full amount could be needed just to get Big Island residents back on their feet following a major disaster, he said.
The county currently allocates about $300,000 a year for removing storm debris from public roads, Public Works Director Bruce McClure said.
Arakaki wants the county to budget for related costs, such as repairing damaged infrastructure and facilities.
The Council's Finance Committee was to hold a hearing on the bill today.
The island is subject to tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, high waves and lava flows.
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[Taking Notice]
National kidney group honors 2 in Hawaii
The National Kidney Foundation has honored Lorena Diego-Stepp, of Maui, with a Making Lives Better award, and John Au, of Hawaii Kai, with a Distinguished Service Award.The award to Diego-Stepp is given annually to one person in the nation who best exhibits the foundation's vision statement.
She was cited for donating a kidney to a stranger -- the first such donation in Hawaii. Three other residents later became nondirected kidney donors.
Au, a board member of the Kidney Foundation's Hawaii affiliate for nine years, has served on several national volunteer committees, spending countless hours initiating and completing projects, the foundation said.
This saved the national office an enormous amount of time and money that was redirected toward the organization's mission, the foundation said.
"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 staffWINDWARD OAHU
Kailua women's prison reports chemical odor
State prison officials evacuated 12 to 15 people from the medical facility at the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua yesterday morning due to reports of a chemical odor.Two employees complaining of difficulty breathing because of the odor were taken to Castle Medical Center. No information was available on their condition.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane said fire crews were called about 6:01 a.m.
He said the prison shut off the air conditioning and aired out the building before a hazardous-materials team arrived about 6:23 a.m. The team monitored the air but did not detect anything above normal levels, Kane said. The team advised prison officials to keep the air conditioning off until it could be evaluated.
HONOLULU
Investigators blame arson in Kalihi blaze
Honolulu fire investigators have determined that a fire that caused an estimated $80,000 in damage to a Kalihi restaurant Sunday night was intentionally set.Police, responding to a report of an alarm triggered by a motion sensor, discovered a fire inside King's Buffet restaurant at 2300 N. King St. about 11:14 p.m. Firefighters were called and extinguished the fire.
Investigators later found that an incendiary device was used to start the fire, which originated in the buffet area of the restaurant.
No one was in the building when officers arrived, and there were no injuries, police said.
Makiki woman reports sex assault and theft
A Makiki woman told police she awoke yesterday morning to find a stranger sexually assaulting her.Police said the incident took place at 2 a.m. According to the victim, she had been sleeping in her bedroom and was awakened by an unknown man who was sexually assaulting her. The victim told police she jumped out of bed, and the suspect then grabbed some of her belongings and fled.
The suspect was described as in his 20s.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
