Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Beach remains closed despite whale removal
Bellows Beach remained closed yesterday after the carcass of a juvenile humpback whale was removed Saturday night by city and military personnel.Hickam Air Force Base provided the manpower and lighting and the city provided dump trucks to help remove the carcass around 9 p.m. Saturday, said Delores Clark, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Biologists took DNA samples from the whale's skin to determine whether it was previously tagged. Clark said they also took samples of the whale's blubber to test it for toxins. The carcass that washed ashore Saturday was taken to the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill to be buried, said city spokeswoman Carol Costa.
Bellows Beach was closed starting Saturday due to concerns about sharks in the area, and warning signs were posted from Kailua boat harbor to Sherwood Beach recommending beachgoers to stay out of the water.
Water main rupture leaves Wilhelmina dry
Twenty Wilhelmina Rise residents were without water yesterday after a water main ruptured at 9:50 a.m.Board of Water Supply operator Romie Dasalla said the 6-inch water main broke at 4658 Sierra Drive. A water wagon was placed at the intersection of Nihipali Place and Sierra Drive for affected residents while crew members repaired the water line.
Crew members anticipated repairs to be completed by midnight, said Dasalla.
Free sterilization for animals on Spay Day
The Hawaiian Humane Society is doing free sterilization surgery for cats and dogs on Spay Day, tomorrow, with newspaper coupons.Coupons were in the Feb. 18 edition of MidWeek.
Cat and dog owners should snip out the coupon and fill in the information, making copies of the coupon if there is more than one pet to sterilize. Mail or take the coupons to the humane society by tomorrow. Appointments cannot be made by phone but will be sent to owners by return mail, along with pre- and post-surgery guidelines.
Pets without microchip identification will be provided with one for $5.
The benefits of spaying and neutering pets include longer, healthier lives; elimination of the female's heat cycles; elimination of prostate disease in males; and less aggression, fighting, spraying and roaming among males.
Waianae center gets money to fight obesity
A Waianae health center received $800,000 in federal funding to battle chronic obesity on Oahu's Leeward Coast, Rep. Ed Case has announced.The funding will be awarded over four years to the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and will help link the facility with area food producers, Case said.
"The project will network with Waianae-area farmers, fishermen, aquaculture farmers and others to increase the availability of healthy foods while promoting long-term weight loss," the Democratic lawmaker said.
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Turbulence on flight from isles hurts crew
TOKYO >> A United Airlines flight from Hawaii to Japan hit severe turbulence over the Pacific Ocean today, injuring three crew members who were later hospitalized, officials said.Flight UA879 hit turbulence about 20 minutes before arriving at Tokyo's international airport in Narita today on a trip from Honolulu, said Ayako Tanino, an airport spokeswoman.
Three flight attendants, two Japanese and one Taiwanese, were taken to the hospital, said United Airlines spokeswoman Rie Fukushima. One sustained injuries to the back and another to the legs, she said.
Fukushima had no details on the condition of the third flight attendant.
The flight was carrying 284 people, including 15 crew, Fukushima said, adding she received no reports of damage to the plane.
Gov. Lingle prepares to meet Bush again
Gov. Linda Lingle was set to meet with President Bush today in Washington for the second time this month.Lingle will be with a group of governors attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
"I expect that the governors will talk with President Bush about transportation issues, as well as Medicaid, as well as homeland security issues," Lingle said yesterday. "The governors have several things in common as it relates to these issues."
Another gathering will have the governors meeting with Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge.
"We want to make certain that our National Guards people are considered when they're talking about these (troop) rotations that are going to occur, so that the states maintain a certain level of safety and security, so that if there is a civil disturbance at home or a natural disaster that we have sufficient level of National Guards people in our home states," she said.
Lingle and five other governors met with Bush on Feb. 13 after returning from a White House-arranged mission to Iraq.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
Fire investigators have yet to determine the cause of a fire or amount of damage at an adult bookstore and theater in Chinatown.
No price tag yet for fire's damage in ChinatownFire Capt. Emmit Kane said yesterday that investigators had limited access to the building after a portion of the ceiling and second floor of the Risque Book Store and Esquire Theater at 32 N. Hotel St. collapsed from the Saturday fire.
"We're just moving cautiously because of the collapse," said Kane.
Investigators are expected to return to the building today to continue their investigation.
Body is found floating in Kewalo Basin
Firefighters and police recovered the body of a 57-year-old man found floating in Kewalo Basin yesterday.Police said a passerby noticed a man's body in the water near the Fisherman's Wharf restaurant about 3:35 a.m.
Police said it appeared that the victim lived at Kewalo Boat Harbor.
There were no signs of foul play, police said.
WINDWARD OAHU
A fire at Kailua Bar-B-Q & Okazuya yesterday caused about $20,000 in damage and closed Kailua Road for about 30 minutes.
Kailua eatery suffers $20,000 in damagesThe blaze was ignited by a stove that was accidentally left on, according to Fire Capt. Emmit Kane. Before firefighters arrived, an automatic extinguisher came on and doused most of the flames, he said.
About 18 firefighters arrived at the eatery at about 6:40 p.m. and had the fire extinguished 12 minutes later. Kane said the blaze caused about $15,000 in damage to the eatery's cooking area and $5,000 in damage to the building's contents.
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