Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
MASS MARKS BEGINNING OF LENT
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL/ CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Rev. Anthony Rosario anointed Gwynette Paez, 6, as Justin Robinson, 5, waited behind yesterday morning at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa. Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent, a Catholic season of repentance that lasts 40 days until Easter. "We give up so we can give," Rosario said during the Mass.
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Teamsters reject plan to end concrete strike
Talks between Hawaiian Cement and striking Teamsters broke off yesterday after the union's negotiating committee rejected a new contract proposal by management."I'm disappointed. There's no question about it," said Hawaiian Cement Vice President Michael Coad, describing their current proposal as a fair one. "The company has continued to put offers and suggestions on the table."
Negotiators for Hawaiian Cement and Teamsters Local 996 returned to the bargaining table about 9:40 a.m. and met for a little less than an hour.
No new talks for Hawaiian Cement and Ameron Hawaii, whose workers are also out on strike, were scheduled.
Sixty-seven Hawaiian Cement workers and 144 Ameron Hawaii workers are headed into their third week on the picket lines.
Teamsters President Mel Kahele said the sticking point was the company's original proposal for workers to pay 20 percent of their medical costs. Hawaiian Cement currently provides full medical coverage for all unionized workers.
"We were assuming that the company was going to be reasonable and withdraw the co-payment that they currently have on the bargaining table," said Kahele. "We tried to compromise. Apparently, what the company did is, they don't want to discuss the co-payments. It's not going to be acceptable by our union committee."
Accident leaves Laie residents in the dark
About 60 Laie residents were left without power for hours last night after a car hit a utility pole.The pole fell across Anemoku Street between Kamehameha Highway and Naupaka Street, forcing police to close the residential road. The accident occurred about 7 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric Co. officials were expected to have power in the area restored at about 3 this morning.
Fatal dog attack might bring criminal charge
LIHUE >> Kauai police detectives and prosecutors met yesterday to discuss the investigation into possible criminal charges against the owner of a dog that fatally injured a 17-month-old Kauai boy on Saturday.County officials said the meeting was not to decide whether to charge the dog's owner, but to discuss the course of the investigation.
Trusten Liddle died Saturday evening at Wilcox Memorial Hospital after suffering severe injuries to his head, throat and shoulders from a neighbor's dog that was attached to a chain. The dog is being held at the Kauai Humane Society.
Starbucks plans walk for local AIDS charity
The Starbucks AIDS Walk for Life will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday at Kapiolani Park to raise funds for the Life Foundation.Registration forms are available at all Starbucks Coffee Hawaii locations. Participants also can register starting at 8 a.m. before the walk. There is no cost.
Those who raise $75 will receive a commemorative AIDS Walk 2004 T-shirt designed by local artist Yvonne Chang.
She will sign T-shirts and a poster with artwork of a hula dancer she prepared especially for the Life Foundation.
The T-shirt and poster will be available for sale at the AIDS Walk and afterward at the Life Foundation. Proceeds will be used to provide dental services for the foundation's clients.
Besides the 5-kilometer walk, festivities will include live entertainment, prize giveaways, Starbucks Frappuccino blended beverage samples and Jamba Juice smoothie samples.
The registration form and all donations should be taken to the registration desk by the Kapiolani Bandstand.
Nurse will address Alzheimer's workshop
A caregiver workshop entitled "End of Life Care Planning" will be presented from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Boy Scouts of America Aloha Council President's Room, 42 Puiwa Road, off Pali Highway, near the Queen Emma Summer Palace.The Aloha Chapter, Alzheimer's Association, is sponsoring the event with speaker Ana Zir, registered nurse, with the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Office of Public Health Studies and Center on Aging.
Participants will learn issues they may face or need to consider in planning for their end of life or a loved one with Alzheimer's disease.
The Alzheimer's Association is devoted to research on the disease and support of those afflicted.
The workshop is free but donations are welcome. For reservations or more information, call the Aloha Chapter at 591-2771.
Hale Makua gets grant to help at-risk elders
Hale Makua, a skilled-nursing and home health care agency on Maui, is one of eight community partnerships in seven states awarded grants by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve long-term care and supportive services for at-risk older adults.The four-year grants, which average $750,000, are intended to foster community partnerships and improve systems to meet current and future needs of older adults.
Each of the eight communities received development grants from the foundation averaging $150,000 in August 2002.
During that period, local partnerships worked to produce a communitywide plan to improve long-term care and supportive services.
The projects focus on Americans 60 or older who are at increased risk of disability because of poverty, race, ethnicity, chronic illness or advanced age, and older adults with physical or cognitive impairments who require long-term care and supportive services.
Crohn's support group sets March 8 meeting
The support group for people with Crohn's disease and colitis will meet at 7 p.m. March 8 in the Music Building of Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St. Use the Diamond Head entrance. For more information, call 623-9303.
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[Taking Notice]
>> The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii has received a three-year, $300,000 grant to provide support services for the elderly and disabled clients at Pumehana and Punchbowl Homes, federal-assisted housing, on Oahu. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency program.>> The Waipahu Community Foundation has awarded quarterly grants to the Friends of Waipahu Cultural Garden Park, $3,500; Cub Scout Pack 368, $2,960; Boy Scout Troop 368, $2,657; and the Waipahu Youth Baseball League, $1,590.
>> The Hawaii Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has received a $30,000 grant from the Robert Emens Black Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation to support its fundraising capability.
>> In recognition of Waipahu Allstate agent James Moylan's volunteer efforts in the community, The Allstate Foundation has awarded a $500 grant to Junior Achievement Hawaii. The grant is part of the company's Helping Hands program in which donations are given to charitable organizations where employees and agents volunteer.
>> The C.V. Starr Foundation of New York has awarded a $200,000 grant to the University of Hawaii Foundation to be used for scholarships for students at the Manoa campus.
>> The Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, based in Honolulu, has been awarded $288,800 from the Government of Japan for continued support of its programs. The funds will be used to provide electric power to villages in Fiji and to continue technical training activities to ensure maintenance of the installed systems.
>> The Hawaii Conference Foundation has been awarded $7,500 from First Hawaiian Foundation for the renovation and refurbishment of the Kukui Building downtown.
"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
Man claims brother beat him with golf club
Police arrested a 41-year-old man in Waimanalo Tuesday after he allegedly assaulted his younger brother with a golf club.Police said the two brothers got into an argument at the victim's Humuniki Street house about 2:55 p.m.
The two got into a fight, and the older brother grabbed a golf club and struck his 38-year-old brother, police said. The victim was taken to the hospital and treated for lacerations and bruises.
The suspect was arrested for second-degree assault.
LEEWARD OAHU
Alleged choking leads to neighbor's arrest
Police charged a 47-year-old Ewa Beach man for allegedly choking his 20-year-old neighbor during a confrontation last week about trespassing.Thomas Earl Rogers was charged Friday with first-degree burglary for the 11:45 a.m. incident Thursday.
According to police, Thomas went to his neighbor's house at 11:45 a.m. last Thursday and accused him of a prior trespassing incident.
When the victim opened his door to talk to him, Rogers lunged toward him and started choking him, police said. The two men scuffled inside the victim's house, police said. Police were called, and Rogers was arrested.
Bail was set at $15,000.
CENTRAL OAHU
Ex-boyfriend arrested in alleged knife threat
Police arrested a 21-year-old man Monday night for allegedly threatening his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend with a knife at her Kunia home.The man, who has no local address, had gone to her home to watch their children while she went to work, police said. When she returned home, she and the ex-boyfriend sat outside drinking beers, police said.
About 10:15 p.m., after a couple of beers, the suspect grabbed the woman around the neck, put a knife to her side and threatened to kill her, police said.
Police arrested the suspect for first-degree terroristic threatening and resisting arrest. Police also identified and recovered the knife.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Woman critically hurt in Maui hit-and-run
WAILUKU >> A 20-year-old Maui resident was listed in critical condition yesterday evening after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run incident in central Maui.Michelle L. Rosa of Kahului was flown to Queen's Medical Center on Oahu after the crash close to 8:52 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
Meanwhile, Maui police traffic investigators are looking for a 1989-1992 Mazda MPV van and witnesses who may have seen the incident.
Lt. Jeffrey Tanoue said police at the scene recovered pieces of a vehicle, including the head lamp lens and a piece of the grille.
Tanoue said Rosa, who was not in a crosswalk, was walking toward the ocean across Kahului Beach Road near the entrance to the Kahului breakwater when she was struck on the outside lane by a vehicle traveling north.
He said police have been unable to find eyewitnesses.
Tanoue said when police arrived at the scene, Rosa was unconscious but still breathing.
People with any information about the crash may call the traffic section, 270-6537, or the communication section, 244-6400.
3 men charged after store security struggle
Big Island police have arrested and charged three men with robbery after a shoplifting incident turned into a struggle with security guards in Hilo earlier this month.Police identified the suspects as Harold Charles Smith IV, 18, Andrew Martinez, 20, and Elijah Caraballo, 19. According to police, on Feb. 10, Smith was caught by surveillance cameras at Macy's department store in Hilo as he was trying to leave the store without paying for items he had allegedly taken. When Smith was detained by security guards, he called for help from Martinez and Caraballo, who struggled with the guards and kicked them in the head.
Security guards did manage to detain Smith, though Caraballo and Martinez got away. Martinez was later arrested on Feb. 15, and Caraballo was arrested on Thursday. All three were charged with second-degree robbery.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
