Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
'HAWAII' MAKES IT IN NEW YORK
Eric Balfour, left, star of the new television show "Hawaii," posed yesterday upon arriving at Radio City Music Hall in New York for NBC's presentation of its fall season to advertisers. After losing two of its signature comedies, NBC will add five new series in the fall, including the police drama "Hawaii," which is being filmed in the islands.
Whale carcass towed away from island again
The carcass of a 45-foot-long sperm whale reappeared on an Oahu reef yesterday, three days after it had been towed out to sea from Kaneohe Bay.Federal and state officials towed the carcass from off Kaaawa yesterday and were taking it to farther from the island than they did on Friday.
"On advice of University of Hawaii oceanographers, (we) will take it somewhere between Kaena Point and Kauai so that currents and winds will take it away from the islands," said Peter Young, Department of Land and Natural Resources chairperson.
On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service hired a private contractor to tow the whale 20 miles offshore from Kaneohe Bay.
Marine biologist believe the whale has been dead for at least a month, since it was decomposed and all of its teeth have fallen out.
"Now that tiger sharks have been spotted around the carcass, there is a higher than normal risk of sharks in the inshore area," Young said yesterday. "Ocean users should carefully consider the elevated risk before entering these waters."
"Even after the carcass is removed, the public should avoid swimming within a mile radius of the stranding site for another 24 hours to avoid possible encounters with lingering sharks," he said.
11,000 walkers raise $946,000 for charity
Despite downpours over the weekend, the Visitor Industry Charity Walk raised a record $946,000, with 11,000 walkers taking part in the annual fund-raiser."The heavy rain did not dampen the aloha spirit of Hawaii's hotel workers and their broad ohana across the visitor industry," said Ernest Nishizaki, chairman of the walk and vice president of Kyo-ya Co. Ltd.
The proceeds of Saturday's event will go to various charities, with $100,000 earmarked for Hawaii's public schools.
The previous record set by the Charity Walk was $918,000 in 1993. The walk, sponsored by the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association, has raised $14 million since it began in 1978.
Awakuni and Kim honored as principals
Gail Awakuni, principal of Campbell High School, and Roger Kim, principal of Mililani Middle School, have been named "2004 Hawaii principals of the year" by Metlife and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.Awakuni won in the high school division and Kim won in the middle school division.
"They truly deserve to be commended for their dedication to providing every student an excellent education," said Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Each state principal of the year is a candidate for national principal of the year in their school-level category. Finalists for the national titles will be announced in August.
The awards recognize outstanding secondary school principals who show excellence in educational leadership, complex problem solving, professional growth and community involvement.
Maui school celebrates 100th anniversary
WAILUKU >> A parade followed by entertainment and food is scheduled for Saturday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wailuku Elementary School in central Maui.The 9 a.m.-to-3 p.m. celebration will begin with a parade starting at Iao Intermediate School and going mauka up Kaohu Street, then west on High Street and up Malako Street and into the main entrance to Wailuku Elementary.
The program includes a display of artifacts more than a hundred years old, including Kingdom of Hawaii stamps and coins recently retrieved from a time capsule placed in a part of the school's original cornerstone.
T-shirts and souvenir memory/yearbooks commemorating the anniversary will also be on sale. For more information, call Wailuku Elementary, (808) 984-5622.
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[TAKING NOTICE]
>> The Iolani School math team won its 50th consecutive Oahu Math League meet in March, continuing a winning streak that began in 1997. Team members include Matthew Ardo, Melanie Bomke, Derek Goto, Ryan Lau, Bryce Lee, Kelly Nakamura, Carol Pham, Kevin Sin, Ina Tang and Ryan Tsukamoto.Perfect scorers included Iolani's Ardo, Goto, Lee, Nakamura, Pham and Tang; Jason Foley and Mikey Fujihara of Kamehameha Schools; Jackie Chan and Jalan Zheng of McKinley High School; Glenn Shigetomi of Punahou School; and Mariko Kotani of Roosevelt High School.
Division A winners, from first through fifth place, were Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou, McKinley and Moanalua High School.
Division B winners, from first through fourth, were Hanalani School, Castle High School, Kalaheo High School and Molokai High School.
Junior varsity winners were Iolani, Kamehameha and McKinley.
>> Winners of the 21st annual Hawaii MATHCOUNTS State Competition for middle school students include David Clifton and Steven Bartz of Punahou and Robert Shimizu and Aaron Fong of Iolani. They, as the top individual scorers, were to represent Hawaii in the national competition in Washington, D.C., and be coached by Li Ann Wada of Iolani.
The Iolani team, made up of Fong, Shimizu, Nicholas Moriwaki and Scott Kaneshiro, won the perpetual team trophy. Punahou and Mililani Middle School placed second and third, respectively.
>> Jennifer S. Taira of Mililani, a graduate student majoring in clarinet at Yale University, has won the Henning- Fischer Foundation and Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra's 3rd Annual Young Artists Competition. She won a $500 honorarium and will perform with the orchestra next season.
>> The Kalani High School mock trial team won the Hawaii High School State Mock Trial Championship for the first time in March. The contest was sponsored by the Hawaii Friends of Civic and Law-Related Education and the Judiciary History Center, through funding from the Hawaii State Bar Association.
>> Rick Caulfield, assistant professor of family resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has been selected as the recipient of the 2004 Marion Bachtel Collegiate Advisor Award for the Beta Alpha Chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron. After joining the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources faculty in 1995, Caulfield has been the Phi Upsilon advisor since 1997 and the recipient of several teaching excellence awards.
"Taking Notice" runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
Homeless man admits to bank robbery
Honolulu police and federal agents say they have linked a 39-year-old homeless man to several bank robberies last summer by a suspect wearing a Halloween mask.
Roy Ross has been in custody since Aug. 12, 2003, when he was arrested for robbing the John Dominis restaurant on Ahui Street with a mask and a handgun. Police arrested Ross for first-degree robbery after they found him hiding in a nearby storage shed.
Since then investigators have also linked Ross to several bank robberies in the Mililani area last year. However, Ross is pleading guilty to one of those robberies -- the Mililani branch of American Savings on June 26, 2003 -- and the robbery at John Dominis.
Police said in both cases Ross wore the same "'Scream' mask" costume.
Ross has previous convictions of misdemeanor abuse, theft, and drugs.
WINDWARD OAHU
Diver in wet suit found dead onshore in Laie
The body of a diver in a wet suit washed ashore yesterday morning near Laie Point in Windward Oahu.Police homicide detectives along with Emergency Medical Services and Fire Department personnel were sent to the scene after police were notified about the body at about 6:12 a.m.
Members of the police missing persons detail were also sent to the scene.
No other details were available.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Driver held on charge of hitting pedestrians
Big Island police arrested a man for drunken driving after he allegedly struck a father and his son while they were walking along Alii Drive on Sunday.Police said the suspect, Roy Ledward, 45, of Kailua-Kona, was arrested for driving while intoxicated and two counts of negligent injury.
The victims, identified as Emil Spencer, 40, and Kihei Spencer, 7, also of Kailua-Kona, were walking south along the mauka shoulder of Alii Drive when they were struck about 12:43 p.m. by a 2003 Ford pickup truck at the intersection with La'aloa Avenue.
Both victims were flown to the Queen's Medical Center on Oahu for treatment of their injuries. Ledward is being held in the Kona police cellblock pending further investigation.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
