Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Contractors crack 10-ton Nanakuli rock
Contractors yesterday successfully split apart a 10-ton boulder that was resting against the back of a home in Nanakuli.The rock had slid about 25 feet down the hillside a week ago, prompting evacuation of nearby residents on Akowai Road.
The boulder is no longer leaning against the home, said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Juan and Donna Navarro, who live in the home, were allowed to return last night but were advised to leave during the day while work continues.
Two days ago, workers from Royal Contracting Co. Ltd. and Prometheus Construction drilled holes in the boulder and poured in chemical expanders to create cracks. Contractors used chemical expanders and jackhammers yesterday to break up pieces of the boulder into manageable sizes.
Contractors marked other boulders on the hillside that pose a threat to homeowners. Work to demolish and remove the rocks is estimated to take about a week.
Consultant to screen police chief applicants
The Honolulu Police Commission has selected the consultant who will screen candidates for Oahu's new chief of police this summer.Terry Eisenberg, president of Personnel Performance, Inc., a Chesapeake Beach, Md., firm, was one of two applicants for the job. Commission Chairman Ronald Taketa said the consultant fee for Eisenberg would be $29,000, about $5,000 more than the city paid to find a replacement for former Police Chief Michael Nakamura in 1998.
Donohue announced last month that he would be retiring from HPD on July 1, the date of his 40th year with the department. Taketa said he expects to have a new chief in place by August.
In the meantime, an interim chief will be selected to fill in until the new chief takes over. Taketa said Deputy Chief Glenn Kajiyama, who is second in command at the department, will be given the first chance to accept the interim job.
Lingle to give address at dinner in Israel
Gov. Linda Lingle was scheduled to address a 200-shekel-a-plate dinner of the American- Israel Chamber of Commerce in Tel Aviv tonight. That's $43.70 for the American members.The event at the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel is sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ormat Industries Ltd., an Israeli manufacturer and developer of renewable energy power plants.
A subsidiary of Ormat, Ormat Nevada Inc., last month announced it was buying the Puna Geothermal Venture on the Big Island from Constellation Energy for a reported $71 million.
Lingle and a 27-member delegation from Hawaii are in Israel this week on a visit the governor says will be more about strengthening relations and raising the state's profile than about the politics of the volatile region.
The Hawaii delegation is scheduled to leave for home Saturday.
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[TAKING NOTICE]
>> Winners of the First Annual 'Olelo Youth Xchange Video competition include student filmmakers from these schools: Ahuimanu Elementary, Hawaiian Mission Elementary and Intermediate, Kalaheo High, Kawananakoa Middle, Leilehua High, Maili Elementary, Maunawili Elementary, Moanalua High and Montessori School of Maui.>> Hawaii Pacific University's 16th Annual Hawaii High School Writing Awards were given to:
Patricia Ann Ward of Sacred Hearts Academy, first place cash award and HPU tuition waiver, valued at more than $8,000; Sheela Jane Menon of Sacred Hearts, a cash award, and HPU tuition waiver worth $5,000; and Jourdene Rosella Cruz-Aguon of Campbell High School, a cash award, and HPU tuition waiver worth $3,000.
>> RadioShack Corp. has presented its 2004 National Teacher Award to Susan Travis, a math and technology teacher at ASSETS School in Honolulu. She was among 110 educators who received the award this year, along with a $3,000 prize.
>> Brandon Kong, a sophomore at Castle High School, has won the Hawaii state championship of the AAA Travel Challenge, and went to Florida in April to compete in the national contest for a $25,000 scholarship. The AAA challenge required students in grades 9 through 12 to take online exams testing their knowledge of U.S. and world geography.
"Taking Notice" also runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
Robbery suspect back in jail under real name
Honolulu police have re-arrested a robbery suspect who had been arrested earlier this month, but gave a false name and was accidentally released from Honolulu District Court.
CORRECTION
Friday, May 21, 2004Police were hunting robbery suspect William Thaxton Earheart IV, who was accidentally released when he used a false name following an arrest for shoplifting. A police brief on Page A4 in yesterday's early edition incorrectly said Earheart had been re-arrested.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.William Thaxton Earheart IV, also known as Joshua Malone Johnson, was wanted on a federal arrest warrant for allegedly pulling a handgun and demanding money from a teller at the window of the "Cash N Advance" at the Moanalua Shopping Center on March 31. Police said on May 13 Earheart had been arrested and charged for shoplifting in Kalihi but gave the name Johnson and was released four days later.
Suspect allegedly tries to hit man with car
Police are looking for a man who allegedly tried to run down another man with his car in Kalihi on Tuesday night.The victim, 40, told police that the suspect attempted to run him down about 10:15 p.m. on Meyers Street, where he lives, after the two had argued.
The suspect, who fled before officers arrived, is described as a 19-year-old with a dark complexion, wearing a dark shirt and baseball cap, police said. The victim told police the man drove a black car, possibly a Toyota Celica.
The suspect faces possible charges of attempted second-degree murder and reckless endangering.
Police say angry driver smashed car window
An apparent road rage incident ended in the arrest of a 20-year-old man who allegedly bashed in a car window with a baseball bat, after he and the car's driver got into a traffic accident Tuesday afternoon.Police said the suspect and the 25-year-old victim were involved in a traffic incident in Waikiki.
At Ala Moana Center, the suspect allegedly got out of his car and used a baseball bat to shatter the rear window of the victim's car, spraying the victim with glass. The victim suffered minor injuries, police said.
The victim followed the suspect as he drove away from the scene, then called police. Police arrested the suspect on suspicion of first-degree criminal property damage, then later released him pending investigation.
LEEWARD OAHU
Sailor allegedly fires pellets into schoolyard
A 24-year-old Pearl Harbor sailor is under investigation for allegedly firing a pellet gun from his quarters at a tree in a schoolyard adjacent to the base.The schoolyard at Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary School was empty when the incident occurred at 6 p.m. Monday, officials said. No one was injured.
Pearl Harbor security officers confiscated two gas-powered pellet guns.
Suspect arrested in spear-wielding case
Police arrested a 32-year-old Waiau man after he allegedly threatened his neighbor and family with a spear at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.Police said the suspect pointed a Hawaiian sling, commonly used for fishing, at a 39-year-old man who lives on Kaluamoi Place, threatening to kill him and his family. Police arrested the suspect for suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
80-year-old visitor drowns off Kauai
LIHUE >> An 80-year-old Virginia man died Monday after being pulled from the water at Kee Beach near Haena on Kauai's North Shore. The victim was identified as Robert Burns of Vienna, Va.Shortly after 4 p.m., the Kauai Fire Department received a report of an unconscious man at Kee Beach. Burns had been pulled from the water and bystanders were attempting to revive him. Emergency personnel took over revival efforts and the victim was transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy is pending. If it determines that Burns drowned, it will be the fifth on Kauai this year.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
