Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
[ TAKING NOTICE ]
» Eric Liaw, a sixth-grader at Punahou School, will represent Hawaii at the 2004 National Geographic Bee next week. This is the second year in a row he has won the state championship.
The 12-year-old not only excels in geography, he also plays the piano, violin and trumpet, and likes tennis and karate.
On Tuesday, he will join 54 other contestants ages 10 to 15 from around the country in the preliminary rounds of the contest in Washington, D.C. Ten students will advance to Wednesday's finals, which will be shown that day on the National Geographic Channel, as well as on public television stations at later dates.
The top three finishers will receive college scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
The National Geographic Society has held the annual bee since 1989, in hopes of boosting geographic knowledge among young Americans, who trail their counterparts internationally.
"As never before, global issues demand that our students take a keener interest in the world in which we live and that they seek out a better understanding of other cultures, countries and issues that impact us all," said William Jasien of ING, the event's corporate sponsor.
» Jean Sugino has been selected Nurse of the Year at St. Francis Medical Center-West.
Sugino, who has worked mostly in cancer care for 30 years, is a nationally certified nurse in infusion services.
She was honored by the medical staff for her professional interactions with staff and physicians, her expertise in oncology and infusion, compassionate care for patients and her commitment to the St. Francis Mission.
» Lou Salza, head of ASSETS School, was elected to the national Association of Independent Schools' board of trustees for a three-year term.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffPolice checkpoints continue to Sept. 7
Police road checkpoints that began yesterday will continue through the summer at undisclosed locations and times to deter drunken or drug-impaired driving.The Honolulu Police Department will set up checkpoints through Sept. 7.
Thirty people have died in traffic accidents on Oahu roads this year. Seven of those fatalities occurred in accidents in which alcohol or drugs were involved.
[ THE COURTS ]
Suit claims violations in protecting rare bird
Federal officials have violated federal law by failing to designate critical habitat essential for the survival and recovery of the endangered Rota bridled white-eye bird, conservationists say. The white-eye is endemic to the island of Rota in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.The alleged violations are at the center of a lawsuit filed yesterdayin U.S. District Court by the Center for Biological Diversity against Gale Norton, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Steven Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Under a settlement in an earlier lawsuit filed by the center, the service agreed to submit by Jan. 15 a final rule to list the white-eye as endangered to the Federal Register for publication.
The Endangered Species Act requires that whenever the Interior secretary lists an endangered species, he or she must at the same time designate critical habitat so as not to "jeopardize the continued existence of any species."
When the service published the final rule in Jan. 22, the service noted that it would develop a proposal to designate critical habitat as soon as funding was available.
The center asks that the court grant relief, including forcing federal officials to designate critical habitat for the white-eye and monitor their compliance.
When the service first identified the white-eye as a candidate on the endangered species list in 1982, their population was estimated at 10,763. By 1996, the population had dropped to 1,167, according to the suit.
Woman allegedly ran check-kiting scheme
A woman has been charged with defrauding two local banks out of nearly half a million dollars in an alleged "check-kiting" scheme.Named in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court yesterday was Nicol H. Botelho.
Botelho could not be reached for comment.
Botelho and her husband allegedly operated a local plumbing business and held personal and business accounts at both City Bank and Bank of Hawaii.
According to the federal complaint, from August 1999 to April 2001, Botelho participated in a scheme that involved writing checks on one account and depositing them into the other account, knowing there weren't adequate funds to cover the checks.
She allegedly took advantage of a "float" of one day from the time she deposited the check to the time the check was paid by the bank on which it had been written, the complaint said. She was able to obtain funds immediately even if it took at least a day before the bank received payment from the other bank. By April 11, 2001, she had allegedly obtained about $470,000 in this manner, the complaint said.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
