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19 locations available for passport requests
Passport applicants can go to 19 locations on Oahu, including libraries and post offices.Four years ago, only three Oahu locations, besides the main passport agency on Ala Moana, were available for applicants.
The Honolulu Passport Agency encourages the use of neighborhood facilities because of the increasing number of citizens traveling abroad.
Passport acceptance facilities on Oahu are the public libraries of Aiea, Hawaii Kai, Hawaii State, Kalihi-Palama, Waialua and Waimanalo; the post offices of Downtown Honolulu, Ewa Beach, Hawaii Kai, Kaaawa, Kailua, Kapalama, Kunia, Laie, Wahiawa and Waikiki; and Kapiolani Community College, Leeward Community College and the University of Hawaii-Manoa.
Eligible applicants can also renew their passports by mail. Passport information can be found at travel.state.gov or call toll free at (877) 487-2778.
Isle educators invited to GIS conference
Hawaii's public and private school teachers are invited to learn about the practical uses of geographic information systems at a three-day conference next week.The meeting will highlight technology, such as global positioning and advanced imaging systems, that allow governments, businesses and schools to obtain geographic data and better understand environmental issues.
"GISMAP 2004: Protecting and Strengthening Communities in the Pacific," presented by the Hawaii Geographic Information Coordinating Council, will be at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort from Monday through Wednesday.
Educators may request a free registration pass to participate in all daily sessions and panel discussions.
For more information, visit the GISMAP 2004 Web site at www.higicc.org/gismap.asp or contact conference coordinators Pacific Rim Concepts at 864-9812.
Isle company awarded Navy cleanup contract
A Honolulu company has been awarded a Navy contract worth up to $30 million to remove contaminated soil from Pacific military installations.Dawson Group Inc. will excavate and haul the soil and treat groundwater under a deal announced yesterday by U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.
The contract, for up to five years of work, guarantees payment of only $60,000 to Dawson but has a ceiling of $30 million.
Ninety percent of the work is to be done in Hawaii; the rest at other naval sites in the Pacific.
License plates starting with 'E' to be replaced
The city will replace vehicle license plates beginning with the letter "E" with new plates because many of the older plates have lost their reflectivity, which could result in citations.Many of the plates were issued 14 years ago and are now difficult to read at night.
The replacement process will begin during the second week of June for vehicles with a July 31 expiration date.
Registered owners have the choice of:
>> A new license plate with the same "E" number, in which case owners must submit requests no later than 10 days before the vehicle expiration date.City officials will begin replacing "F" license plates early next year.>> A new, consecutively issued license plate beginning with the letter "N."
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
HPD seeks fugitive in alleged roofing scam
Honolulu police are looking for a fugitive from California who is wanted for an alleged roofing and housing repair scam.
Efram "Pudgy" Miller, 40, is wanted on a grand jury warrant for alleged larceny theft involving a scam on an elderly couple in San Francisco. Police arrested Miller's brother Sam, 48, last year involving the same incident. According to police, the scam involves men who pose as repairmen, sometimes roofers, and solicit homeowners for work. Most of the jobs are left incomplete although the suspects have been paid in full for the job. Other times the suspects burglarize the home, police said.
Police said Miller is believed to be on Oahu. Miller, also known as Louie Clark and Ephriem Mario Miller, is described as 5 foot 6 inches, about 150 pounds, with a medium build, dark brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache.
Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or by dialing *CRIME on a cellular phone.
WINDWARD OAHU
Police link bank heists in Kalihi and Kaneohe
Police are looking for a suspect in a Kaneohe bank robbery yesterday, who they believe robbed another bank in Kalihi last month.The suspect entered the Kaneohe branch of City Bank at 45-1054 Kamehameha Highway at 10 a.m., demanded money from the teller and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was last seen getting into the passenger seat of an older model white Ford truck driven by an unknown male accomplice and heading toward Kaneohe town on the highway.
Police say they believe the same suspect robbed the American Savings Kalihi branch on May 26. The suspect is in his late 20s to early 30s, 5 foot 9 inches, between 190 to 210 pounds, with black afro hair and a tan complexion. The suspect was also last seen wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brian Johnson at 692-4602 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or by dialing *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Suspect charged in Kailua home robbery
Police have charged a 34-year-old homeless man from Waimanalo in connection with a Kailua home invasion last week.Richard Johnson was charged Friday with first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.
Police said three masked men allegedly broke into the home at 1:30 a.m. Thursday and struck a man, 48, and woman, 47, with a pipe-like instrument. The woman was found to have bleeding in the brain. They stole an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe.
CENTRAL OAHU
Chemical hazard forces evacuation
Honolulu firefighters evacuated a small group of Dole Food Co. workers yesterday after a container holding a resin-like chemical began to expand and bulge from the inside.Smoke began wafting from a 24-foot storage container near 1116 Whitmore Ave. in Whitmore Village shortly after noon, fire officials said.
Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said 200 pounds of chemicals were being stored inside and when combined began to smoke. The Fire Department did not evacuate Whitmore Village because there was enough space around the container to dissipate the vapors in the tradewinds, Tejada said
By 6:15 p.m. firefighters determined that the container had cooled and become stable.
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