Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
RED-HOT LAVA BUBBLE
A bubble more than 5 feet high formed repeatedly on Friday at the "banana flow" delta on the Big Island, where the lava has been pouring into the ocean. Kilauea's "banana flow" broke out in mid-April and reached the sea over Memorial Day weekend. Since then it has been putting on a consistently dramatic show.
Maui family sues over attack on son at school
WAILUKU >> A Valley Isle family is suing the state Department of Education for negligence in allegedly failing to prevent an assault at Maui High School that left their son with a broken jaw after an unprovoked attack by another student.Everett and Elizabeth Bennett alleged that the department should have known that the student who attacked their son Anthony Royball was dangerous.
The jaw of Royball, then a senior, was wired shut for six weeks after the attack on the campus of Maui High School on Aug. 30, 2002, the Bennetts' attorney Philip Lowenthal said.
Lowenthal said the student who attacked Royball was not in class, was hanging around campus and had attacked another student earlier in the day.
"They should have known this guy was running around campus," said Lowenthal, who filed the lawsuit June 21 in Maui Circuit Court.
Man gets 15 months for false tax returns
A man who underreported his taxable income by more than $400,000 has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.Alphonso Palmer, 37, had pleaded guilty to filing a false federal income tax return for 1996. He is a resident of Samoa but was living in Hawaii when the return was filed in 1997.
Palmer reported taxable income of just less than $17,000 when his true income was more than $470,000, according to information produced in court.
U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. said that at the time of Thursday's sentencing by U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor, Palmer owed more than $47,000 in unpaid federal taxes.
Palmer also owed the state income taxes and excise tax of almost $42,000, Kubo said.
In return for his guilty plea, a second count of filing a false return for the 1997 calendar year was dismissed.
Rules ease ethnic requirement for loans
New rules released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development allow Department of Hawaiian Home Lands leaseholders who are at least 25 percent Hawaiian to be eligible for Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages.Under the new rules, which take effect July 15, all leaseholders will be eligible to obtain an FHA insured mortgage, provided the DHHL determines the person applying for the loan is in good credit standing and has the financial ability to repay the loan.
Previously, the leaseholder was required to be at least 50 percent Hawaiian to qualify for the loan.
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[Taking Notice]
>> Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett has been named chairman of the antitrust committee of the National Association of Attorneys General, Gov. Linda Lingle's office said.Bennett succeeds New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as head of the national group's committee that coordinates multistate antitrust litigation, Lingle's office said last week in a news release.
As antitrust chairman, Bennett also is chairman of the association's Executive Working Group for Antitrust, which includes the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the head of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
>> A $15,000 grant from the Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust has allowed Child and Family Service to build a playground with special safety features at Hau'oli Na Keiki, a school and after-school program for children with autism.
The nonprofit agency also received $225,000 from the Robert F. Lange Foundation to support high school dropouts seeking a second chance to graduate with the Hale O Ulu STEP II program.
The Hawaii Children's Trust Fund awarded the agency a two-year $101,430 grant to expand programs at Nana's House on Kauai to include a Family Club as a way to connect with parents who might feel ashamed about receiving help.
>> Lanai, Augie and Crystal Akana broadcast live for 16 hours on Island 98.5's Radio-Thon to raise $9,050 for Easter Seals Hawaii, which serves children and adults with disabilities and other special needs.
"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 staffHONOLULU
Woman and kids team up in purse robbery
Police are looking for a woman who allegedly used children to distract a store manager to steal a purse.The suspect allegedly walked into the Elephant Walk store on the street level of Ala Moana Center just before 10 a.m. June 15 with a baby in a stroller, a boy who appeared to be about 7 to 8 years old and a teenage girl between 16 and 19 years old. Police said the mother and her "son" distracted store staff while the teenage "daughter" stole the manager's purse. Store officials were not aware of what happened until they later reviewed surveillance tapes.
A few minutes after the theft, the victim's credit card was used at a Makiki gas station and then again at the Kmart at 500 Nimitz Highway, making a number of purchases there within an hour of the theft.
The adult female in this case is described as in her 30s, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 120 pounds, with a skinny build, brown hair and a tan complexion. The teenage girl was described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, with a skinny build and brown shoulder-length hair, while the boy was described as 4 feet tall and having a husky build.
Anyone with information may contact Detective Malcolm Uehara directly at 547-7214. Anonymous calls may also be made to CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or by dialing *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Club-goer allegedly fires parting shot
Honolulu police arrested a 22-year-old man yesterday after he allegedly fired a shot at a nightclub and then hit two cars with his car as he drove off.Police said the suspect was angry he had been kicked out of a Kona Street nightclub sometime before 3:20 a.m. The man went to his car, drove down the block and allegedly fired a rifle in the direction of the nightclub. He sped away via Kona Iki Street but lost control as he was making a turn on Kapiolani Boulevard and struck two parked cars.
The suspect attempted to flee on foot, dropping the rifle about half a block away. Police later found him and arrested him for first-degree reckless endangering, fleeing the scene of an accident and firearm offenses. The suspect was released pending an investigation.
NORTH SHORE
California man dies after found in Waialua
A 63-year-old California man died Sunday after being found face down in the ocean at a Waialua beach, police said.The Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as James B. Evans, of Irvine, Calif.
Police said the man had been swimming and was found unconscious at 2:25 p.m. Witnesses told fire rescue personnel that they saw him fishing at the water's edge, said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada.
An Emergency Medical Services official said Evans was taken in critical condition to Wahiawa General Hospital, where he later died. Relatives said the man had a heart condition, police said.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
