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[ TAKING NOTICE ]

>> Jeanette Otsuka, owner of Otsuka's Furniture & Appliances of Kauai, received the Best Practices Honor from the American Psychological Association for employee reward and recognition practices. Otsuka began her efforts by cooking meals at the work site to help rebuild employee morale after a series of family deaths and the devastation of Hurricane Iniki. She later gave monetary performance bonuses, increased pay packages, and 401K and profit-sharing programs.

>> Dr. Robin Dang of Honolulu was given the Provider of the Year award by Gayhealth.com. The internist has been serving a diverse population in Hawaii since 1989, including those from the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, as well as those whose primary language is Vietnamese, the group said. Dang and his family escaped with other Vietnamese refugees several years after the fall of Saigon.

>> John Buck, Maui deputy director of the county Department of Parks and Recreation, was named to the board of directors of the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials.

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UH med school dean on emergency leave

The dean of the University of Hawaii's medical school has taken a leave of absence to address "a personal health crisis," according to a UH release yesterday.

The release did give any details on the health crisis and said that Dr. Ed Cadman and his family request privacy "during this challenging time."

"We wish Ed the best for a rapid recovery, and hope that he will be able to return to his position at the medical school in the near future," said UH Interim President David McClain in the release.

On advice from Cadman, McClain said he will recommend to the Board of Regents that Dr. Sam Shomaker, vice dean of the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, take over as acting dean.

Isles get $5.7 million to assist the homeless

Hawaii has received about $5.7 million in federal grants to help the state help its homeless, Gov. Linda Lingle announced.

The grants are part of $1.4 billion the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is distributing across the nation to support state and local homeless programs.

The funds are awarded in an annual national competition.

Moanalua educator up for $5,000 award

Moanalua High School Assistant Principal Robin Martin has been named one of just three finalists for a national award recognizing the 2005 assistant principal of the year.

Martin has already been named the Hawaii State Assistant Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

If Martin wins, it would mark the second straight year the NASSP bestowed a national award on someone in Hawaii. Last year, it named Campbell High School Principal Gail Awakuni its principal of the year.

The winner will be selected Feb. 25. State and national winners will be honored in Washington, D.C., this spring. The winner of the national award gets $5,000, which can be used in their school or for personal professional development.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

LEEWARD OAHU

Body is found in car burning near Makua

Waianae firefighters discovered the body of an unidentified man yesterday morning inside a burning automobile near Makua Valley.

Firefighters were called shortly after 6 a.m. to the makai side of Farrington Highway near Ohikilolo Ranch just before Makua Cave. The fire was extinguished in minutes, and a body was found in the front of the vehicle.

Police said the body could not be identified at the scene. The case is under investigation.

HONOLULU

Two men arrested in Manoa burglaries

Police arrested two men after they allegedly broke into a car and a house under construction in Manoa yesterday morning.

A witness saw the suspects, ages 22 and 28, enter a station wagon near Akaka Place and East Manoa Road at about 1:58 a.m. and search it with flashlights.

Police were called and found one of the suspects walking out of a nearby house under construction. He got into a maroon truck where the second suspect was waiting.

Police stopped the men and found toolboxes that had been taken from the work site, police said.

The station wagon that the suspects had been seen searching had been stolen, police said. Officers found jewelry and other items in the suspects' pockets, police said.

Both men were arrested for investigation of second- degree burglary, auto theft and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.

Arson is suspected in Palolo garage fire

Honolulu police and fire officials were investigating what appeared to be an intentionally set fire in Palolo yesterday morning.

The fire was reported at about 2:45 a.m. in the garage of an 80-year-old man who lives on 10th Avenue, police said. A neighbor managed to put out the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Fire officials said they had been called to that location twice before for similar incidents involving the garage and cars damaged by fire.

Police are investigating the fire as a second-degree criminal property damage case.