---

Flight attendants OK revised deal

Hawaiian Airlines has reached a revised contract agreement with its flight attendants, the airline announced yesterday.

Negotiations began again for a three-year contract after the membership of the Association of Flight Attendants rejected another agreement by a narrow margin last week.

The new agreement covering 794 flight attendants will be presented to members for another ratification vote.

Hawaiian is continuing to try to negotiate a new contract agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association.

It has negotiated labor agreements with five of its six labor groups, covering 89 percent of its unionized employees.

New three-year contracts have been ratified by the Clerical and Mechanics units of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), representing workers in aircraft and facility maintenance, accounting, reservations, customer and ramp services; the Transport Workers Union, comprising dispatchers, and the Network Engineering Group, representing computer engineers.

The new contracts are contingent upon reaching similar agreements with all six of the company's labor groups.

Hawaii first up on Disney eco-tours

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. » Disney will be testing an expansion of its vacation business later this year, offering weeklong guided tours through the wilds of Hawaii and Wyoming.

Disney will run 15 tours this summer at a "test" cost of between $5,600 and $7,800 for a family of four, air fare not included. If the 30-person tours prove popular, they may become a fixture and could be expanded to other destinations, the company said.

Details are still being worked out for the tours, titled "Escape to Paradise" and "Quest for the West." But promotional materials promise surfing lessons and volcano tours on Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai, and horseback rides through Wyoming's cowboy country of Jackson Hole, Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

If Disney's costumed characters make an appearance, they would only do so in a very controlled setting, said Lisa Haines, a vice president in Disney's parks and resorts division.

Ted Eubanks, a Texas-based outdoor and eco-tourism consultant, said Disney could find it tough to break into the market.

"It's not that Disney can't do it. My word -- they seem to be able to do whatever they set their mind to," Eubanks said. "I just wonder how well their brand will translate to these tours.

"Disney is in the business of virtual reality, fabricated reality. My clients are trying to escape that."

Still, Eubanks said, a big market exists for families who want to get close to nature -- but not too close. Disney could make an outdoor vacation attractive to that group, he said.

Poor diet accelerates diabetes eye disease

Development of diabetes eye disease is accelerated by a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol and low in fiber, according to a study by University of Hawaii-Manoa professor Claudio Nigg and Dr. David Cundiff of Long Beach, Calif.

Their findings were published in the online medical journal, Medscape General Medicine.

Nigg, a public health sciences professor, and Cundiff used data from the $50 million Diabetes Control and Complications Trial involving 1,441 Type 1 diabetics who were followed up to nine years. Diabetes is the main cause of new cases of blindness in adults 20 to 74 years of age and affect 12,000 to 24,000 people annually, according to the ADA.

Nigg and Cunduff found:

The article can be seen online at www.medscape.com/viewarticle/496168.

Nursing examination classes offered free

The Filipino Community Center and Nursing Advocate and Mentor, Inc., are offering free preparation classes for nursing board examinations to help ease the state's nursing shortage.

The classes are supported by a grant from Western Union.

The new classes started Jan. 26 and will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Wednesday through June 8 at the Filipino Community Center ballroom. Anyone who is qualified and interested in taking the state's nursing board license and certification examination is invited to the free classes.

Volunteer nurse specialist instructors from the University of Hawaii-Manoa and Kapiolani Community College will review content at the weekly sessions necessary for successful completion of the board examinations.

Toy Arre, executive director and president of the community center, said the program "serves to fulfill part of FilCom's mission to provide social services to not only the Filipino community but the community in general."

"It has always been our hope that classes such as these will make pursuing a career in nursing that much easier," said Beatrice Ramos-Razon, president and founder of Nursing Advocate ate and Mentor, Inc.

For more information, call the community center at 680-0451 or Ramos-Razon at 778-6291 or at bramosrazon@aol.com.

---

Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

LEEWARD OAHU

Pearl City family of 5 loses home to fire

A family of five was displaced last night after a house fire in Pearl City.

The blaze started at about 8:09 p.m. at 1878 Hoolaulea St. The heaviest damage was reported in the kitchen. Other parts of the home sustained heat and smoke damage, said Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada.

Firefighters had the fire under control within six minutes.

No one was at home when the fire started, but a family pet died in the blaze, Tejada said. Two other pets in the home were able to escape, he said.

Neighbors noticed the fire and called firefighters before it spread to the rest of the house.

The home's occupants -- two adults and three children under 10 -- were being assisted by the American Red Cross of Hawaii last night, Tejada said.

NORTH SHORE

Woman whose clothes caught on fire dies

A Waialua woman who suffered severe burns Tuesday after her clothes caught on fire at her North Shore home has died, police said.

The woman was found by her son about 5:30 p.m. sitting in a chair with her clothes on fire. Fire investigators have said a cigarette likely started the fire.

She died yesterday at the Queen's Medical Center. Her name has not yet been released.

WAIKIKI

Electric cable causes small Waikiki blast

A faulty underground electricity cable caused a small explosion yesterday in Waikiki, sending several large pieces of concrete flying into the air, police and Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said.

The concrete damaged at least one nearby car, but no injuries were reported, police said.

The explosion happened about 11 a.m. on Kuamoo Street.

Some customers in the area were without power momentarily, but electricity was soon restored, said Hawaiian Electric spokesman Peter Rosegg.

He said officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Victim was speeding in fatal Puna crash

Speed is a factor in a one-car accident that killed a 25-year-old Hilo man early Friday near Puna, Big Island police said.

Police said Michael L. Evangelista was not wearing a seat belt when the accident happened. He was ejected from his 2004 Acura when his car ran off the left side of Makuu Drive and rolled over at about 2 a.m.

He was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:08 a.m.

Police have not yet determined if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Hilo man charged in attempted shooting

A 25-year-old Hilo man has been charged with five counts of attempted murder after allegedly firing at three state highway workers Wednesday and later trying to pull a gun on arresting police officers, Big Island police announced yesterday.

Charles K. Paulino Jr., was also charged Friday with attempted theft, criminal property damage, promoting dangerous drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and other offenses.

He is being held in the Kona police cell block in lieu of $279,000 bail.

Paulino allegedly fired at three highway workers Wednesday morning after they saw him trying to remove a backhoe from a gated state facility in North Kona, police said.

Following a day-long search, two Kona patrol officers caught up with Paulino at about 10 p.m. as he was walking along Hawaii Belt Road, about three miles from the scene of the earlier incident.

When they confronted him, the suspect allegedly tried to pull a gun from his waistband, police said.

4 on boat towed to safety off South Point

A Big Island fire rescue boat towed a 28-foot fishing vessel to Keauhou Bay on Friday night after it apparently lost power about 8 miles offshore.

Four people aboard the boat were not injured.

The boat's occupants called the Hawaii County Fire Department at about 4:05 p.m. with engine problems. Rescuers arrived at the scene off South Point about three hours later, officials said.