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Rat knocks out power to portion of Kahala

About 1,000 homes and shops in the Kahala Mall area lost power yesterday because of a rat.

The rodent found its way into one of Hawaiian Electric Co.'s transformers and knocked out the power, said HECO spokesman Jose Dizon.

He said HECO began getting calls about 10:30 a.m. Trouble crews found the troublemaker at 11:45 a.m. and power was back to about 500 customers by about 12:45 p.m.

Full electrical service was restored by 2:15 p.m., Dizon said.

Groups rally against sex assaults near UH

Students and community groups will hold a night march and rally at the University of Hawaii-Manoa on Thursday to voice concern over recent sexual assaults near campus.

The "Take Back the Night" march will start at 6:30 p.m. at the UH-Manoa Campus Center.

The march will end at the Hale Aloha dormitory at the university, where attendees can listen to speakers and bands.

Neighborhood board ballots due tomorrow

Tomorrow is the deadline for mailing in ballots for Oahu's 32 neighborhood board elections.

The results will be announced May 1, said Baybee Hufana-Ablan, executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission.

More than 215,000 ballots were mailed out to voters last month. In all, 538 people were running for the 444 neighborhood board seats. Terms on the neighborhood boards run for two years, from June 1 to May 31, 2007.

The Neighborhood Commission will have a ceremony for newly elected board members at the Honolulu Hale courtyard on May 14.

The nine-member Neighborhood Commission and the neighborhood board system were established in 1972 as part of a voter-approved revision to the City Charter.

Golden plover expert to present 3 lectures

A mainland expert on the kolea, or Pacific golden plover, will give three Oahu lectures about the birds this month, starting tomorrow .

Wally Johnson, of Montana State University, brings a team of researchers each April to tag kolea in Hawaii with temporary radio transmitters that track the birds after they migrate to Alaska for the summer. The birds generally leave Hawaii in groups during April.

Johnson's talks will be:

For more information, call Annette Kaohelaulii at 235-5431.

Alcohol screening on Hina Mauka site

Hina Mauka has added a new feature to its Web site in recognition of National Alcohol Screening Day, a program to increase education about the impact of alcohol on health.

The Web site, www.hinamauka.org, now offers a free and confidential alcohol screening test as well as information on alcohol consumption and health and resources to get more help.

Find the link for "Self Test" in the left-hand column of any page except the home page.

"This new feature offers a marvelous opportunity for anyone who suspects alcohol problems of themselves or a loved one," said M.P. "Andy" Anderson, Hina Mauka's chief operating officer.

He said past alcohol screening efforts offered to the public scared people away. "The online screening offers complete confidentiality for those seeking help and accurate answers to their questions about alcohol and alcoholism."

National Alcohol Screening Day is observed nationally on April 7. The theme this year was "Alcohol and Your Health: Where Do You Draw the Line?"

Hina Mauka, 45-845 Pookela St., Kaneohe, provides prevention, treatment and recovery services to residents, families and communities touched by alcoholism and chemical dependency. For more information, call 236-2600.

Juvenile Diabetes slates gala May 27

The Hawaii Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will hold its sixth annual Spring Gala from 6 to 11 p.m. May 27 in the Monarch Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

The program will include entertainment by Don Tiki, cocktails and dinner, live and silent auctions, and opportunity to participate in Fund-a-Cure. Proceeds will support research on a diabetes cure.

Hillary Radovich and Ingrid Steinwascher are co-chairwomen of the event. Honorary chairmen are Mitch and Bambi D'Olier.

Tables of 10 are available for $10,000, $5,000 and $3,500. A limited number of individual tickets are available for $350.

For more information, call 988-1000.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Pahoa woman dies in head-on collision on Big Island

A 40-year-old woman died and four people, including three juveniles, were injured in a head-on collision between a pickup truck and a four-door sedan in the Puna area of the Big Island Friday night.

Hilo police identified the victim as Renee Kane of Pahoa.

She was driving a GMC pickup truck and traveling south on Route 130, on the Keeau-Pahoa Highway, when her vehicle crossed the centerline about 550 feet south of the Shower Drive intersection, police said.

The truck crashed head-on into a Ford four-door sedan traveling north on Route 130.

Kane was taken to Hilo Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:45 a.m. yesterday.

Fire rescue personnel took the driver of the sedan and three juvenile passengers to Hilo Medical Center for treatment.

An 11-year-old boy was flown to Oahu and is listed in critical condition at the Queen's Medical Center.

The driver and a female juvenile passenger were admitted to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition. Another female juvenile passenger was treated for minor injuries and released.

Police said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.

Kane's death is the 12th traffic fatality on the Big Island compared to 17 at the same time last year.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Reed Mahuna, 961-8889.

WINDWARD OAHU

Man dies after leaving diving group early

A man in his 30s apparently drowned while diving with friends off Kaiona Beach Park in Waimanalo Friday night.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Kenison Tejada said the man and his friends were going out in the water about 10 p.m. Friday.

The man said he didn't feel good and was going back to shore. When his friends returned to shore, they couldn't find him.

The Fire Department was called at about 12:45 a.m. yesterday.

The diver had a glowing nightstick on his snorkel and was spotted below the surface, about 100 yards off shore, less than five minutes after a Fire Department helicopter arrived, Tejada said.

CENTRAL OAHU

19-year-old arrested for alleged robbery

A 19-year-old man was arrested early yesterday morning in Wahiawa after allegedly robbing two men of $30 at gunpoint in Mililani.

The suspect apparently was known to the victims, ages 35 and 39, police said. They met him at Jack in the Box in Mililani and drove to the Mililani Chevron station at about 1:10 a.m.

The suspect, riding in the back seat, pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money, police said.

The suspect left the scene in a car driven by someone else, according to the report. He was alone in a car when a patrol officer arrested him about two hours later at California and Cypress avenues.