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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff
and wire service
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Hilo program explores galaxies
The 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii in Hilo is presenting a "Galaxies Galore" program at 7 p.m. Aug. 12. The program includes an image of the Messier 82 star-burst galaxy captured by the Hubble telescope. Admission is free to 'Imiloa members and $5 a person for the public. To reserve, sign up at the center's ticket office, call 808-969-9711 or e-mail
info@imiloahawaii.org with your name, event ("Galaxies Galore"), phone number and number of people.
Wrongful-death trial opens in rockfall case
Opening statements are scheduled today in the wrongful-death civil trial of Dara Onishi.
Onishi, 26, died when a 5-ton boulder rolled down the hill behind her family's Nuuanu home, crashed through her bedroom wall and crushed her as she was sleeping Aug. 9, 2002.
Vance and Hiroko Vaughan of the Vance Vaughan Revocable Trust were named in the lawsuit when it was filed in 2003, but their lawyers are not taking part in the trial and are not scheduled to make opening statements today.
None of the attorneys for the Onishi family or the Vaughans would comment on whether the two sides reached a settlement.
However, attorneys for the Onishi family will attempt to convince the jury that the City and County of Honolulu assumed responsibility for the hillside from the Vaughans.
State Circuit Court Judge Karen Ahn is expected to dismiss the Vaughans from the lawsuit at the conclusion of the trial.
Chaminade students sharing their research
Chaminade University students participating in the McNair Achievement Program will share their summer research projects today with the public.
The research also will feature this afternoon in a poster exhibit in Henry Hall, Room 102, from 1:40 to 3:30 p.m., according to a university news release.
The 20 students are part of a federally funded program that focuses on first-generation college students and/or students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The program is named after astronaut Ronald McNair, who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion on Jan. 28, 1986.
Chaminade University is the only institution in Hawaii to be selected for the McNair Program and recently received new funding for $240,000 to continue with its program. The university has been awarded nearly $2.5 million since 1995 for its McNair scholars, many of whom have gone on to graduate studies upon graduation.
The students work with faculty on research projects in various fields. Their findings will be presented at conferences on the mainland.
SHINING STARS
League honors distinguished Hawaii citizens
The Honolulu chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League will honor its Distinguished Service award winners, professor
Eric Yamamoto and the late professor
Chris Iijima of the University of Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law, in a ceremony tomorrow at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
Iijima was a key figure in the Asian-American movement. He was raised by activist parents who were influenced by the politics of World War II. In the early 1970s, as a member of the musical trio Yellow Pearl, he recorded "A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle of Asians in America."
According to a news release, Iijima was an inspiring and greatly loved teacher as director of the law school's Pre-Admission Program, which admits and supports students from underserved communities. He was named Outstanding Professor of the Year in 2000 and received the Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award in 2001.
Yamamoto is nationally recognized for his legal knowledge of civil rights and racial justice. He was instrumental in a case that led to reparations for Japanese Americans held in internment camps during World War II.
Yamamoto received seven outstanding law teaching awards, including the 2005 Regents Medal for Teaching Excellence and the Society of American Law Teachers' national award for 2005.
The chapter will also present its Emerging Leader Scholarship awards to graduates Dustyn K.T. Min of Kamehameha Schools, Maui Campus; Shelby Salina Williams of Aiea High School; and Jonathan M. Kim of Leilehua High School.
Eric Caceres Barsatan has been named as boards and commissions manager to oversee the coordination of more than 140 state boards and commissions and to recruit qualified candidates. He starts Aug. 15. Appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle, Barsatan was a project director and grant officer for Maui County's Office of Economic Development. He also is general partner and executive vice president of the Filipino Summit, a monthly publication. This year, he was selected as one of Pacific Business News' 40 outstanding young people for his professional achievements and contributions to the community.
Ken Sato, director of the nationally recognized Pearl City High School marching and symphonic bands, is leaving his position to take over the Damien Memorial School program.
He had been with the Pearl City program for a decade before being appointed director in 2005.
"Shining Stars" runs Sunday through Thursday.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Shoplifter points gun at guards
A shoplifting incident turned into an armed robbery Tuesday when a man pulled out a gun and pointed it at two store security officers at Ala Moana Center, police said.
The man, 42, had stolen merchandise from a retail store and was trying to get away when he was confronted by store security at about 7:10 p.m., police said.
The man allegedly used force to get away from one security officer and fled to a vehicle parked nearby, where he retrieved a gun and pointed it at the two officers.
The man then drove away in the vehicle but was found by police about a mile away. Police arrested him for investigation of one count each of first- and second-degree robbery.
Man breaks into home and attacks 3
Police arrested a man who allegedly assaulted three people with a piece of lumber last weekend.
The man, 51, allegedly broke into a Kalihi home at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. While in the house, he allegedly assaulted two women, ages 27 and 20, and a 41-year-old man with a 4-foot piece of lumber.
Police said the man knew one of the female victims through work and had been demonstrating obsessive behavior toward her over the past month.
Police found the man Tuesday and arrested him for investigation of burglary and three counts of second-degree assault. Police have not yet recovered the piece of timber allegedly used in the attack.
Police chase teen in van after theft
A 19-year-old auto theft suspect led police on a short chase through Kalihi on Tuesday.
Police said the incident started at a nearby beach just after 1 p.m., when a 49-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman were swimming.
Witnesses told the couple that the suspect removed items from their bag on shore, then got into their van drove away. Police were called, and an all-points bulletin was issued for the stolen van.
Officers in Kalihi spotted the van and followed it, police said. When the suspect realized he was being followed, he abandoned the van and fled on foot. Police caught him near Kalani and Hau streets makai of Nimitz Highway and arrested him for investigation of auto theft.
Man witnesses theft from neighbor's car
An alert neighbor helped a Kapahulu man get his property back after someone broke into his car early yesterday.
Police said the witness, a 39-year-old man, heard noises outside his home near Hinano Street and saw the suspect, a 26-year-old man, rummaging through his neighbor's car at about 2:45 a.m. The witness then watched as the suspect took items from his neighbor's car and walked to the end of the street, where he got into a white four-door sedan.
Police were called, and officers escorted the man whose property was stolen to the sedan. The man identified his property, and police arrested the suspect for investigation of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Puna home fire deals $80,000 in damage
Fire heavily damaged a home last night in the Nanawale Estates subdivision in lower Puna on the Big Island.
The fire at the home on Oahu Street was reported at about 9:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Hawaii County Fire Department. Damage was estimated at $80,000. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Woman wanted on Drug Court warrant
Big Island police want help finding a 26-year-old woman who is wanted on a bench warrant issued by the Big Island Drug Court.
Courtney Uchima is described as 4 foot 11, about 115 pounds, with a medium build, hazel eyes and brown hair. Her last known address was 79-1008 Hokukano Road, Kealakekua.
Anyone with information is asked to call officer DuWayne Waipa at 961-2350 or the nonemergency number at 935-3311. Callers may also contact CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
