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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff
and wire service
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National Medal of Honor Day set
The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution establishing March 25 as National Medal of Honor Day. The resolution was co-authored by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. The Medal of Honor is the highest distinction given to a member of the Armed Forces. Since March 25, 1863, the medal has been awarded 3,443 times. Of the 111 recipients still living, four are from Hawaii: U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, Barney F. Hajiro of Maui, Shizuya Hayashi of Oahu and retired Marine Sgt. Allan Jay Kellogg.
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High school students can get free SAT help
The state Department of Education and Hawaii Community College are spending $100,000 to give free SAT preparation courses to students after school and on weekends.
The nonprofit College Connections Hawaii will teach the classes at public high schools to help raise scores of the widely used college entrance exam. At least 22 schools have signed up for classes this spring and summer. Schools interested in hosting an SAT class can contact College Connections Hawaii at 737-8955.
Bill would help kin of Filipino WWII vets
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka has reintroduced a bill to make it easier for children of Filipino World War II veterans to immigrate to the United States.
The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would reunify families who are separated because of a backlog in visa applications to the State Department, said Akaka, D-Hawaii.
Family-sponsored immigrants from the Philippines have the longest wait times in the world before visas are scheduled to become available to them. About 200,000 Filipinos served in World War II, and about 49,000 of the veterans are still living.
The bill was part of the Senate immigration reform bill passed last year but not enacted into law.
Owner regains ring lost off Maui in '80s
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. » If you lose your class ring swimming in the Pacific Ocean, the odds of finding it aren't exactly high -- especially more than 20 years later.
Apparently, suburban Philadelphia resident James Costantini has some kind of luck.
His parents recently presented him with his long-lost 1984 class ring from William Tenant High School. He had lost it swimming in Hawaii while on vacation with his family when he was 18 -- more than 20 years ago.
A California man found it a year later while snorkeling off Maui and kept it as a souvenir. The finder, Phil Winter, says the topaz ring sat in his wife's jewelry box until recently, when his daughter saw it and wanted to wear it. Winter decided to try to track down the owner and did so with the help of one of his daughter's teachers. The ring was returned in a box from a Maui jeweler, arriving at the home of Costantini's parents on Saturday. "I thought a fish ate it," said Costantini, now 41.
Local eateries pledge to help HIV programs
Various isle restaurants are teaming up to fight AIDS by donating to the Life Foundation a portion of their proceeds earned on Feb. 28.
The foundation operates an HIV prevention program and provides services to nearly 700 HIV-positive men, women and children. To find out which restaurants are participating, go to www.oahudines.org or call 521-AIDS.
SHINING STARS
North Hawaii Rotarians give funds to Boy Scouts, hospice and others
The
Rotary Club of North Hawaii has awarded $12,300 to various charitable and educational organizations, including
Mala'ai, the Culinary Gardens of Waimea School, $1,500;
Boy Scouts of America Troop 27, $1,000;
North Hawaii Hospice, $600;
Brantley Center Inc., $1,000;
North Kohala Community Resource Center, $1,000;
Visitor Aloha Society of West Hawaii, $1,000;
West Hawaii Dance Theater, $300;
Carlton Cherrigan Youth in Sports Memorial Fund, $1,000;
Good Beginnings Alliance, $1,900;
Friends of the Future, $1,000;
Pacific War Memorial Association, $1,000; and
Hawaii Wildlife Center, $1,000.
Cameron Center in Maui plans to honor Audrey Rocha Reed and Mary Cameron Sanford at a commendations dinner April 28 to raise funds for the center's health and nonprofit programs. Reed will be retiring after 25 years of service to the center. Sanford has donated heavily to various Maui charities, such as the Maui Aids Foundation and the Gorilla Foundation, and has been on the center's board of directors for 15 years. The dinner will feature comedian Frank DeLima and a silent auction at the Maui Beach Hotel. Table reservations for 10 are available at $5,000, $3,000 and $1,500 each. For more information, contact Cesar Gaxiola at 244-5546.
CORRECTION
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
» Retired Marine Sgt. Allan Jay Kellogg is one of four Hawaii residents awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His name was omitted from a brief on Page A3 Monday.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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WINDWARD OAHU
Motorcyclist suffers deadly crash at track
A 53-year-old man died yesterday in a motorcycle accident in Kahuku, police said.
The man was riding his motorcycle at Kahuku Motocross Track near Velzyland about 4 p.m. when he apparently lost control, fell and struck a hard object, officials said. He was taken to Kahuku Hospital, where he died.
No ID yet for victim of apparent drowning
An apparent drowning victim was found early Saturday morning in Waimanalo.
A nude body was found in the shoreline area of Waimanalo Beach Park at about 3:30 a.m. The person appeared to have drowned, and there were no signs of foul play, police said.
The city Medical Examiner's Office has the body but has yet to identify the victim. The body was in the initial stages of decomposition, and an identity might not be confirmed until sometime later this week, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.
WAIKIKI
Fatal heart attack hits diver offshore
A 23-year-old man died yesterday while diving off Waikiki. The Coast Guard said the man suffered a heart attack at about 1 p.m. while diving a mile off the beach. He was taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
HONOLULU
Gun-wielding duo sought in robbery try
Police are looking for two men who attempted to rob a 27-year-old man with what appeared to be a handgun while he was waiting at a bus stop in Honolulu.
The man told police two men in their 20s approached him at about 3 a.m. Saturday, demanded money from him and searched his backpack without taking anything.
One of the suspects took out what appeared to be a silver handgun and put it to the victim's neck, police said.
The suspects fled without taking anything when the bus arrived.
WEST OAHU
Waipahu man held in sexual assault
Police have arrested a 40-year-old man for an alleged sexual assault that occurred Tuesday.
A woman, whose age was not disclosed, reported that she was inappropriately touched by the suspect, police said. The victim identified the suspect Thursday, and police arrested him at his Waipahu home on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault.
LEEWARD OAHU
Firefighters put out industrial park blaze
Firefighters extinguished a brush fire yesterday afternoon near Campbell Industrial Park in Kapolei.
Six firetrucks and a battalion chief responded to the fire at 91-480 Malakole St. at about 1:20 p.m. and reported the fire under control before 2 p.m. Firefighters spent several hours afterward extinguishing hot spots in the area.
Kona boy, 16, still missing months later
Big Island police are looking for a 16-year-old Kona boy who has been missing since Dec. 2.
Nicholas Volpa was last seen on Kalani Street in Kailua-Kona. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 170 pounds, with a medium build, black hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Big Island police at 935-3311. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
Copters help crews extinguish hot spots
Big Island firefighters were using two helicopters yesterday to put out hot spots from a blaze that burned at least 1,000 acres along Waikoloa Road.
The fire, reported at about noon Saturday, forced the closure of Waikoloa Road from Paniolo Drive to Highway 190 until early yesterday morning. No homes were threatened. The cause of the fire, which burned mostly grass and eucalyptus, is being investigated.
