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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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COURTESY PHOTO
The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Santa Fe is shown here in a file photo with it's missile hatches open. The Navy reported that a small leak caused a brief electrical fire Friday night while the submarine was in Hawaii waters. No one was injured and damage was described as minor.
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Fire breaks out aboard Navy sub
A water leak aboard a nuclear-powered submarine led to a small electrical fire Friday night, a Navy spokesman said.
The Pearl Harbor-based USS Santa Fe was in Hawaii waters when a snorkel system, used to get air while the vessel is underwater, "took on a small amount of water," said Lt. Cmdr. David Benham, spokesman for the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet.
A damage control team responded and quickly extinguished the electrical fire, which caused "very minor equipment damage," Benham said.
No one was injured, and the Santa Fe returned to Pearl Harbor Saturday afternoon for repairs.
Benham could not disclose what the submarine's mission was at the time of the incident.
The Santa Fe is the Navy's 52nd Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine. It was launched in 1992 and has been based at Pearl Harbor since 1995.
UH gets health sciences grant
The U.S. Department of Education awarded $128,996 to the University of Hawaii for a program to help high school students take college classes in health sciences, according to a news release and the Career and Technical Education Center at the University of Hawaii.
The grant will help develop classes that will enable public school students get community college credit for classes they take in high school.
The grant is funded through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 and administered by the department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
Tours of Maui observatories open
The Institute for Astronomy has eight spaces left for a tour Sept. 6 of its four observatories at the summit of Haleakala.
Stargazing with the Haleakala Astronomical Association and "remote" observing with the Faulkes Telescope will take place after sunset.
Participants must be a member of the Friends of the Institute for Astronomy. Membership begins with a minimum $50 donation or, for seniors and students, $25. Benefits are described online at www.ifa.hawaii.edu/friends/becomemember.html.
The IFA recommends calling the Friends hot line at 956-6665 to reserve a spot for the tour, then making any necessary travel reservations and sending in the completed reservation form.
The tour of the U.S. Air Force's Electro-Optical Surveillance System is limited to U.S. citizens, the IFA says.
Foreign students need hosts
Families are still needed to host international exchange students for the 2008-09 school year.
The nonprofit STS Foundation has sponsored the cultural exchange program for more than 20 years.
The host family should be able to provide a separate bed, family meals and a safe environment for a high-school student. Call 800 522-4678 or e-mail lillian@stsfoundation.org if interested.
For more information on the program, visit www.stsfoundation.org.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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Biker dies after hitting signpost
Speed was a factor yesterday in an Ewa motorcycle crash that killed a 29-year-old man, police said.
George Casher, of Ewa Beach, died at the Queen's Medical Center at 1:02 p.m.
According to police, at about 11:45 a.m. Casher was driving a black 2005 Yamaha motorcycle westbound on the H-1 freeway before taking the Ewa offramp.
Witnesses reported he had been speeding and passing cars in the leftmost lane of the offramp when he lost control.
Casher hit the steel post of a directional sign and sustained serious upper body injuries.
Police did not know whether he was wearing a helmet.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
1 dead, 4 arrested in single-car crash
Speed and alcohol were factors in a single-vehicle crash yesterday that killed a 33-year-old Big Island man, a Big Island news release said.
Police identified the victim as Joel Aguilar Ramirez of Kainaliu.
The crash occurred at 3:33 a.m. on Route 180, near the eight-mile marker in Kona. Five men were in the vehicle, and investigators are trying to determine the driver.
Police said the 1996 Geo multipurpose vehicle was heading south on Route 180 when the driver lost control, ran off the right side of the road and overturned the vehicle.
All five occupants, who were not wearing seat belts, were thrown from the vehicle.
Police arrested four Mexican nationals from Kainaliu, ages 18 to 27, at Kona Community Hospital after they were treated for minor injuries and released. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and released pending investigation.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, ext. 233.
This is the 16th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year, compared with 23 at the same time last year.
Brush fire on Maui burns 155 acres
A brush fire in South Maui was nearly under control last night after burning about 155 acres over the weekend, a Maui County news release said.
The fire started at 4:24 p.m. Saturday in Wailea and had spread overnight as stronger winds pushed the fire into dry areas of brush and kiawe, said Maui county spokeswoman Mahina Martin.
Thirty-eight firefighters and three helicopters fought the fire, which was not threatening any homes.
County and private bulldozers from the construction company Goodfellow Bros. cut firebreak lines, building a 20-foot perimeter.
The helicopters made water drops into the night, drawing water from private swimming pools in nearby residential areas.
On Saturday, seven homes on Makamae Place in the Maui Meadows subdivision were evacuated as a precaution. Residents were allowed back into their homes that evening.
Flying embers caused minor damage to on home on Puu Hoolai Street. Yesterday, heat from the fire damaged some vehicles parked at the Wailea fire station, melting one vehicle's front end, Martin said.
One firefighter sustained minor burns to his cheeks and chin. He was treated at the scene and released.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined.
HONOLULU
Prisoner does not return from work
Police are looking for a 39-year-old prisoner who failed to return from his work furlough site on Saturday.
Francisco Ranit was supposed to return to the Laumaka Work Furlough Center in Kalihi at 5:30 p.m., said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy.
After a 30-minute waiting period, officials called police and the Sheriff Division about the missing prisoner.
Ranit was working for Goodwill Industries in Waikiki earlier that day, McCoy said.
He had served time for probation revocation and was staying at the Work Furlough Center, which is overseen by the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Ranit weighs 167 pounds and is 5 feet 8 inches tall.
He has 16 convictions, including abuse of a family member, assault, theft and shoplifting.
Police have opened a second-degree escape case.
WEST OAHU
Parents suspected of abusing infant
Police arrested a Kapolei couple Friday on suspicion of abusing their 5-week-old boy.
At about 1 p.m. the couple brought the boy to Kapiolani Medical Center for Woman & Children for a fractured arm, police said.
The parents' story allegedly was inconsistent with the physician's evaluation of the injury.
Police arrested a 24-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman on suspicion of second-degree assault.
Neighbor helps nab suspected thief
Police arrested a 23-year-old man who allegedly stole two mo-peds Saturday in Honolulu.
At 2:45 a.m. a 28-year-old woman saw three men carrying her neighbor's mo-ped, put it in a truck and drive off. She called police, who found the truck in the area and one man whom the witness identified as one of the thieves.
Police said they found a second mo-ped in the truck bed that had also been reported as stolen.
Police arrested the man on suspicion of two counts of second-degree theft.