Man must serve at least 10 years for killing wife

A 51-year-old man who stabbed his wife to death two years ago will have to serve at least 10 years of a life prison term before he is eligible for parole.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins set the 10-year minimum yesterday for Melchor Adviento because Adviento has a previous felony conviction for carrying a firearm without a permit.

A jury earlier this year found Adviento guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Erlinda, at their Kalihi home on Oct. 28, 2007.

The mandatory sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with the possibility for parole.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a longer minimum.

Perkins also resentenced Adviento to 10 years in prison for the firearm conviction for which he was previously on probation. Adviento will serve the firearm sentence at the same time as the life prison term.

2 more deaths tallied in American Samoa quake

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa » The official count of the number of people killed in American Samoa in the Sept. 29 tsunami has risen by two to 34.

Betty Ah Soon, a spokeswoman at the Emergency Operations Center in the U.S. territory, says a 7-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were added to the list of those who died.

Their bodies have not been found, but their families have already held memorial services for them.

The tsunami spawned by a magnitude- 8.0 earthquake also claimed the lives of 183 people in Samoa and nine people in Tonga.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

First sighting starts season for whales

KAHANA, Maui » The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary says Hawaii's whale season has begun.

The first reported sightings of humpback whales in the state came Tuesday from people on Maui.

Last year, the whales were first spotted on Oct. 12.

Humpback whales migrate to Hawaii's warm waters around October each year to breed and to give birth. They return to Alaska in the spring and summer to feed.

As many as 10,000 humpback whales may travel to Hawaii waters in a single season.

Humpback whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.