Miss Hawaii dances her way into the top 7

LAS VEGAS » Miss Hawaii Raeceen Woolford made it to the top seven and danced the hula before a national audience in the talent competition.

But it was Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron who won the 2010 Miss America title after strutting in a yellow dress, belting Beyonce's “;Listen”; from “;Dreamgirls”; and telling kids they should get outside more often.

Cameron, a 22-year-old broadcast journalism student from Fredericksburg, Va., won a $50,000 scholarship. Miss California Kristy Cavinder was the first runner-up, winning $25,000.

Judges, the public and contestants themselves picked the top 15 finalists. Woolford, a former University of Hawaii at Manoa Wahine volleyball player, was one of the judges' picks.

Actor and “;Extra”; host Mario Lopez hosted the 89-year-old pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino with help from Clinton Kelly of TLC's “;What Not to Wear.”; The pageant was broadcast on TLC.

The judges included radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, actress Vivica Fox, musician Dave Koz, Miss America 2002 Katie Harman, gymnast Shawn Johnson and former “;American Idol”; finalist Brooke White.

Hawaii driver's license redesigned

The Hawaii driver's license is getting a makeover.

The new cards have enhanced security features in compliance with new federal regulations.

Driver's license offices will begin issuing the licenses tomorrow, but current licenses will still be valid until they expire.

The new cards incorporate the rainbow, state flag and island chain logo, but have new features to better protect personal information and make it more difficult to alter the card, county and state officials said.

Some of the new features are the use of semi-script in the word Hawaii; a sheer or “;ghost”; photo; words and signatures that overlap images; and a bar code on the back of the card. Hair color and county codes are no longer displayed and a person's birth date is on the back of the card, rather than the front.

The last time driver's licenses were redesigned was five years ago.

County buys North Kohala property

Hawaii County closed escrow on the purchase of a 151-acre oceanfront property in North Kohala known as Kaiholena North on Thursday, according to a county news release.

The property consists of three separate parcels and includes a water well on undeveloped ranchland and several small coral beaches along 3,000 feet of ocean frontage. The properties are along Akoni Pule Highway.

The asking price was $7.5 million, but the county bought the property for about $6.5 million, said Ken Van Bergen, the county property manager.

The Kaiholena property was identified in the 2008 North Kohala Community Development Plan as an important area for protection. Traditional activities such as subsistence fishing and shoreline gathering will continue on the property.

The county is hoping to acquire three additional parcels dubbed Kaiholena South and several other North Kohala properties this year.

Slippery road causes 4-car collision in tunnel

Traffic piled up on Likelike Highway early yesterday after four cars collided in the Kaneohe-bound Wilson Tunnel, just before the tunnel exit, because of the slippery road, police said.

One vehicle stalled and others stopped to avoid a collision, but some couldn't stop in time because of slippery conditions, according to a Kaneohe police report.

Police escorted tow wagons to the scene because of snarled traffic after the accident, which occurred about 8 a.m. Traffic was reported cleared by about 10 a.m.

60-year-old arrested in attack with hammer

Police arrested a 60-year-old man Friday for allegedly hitting a 67-year-old man with a hammer and threatening to kill him.

The Aiea man damaged the older man's forklift with the hammer and then hit him with the weapon at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

The suspect also threatened to kill the older man and a 51-year-old man, police said.

Police seek 4 men who allegedly beat woman

Police are asking for the public's help in finding four men who may have beat an elderly woman and burglarized her home in Waianae.

Police said a man approached the 69-year-old woman Tuesday at her home on Hookele Street at about 12:43 p.m. The man asked if Ryan was home, the woman told police.

The woman said she didn't know Ryan and then later woke up in her living room with injuries to her face. She couldn't recall what happened, police said.

A witness saw four males running on the street.

All the men were described as in their 20s. The first man is between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 135 to 140 pounds, and wore a gray hoodie with blue pants. The second man is 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall, weighs 180 to 200 pounds, and has short black hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt and had a tattoo on his forearm.

The third man is 5 feet 8 inches tall and 145 pounds. He wore a white T-shirt, blue denim shorts and earrings. The last suspect is between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8 inches tall, and 140 pounds. He wore a black T-shirt, black baseball cap and shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME from a cell phone.