Flag bill gets second hearing

A second public hearing is scheduled tomorrow for a bill that would permit flagpoles to be erected in planned communities.

House Bill 2311, heard Feb. 3 by the House Housing Committee, was deferred by Rep. Rida Cabanilla, the committee chairwoman, after no one showed up to testify. Cabanilla (D, Waipahu-Ewa) decided to hold a second hearing after public outcry, mainly from military veterans, that surfaced during a House floor debate last week.

The GOP sponsor of the measure, Rep. Kymberly Pine (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point), is urging supporters to testify.

Cabanilla said she would prefer to have a task force study the measure, to come up with clear guidelines and specifications under which flagpoles and flags would be allowed in planned communities.

The hearing is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. tomorrow in Room 325 at the state Capitol.

737 acres set for auction on Big Island

HILO » Hawaii County will begin selling 16 parcels of land covering 737 acres north of Paauilo next month.

Proceeds from the three, possibly four auctions will be used to help balance the county's operating budget.

County officials say six parcels are included in the first auction, set for March 31.

The county's property manager, Ken Van Bergen, says small and large parcels will be offered in each of the auctions.

The county acquired the land as part of a 1994 tax settlement with bankrupt Hamakua Sugar Co.

The smallest parcel, 12.8 acres, is valued at $216,000. The largest and most valuable is nearly 110 acres appraised at $688,000.

An independent appraisal found the land was worth $6 million, or $2 million less than the county hopes to raise.

Law firms scammed out of $500,000

The FBI says con artists have taken a total of $500,000 from six Honolulu law firms since the start of the year.

The scam begins with a law firm receiving an e-mail from a prospective client from overseas, said Charlene Thornton, special agent-in-charge of the FBI's Honolulu office. The client sends the firm a cashier's check for a legal fee retainer in an amount far exceeding industry standards.

When the law firm informs the client the retainer is too high, the client requests a wire transfer refund to a foreign bank account.

After the refund is sent, the firm learns the cashier's check was counterfeit, and it is out the amount of the refund. The scam involved bank accounts in South Korea, Taiwan and Canada, according to the FBI.

Man charged in death of niece, 5

PHOENIX » Authorities have filed a first-degree murder charge against a Phoenix man accused in the death of his 5-year-old niece, who was from Hawaii.

Phoenix police arrested 47-year-old Leonard Orta Jr. Wednesday after the body of Kaiya Kapahu was found in an apartment by her grandfather.

Maricopa County prosecutors said yesterday that the criminal complaint charges Orta with first-degree murder, child abuse and abandonment or concealment of a dead body.

Authorities say Orta was the girl's caregiver since last July and that she suffered from Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that made her prone to seizures.

Police say Orta is accused of intentionally withholding his niece's medication and nutrition. Investigators say Orta told them that he stopped nourishing the child 10 days before her death and that she died more than a month ago.

Shark sighting briefly closes waters

PAIA, Maui » Waters off Hookipa Beach Park on the northern shore of Maui were reopened yesterday after being closed because of a shark sighting.

The area was shut down late yesterday morning after a 12-foot tiger shark was spotted about 150 yards from the surf break. No injuries were reported.

The beach park remained open while waters were closed a mile north and a mile south of the reef.