Advertiser Staff and News Services
Swimmer missing at Maunalua Bay
Firefighters and Coast Guard aviators searched unsuccessfully last night for a missing swimmer who disappeared near China Wall off Portlock.
Bystanders and Portlock residents called 911 at about 6:45 p.m. and reported that two young men had been swimming together and that one had been injured and another was missing. They treated the wounds of the first man, whose injuries were minor, and started the search for the missing 18-year-old.
Capt. Richard Soo said firefighters arrived and began searching the area by boat, and a Coast Guard helicopter was called in to assist.
Coast Guard officials said the helicopter crew searched Maunalua Bay and the coastline with night vision goggles until 8:50 p.m., when the helicopter was forced to return to base to assess damage caused by a collision with a bird.
Soo said firefighters continued to search by boat until about 9:45 p.m.
The search will resume this morning, he said.
The China Wall area of the bay is rocky with powerful currents, and injuries in the area are not uncommon.
Radio Hawai‘i gets tax evasion charge
The Department of Taxation has filed a complaint in District Court accusing Barry F. Wagenvoord and Radio Hawai‘i Inc. of misdemeanor violations.
The complaint charges Wagenvoord with four counts of failing to file the corporation’s annual general excise tax returns from 1995 to 1998. The corporation also was charged with failing to file excise tax returns for the same years.
If convicted, Wagenvoord faces up to a year in jail and $25,000 fine. Wagenvoord could not be reached for comment.
Mexicans arrested in Puna drug raid
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Hawai‘i — Two Mexican nationals were arrested in a what police described as a major heroin drug raid in Puna Thursday. More than four pounds of heroin, 12.5 grams of cocaine and various drug paraphernalia were seized by officials, they announced yesterday.
Working with several federal agencies, the Big Island vice squad arrested two suspects in the raid on a Fern Forest subdivision home in mauka Puna. The suspects, ages 23 and 21, were taken yesterday to O‘ahu for federal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Two other men believed involved were held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation proceedings.
Detective Marshall Kanehailua also reported police seized $2,600 in cash from the home. The police will ask for forfeiture of the cash, the officer said.
General meeting for library group
The Friends of the Library — Kapolei, known as FOLK, will have a general membership meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Makakilo Recreation Center.
The group will discuss its plans for its FOLK Festival April 14 at the Kapolei Regional Park.
For information, call Carolyn Golojuch at 672-9050.
LCC discusses culinary program
Leeward Community College instructor Fern Tomisato will discuss the school’s culinary arts program at the next Kapolei Rotary Club meeting, 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Kapolei High School faculty/staff lounge.
The meeting costs $7 and includes a buffet breakfast.
For information, call Keola Lloyd at 674-3167.
Hawai‘i mayors honored for work
Two Hawai‘i mayors have been lauded for their counties’ work in preparing for disasters.
James "Kimo" Apana of Maui and Maryanne Kusaka of Kaua‘i both received the Building Disaster-Resistant Communities Leadership Award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Association of Counties.
Apana was cited for Maui’s efforts to analyze building codes, land use patterns and emergency shelters and for implementing disaster mitigation methods that are cost-effective.
Kusaka oversaw the establishment of real property tax exemptions for people who build hurricane-proof "safe rooms" and had the county retrofit several government buildings to survive severe weather.
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