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MOLOKA'I
Moloka'i nurses ratify new contract
KAUNAKAKAI, Moloka'i — Registered nurses at Moloka'i General Hospital ratified a contract Wednesday that gives them a one-time bonus with no increase in wages.
Five of the six registered nurses at the 30-bed hospital went on strike for five weeks in May and June before returning to work without a contract.
The contract approved this week awards them a bonus of 1.5 percent of their annual salary, said Mary Bonifacio, director of nursing at Moloka'i General, which is run by Queen's Health Systems.
Management also agreed to increase its share of medical insurance costs.
"We're happy that we came to a settlement," Bonifacio said yesterday. "It was a difficult time and we're happy that it's ended."
Officials at the Hawai'i Nurses Association, which represents the Moloka'i nurses, were unavailable for comment.
The nurses were asking for a $350 bonus and a 1 percent pay increase.
BIG ISLAND
Suspect arrested in currency scheme
KEA'AU, Hawai'i — Police have arrested a suspect in a scheme to circulate counterfeit currency on the Big Island. The 27-year-old Puna man was taken into custody Wednesday and then released pending formal charges.
Counterfeit $50 and $20 bills have been used around the Big Island during the past three weeks.
The phony bills have no watermark to the right of the president's portrait and no magnetic strip or security thread running down the left side of the bill.
The bogus bills also have a yellowish tinge to them and have no red and blue fibers embedded in the paper. In addition, the fake $50 bill does not have the words "The United States of America" on the collar of the portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant, and those words also are absent from the lower oval framing of President Andrew Jackson's portrait on the $20 bill.
For further information call Hilo police at (808) 935-3311 or Kona police at (808) 326-4646.
Domestic dispute cause of shooting
KEALAKEHE, Hawai'i — Kona detectives have determined that it was a family member, not armed intruders, who shot and wounded a 55-year-old man this month in his Hawaiian Ocean View Estates residence.
Police said the July 3 incident was the result of a domestic dispute in which a 75-year-old female allegedly fired a handgun, wounding the victim in the upper abdomen, said Lt. Henry Hickman.
The victim, who remains at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, told police he had entered his residence and surprised two male intruders, one of whom shot him.
Police did not disclose the relationship between the victim and the suspect.
Hickman said the case will be sent to the Hawai'i County Prosecutor's Office for possible action.
Kona public library celebrates its 50th
HñLUALOA, Hawai'i — Kona's Holualoa Public Library will celebrate its 50th anniversary from 1 to 5 p.m. tomorrow at the mauka coffee village upslope of Kailua.
The 640-square-foot facility designed by Howard Redfern opened in 1951.
The free event includes music by a kupuna ukulele group, an ikebana demonstration, a photo collection, and a special salute to the late Bob and Carol Rogers, who volunteered as community art educators in North Kona for decades.
There will be prizes, a birthday cake and other refreshments.
For more information, call (808) 324-1233.
