Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff
MAUI
Drowned Maui man identified by police
WAILUKU — Police have identified a 31-year-old Kahului man whose body was found Saturday in the ocean off the Kihei Mud Flats as Vivencio Bio Jr.
An employee of Hawaiian Dredging Co., Bio apparently drowned offshore while his family camped nearby. His body was spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter before 1 p.m., a half-mile from the shore near an area where some of his spearfishing equipment was found.
Wailuku changes to be discussed
WAILUKU, Maui — Mayor James "Kimo" Apana will be the host of a meeting tomorrow on improvements planned for Market Street in Wailuku.
The meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Maui Academy of Performing Arts building at 2027 Main St.
Apana will present preliminary plans for the first phase of the Wailuku Town Revitalization Project that includes the '?ao Mini Park, a police resource center, public restrooms and a parking lot on Market Street.
Call Brian Miskae at (808) 270-7855, or Yuki Lei Sugimura at (808) 270-7414.
BIG ISLAND
Man shot by police needs new lawyer
HILO, Hawai'i — A preliminary hearing was postponed yesterday for a Puna man facing six felony charges in connection with a June 14 confrontation with police in which he was shot.
The delay was necessary to find a new attorney for Keola N. Kanae, 19, of Hawaiian Paradise Park, after his lawyer bowed out of the case for undisclosed reasons. The preliminary hearing was rescheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday in South Hilo District Court.
Kanae was shot in the chest by a police officer and has been held without bail since his release Thursday from Hilo Medical Center. He is charged with two counts each of kidnapping, terroristic threatening and using a firearm in the commission of a crime.
His companion, Shaun "Mika" Thompson, 20, died of two self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside the car that the pair allegedly commandeered from two elderly people on a remote road outside Pahoa.
Coast Guard cutter gets new leader
HILO, Hawai'i — Lt. Lawrence K. Ellis took charge of the Coast Guard Cutter Kiska in a change-of-command ceremony yesterday at Radio Bay in Hilo, the vessel's home port.
Ellis replaces Lt. Kevin Lopes, who is leaving the Big Island to serve as a faculty member at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
Ellis, a native of Syracuse, N.Y, is a 1992 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. His previous postings included a stint as command center controller for a 26-state region and deck watch officer on the Cutter Courageous.
Expert to discuss love of ti plants
HILO, Hawai'i — Cooperative Extension Service agent Melvin Wong will discuss his lifelong passion for ti plants in a program at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Hawai'i's Komohana Agricultural Complex.
Wong, 29-year agent, spent nine years in Hilo and taught at Hawai'i Community College before moving to West Hawai'i, where he established a 22-acre farm featuring a collection of colorful ti plants.
In recent years, he also has worked at UH-Manoa and with the landscaping industry and the O'ahu Nursery Growers Association.
The free meeting is open to the public. Those attending are asked to bring ti plants to sell to raise money for speaker expenses for the extension service.
For more information, call (808) 966-7361, or the UH Cooperative Extension office at (808) 959-9155.
