O'ahu briefs

Advertiser Staff

New family home to be dedicated

The Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, American Savings Bank and the Keola family will host a dedication ceremony for the new Keola family home in Waimanalo from 10 a.m. to noon today at 41-677 Bell St.

The three-bedroom, single-family house is the 39th home Honolulu Habitat has built for low-income families on O'ahu, in which the families contribute 500 hours of "sweat equity" building their home and the homes of other needy families.

As part of the ceremony Honolulu Habitat will give away three Pentium-III computer systems to help low-income families bridge the "digital divide."

The dedication will include a tour of the home and a potluck lunch.

Second man charged in robbery

A second man was charged Thursday with the Aug. 12 armed robbery of the JT Jewelry and Watch store in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center.

Larry Tagata, 37, was charged with one count of first-degree robbery and his bail was set at $50,000. Tagata is accused of brandishing a gun and ordering store employees to the ground.

Tagata's alleged accomplice, Edward Benson, 33, was charged in August with one count of robbery. Benson is accused of filling a backpack with jewelry items.

Symphony's future to be discussed

The future of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra will be the topic of a speech by Stephen Bloom, executive director of the organization, at 10:30 a.m. today at Windward Community College, Hale Kuhina, Room 115.

Bloom joined the orchestra in December. Previously he held positions with the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra. While at these organization he either restarted them or turned around their financial and organizational structures.

He was successful in each case by building a strong staff and developing solid relationships in the community, said Doris Huddleston, with the Windward Branch of the American Association of University Women, which is sponsoring the speech.