Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Waipahu man, 43, critical after crash
A 43-year-old Waipahu man was in critical condition with massive head injuries last night at Tripler Army Medical Center after his convertible crashed into a concrete wall on the H-1 Freeway.
The wreck occurred northeast of the Makakilo offramp in the townbound lanes at about 1:30 p.m., police said.
Witness reports of how the accident occurred are conflicting.
They said the man either lost control of his red Mazda convertible while speeding down the highway and went off the road, or was forced off the road by a blue BMW that had entered his lane.
Police are asking those with information to call the traffic investigations division at 529-3499.
The man was not wearing a seatbelt, and speeding was thought to have played a role in the accident.
Marathon entries suddenly pour in
Honolulu Marathon officials say they are "stunned" by a dramatic increase in entries for the Dec. 9 event.
One day after the Sept. 11 attacks, only 5,711 had signed up to take part in the annual marathon. By Oct. 26, entries had only increased to 7,615 and officials described things as "bleak."
"We could have folded our tent at that point and no one would have blamed us," said Jim Barahal, Honolulu Marathon Association president.
But on Friday, Barahal said entries reached 21,215, with 13,183 coming from out of state. That total could rise further, he said, because the registration deadline for runners from Japan isn't until Nov. 30.
Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors, a Honolulu consulting firm that tracks hotel occupancy, said the late jump likely occurred because uncertainties arising after Sept. 11 led people to book travel arrangements closer to the date of the event.
Last year, 22,636 runners finished the 26-mile course, making the Honolulu Marathon the sixth-largest in the world.
Health projects can get grants
The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii is accepting applications for financing of health-related projects. The deadline is Dec. 17.
The organization's public-health fund committee aims to support projects that aid public health education and research and that have no other financing sources.
Applicants must be nonprofit organizations operating on O'ahu in activities related to public health.
Previous grants assisted projects in AIDS education, cholesterol and diabetes screening, help for the homeless and other areas.
To receive an application packet, e-mail phf@cochawaii.org or call 545-4300.
City Lights event needs volunteers
The committee planning the city's annual Honolulu City Lights festival is seeking volunteers to distribute programs, assist large school groups and perform other tasks.
The event is scheduled for 4:30-6 p.m. Dec. 1 at Honolulu Hale.
For details, call Lorraine Fay, Department of Community Services, at 525-4545.
Health initiative awards contract
The state Department of Health's Healthy Hawai'i Initiative has awarded a $1.6 million contract to Starr Seigle Communications to develop a statewide public education campaign.
The campaign will present information on healthier eating, increased physical fitness and tobacco avoidance.
The Healthy Hawai'i Initiative focuses on these three avenues to improved health, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. It is financed by the state's tobacco settlement money, 60 percent of which is set aside by law for public-health purposes.
Hawaiian studies program renamed
The Board of Regents has decided to name the Hawaiian studies program at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus in honor of regent emeritus Gladys K. 'Ainoa Brandt.
The facilities housing the UH-Manoa Center for Hawaiian Studies already have been renamed in her honor at the suggestion of UH President Evan Dobelle.
Lawyer suspended for six months
The Hawai'i Supreme Court has suspended Stephen A. Levine from practicing law for six months beginning Dec. 14, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel announced.
According to a statement, Levine represented a private client in a criminal matter on Kaua'i while he was employed as a Maui County deputy prosecuting attorney. Levine falsely told the Circuit Court that he had permission to represent the client, the statement said.
Levine, 51, was admitted to the Hawai'i Bar in April 1978.
Navy investigating machine-gun firing
The Navy is still investigating what caused the accidental firing of a weapon aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during a visit to Pearl Harbor, and said the weapon was an M-60 machine gun.
A sailor was working with the weapon Nov. 5 when a single round was fired from Pearl Harbor over Kamehameha Highway, said Cmdr. Jack Papp, spokesman for the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in San Diego.
The Nimitz, which arrived this week in San Diego, had stopped at Pearl Harbor for a liberty call.
No one was injured in the firing and the bullet was never found.
Four district judges get reappointments
Chief Justice Ronald Moon has reappointed four district court per-diem judges to four-year terms.
Shawn Maile Nakoa and Elizabeth Ann Strance have been reappointed as per-diem judges for the District Family Court of the 3rd Circuit, on the Big Island. Max W. J. Graham Jr. and Walton D. Y. Hong have been reappointed to the District Court of the 5th Circuit, on Kaua'i.
Nakoa's and Strance's terms run until November 2005; Graham's and Hong's terms are effective until October 2005.
Nakoa and Strance are partners in the Kona-based law firm of Strance & Nakoa. Graham is a partner in the Lihu'e law firm of Belles Graham Proudfoot & Wilson. Hong is president and director of Walton D.Y. Hong, Attorney, in Lihu'e.
Crestview assault suspects sought
Police are searching for three men who are accused of abducting a 15-year-old girl last month near Waipi'o.
The attack occurred at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Crestview Community Park area.
The girl told police she was walking toward the park when a white Honda with three men inside pulled up to the curb.
The man in the front passenger seat opened the door, displayed a knife and pulled the girl on top of him in the car.
After a few minutes, the girl was able to break free and run for help. She suffered scratches to her neck, body and chest.
Police said the assailants are believed to frequent the park area.
The men were described as being 18 to 20 years old and the driver had a scar over his left eye. They were in an older-model, four-door Honda Accord that drove low to the ground and had "ground effects," a modified muffler, special rims, tinted windows and a license plate that began with "G."
To provide information, call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME via cellular phone.
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A man who claimed he was armed with a gun robbed the Waipahu Branch of Central Pacific Bank on Friday.
The robbery occurred at 8:55 a.m. at 94-210 Pupukahi St., when a man entered the bank, approached the teller and handed her a note.
The note said he was armed with a gun, but no gun was seen. The man fled in the 'ewa direction.
Police described the man as 30 to 40 years old, between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, with a medium build.
He had black, thick, uncombed hair, a mustache and tan complexion. He wore wire-framed glasses, a light-blue long-sleeve shirt over a white T-shirt and light-colored jeans.
To provide information, call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME via cellular phone.
Four try to escape from youth center
A security guard foiled an attempt Friday by four teenage girls to escape from the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility in Kailua.
The girls were attempting to scale the barbed-wire fence when they were caught at 1:25 a.m.
