Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff
Kaua'i councilman joins mayoral race
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — County Councilman Bryan Baptiste has entered the race for Kaua'i mayor.
Baptiste joins Council Chairman Ron Kouchi, as a declared candidate for the post now occupied by Mayor Maryanne Kusaka.
Kusaka is serving out her second consecutive four-year term and is ineligible to run for a third.
Although county political offices are nonpartisan, both candidates have strong party affiliations: Baptiste as a Republican and Kouchi a Democrat.
As a former member of Kusaka's cabinet, Baptiste, 46, served as the county volunteer coordinator and convention hall manager, and set up the Ho'olokahi program, which brings community volunteers out to work on beautification projects islandwide.
Baptiste's brother, Stan, served on the council two decades ago, and during the 1960s, his father, Anthony C. Baptiste, served as chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, a position equivalent to mayor.
Accident victim still in critical condition
WAILUKU, Maui — A California visitor remained in critical condition last night after a three-car wreck on Kula Highway.
Maui police said Maryam Mogadam, 25, of Carlsbad, Calif., was driving a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am south on the highway at 7:10 p.m. Sunday when she made a U-turn in front of a northbound 1999 Dodge pickup truck. The truck hit the Pontiac, pushing the sedan into the path of a 1996 Jeep Cherokee.
Mogadam was critically injured, and her passenger, a 22-year-old San Diego woman, also was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center. The 20-year-old Kula man driving the truck and his 20-year-old male passenger escaped injury. The third driver, a 46-year-old Kula man, also was not hurt.
Woman who shot husband released
HILO, Hawai'i — A Hilo woman accused of fatally shooting her former husband last week was granted supervised release by a South Hilo District Court judge yesterday.
Genesis Eleakala Kauhi, 50, had been in custody since the shooting Thursday morning at her Baker Avenue home in Keaukaha. She remains charged with second-degree murder.
Kauhi is accused of shooting Gaylon Baldado, 51, in the abdomen. He died later in the day at Hilo Medical Center. A motive for the shooting has not been revealed.
Judge Barbara Takase set a preliminary hearing for Nov. 7.
Street addresses changing in Kula
KULA, Maui — Kula residents are getting new street addresses this month.
County officials began the project in response to community concerns about the need for a clear system of street addresses for emergency services. The Department of Public Works and Waste Management used global-positioning units to accurately mark home locations on the streets and geographical information systems to determine the new addresses, said Mayor James "Kimo" Apana.
The U.S. Postal Service, the Kula Post Office, the Community Voices Upcountry organization and 911 emergency services also were involved in the project.
Kula residents will receive a packet from the U.S. Postal Service with their new mailing address and change-of-address cards, information on how to get free address numbers, an address change authorization form for county services such as real property tax, water and refuse collection, and voter registration information.
Resident may contact mayoral executive assistant Lance Taguchi at (808) 270-7855 for further information.
