Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
HONOLULU
1968 mission crew identified
The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawai'i has identified the remains of all nine crew members from a Navy OP-2E Neptune that was lost in Laos on Jan. 11, 1968.
The crew was on a top-secret mission to drop a series of listening devices along the Ho Chi Minh Trail when it probably took ground fire and nosed into a remote jungle peak, killing all aboard.
The site was first found and excavations began in March 1996.
Books wanted for Kalihi
A book drive will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 25 at Farrington High School complex to collect books for Kalihi students and community.
The effort is being coordinated by Hana Hou: Kalihi Community Service Learning Project, and paid for by the Hawai'i Community Foundation. Donors are asked to bring all types of books to Farrington High and Kalihi Kai, Linapuni and Pu'uhale elementary schools that day to promote literacy.
For more information, call Sylvia Hara-Nielsen or Trisha Okawa at 832-3388.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle woman sues rapist
A founder of a Big Island victims' rights advocate group is suing a man who raped her.
The lawsuit filed in Circuit Court in Hilo seeks unspecified monetary damages from Claude Krause, who pleaded guilty last year to burglarizing the victim's home and sexually assaulting her during a second burglary.
Krause is serving a 10-year prison sentence.
The victim was identified as May Apple McCullough, co-founder of Citizens for Justice, whose lawyer said she understood that filing the lawsuit would make the case public.
"May Apple is a fighter," attorney Richard Peterson said. "She has always fought to seek justice for others. In this case, we are seeking justice for her."
The attack occurred on Dec. 19, 2000, at McCullough's Wa'awa'a home.
Kaua'i tax relief bill approved
The Kaua'i County Council has unanimously approved a bill providing property tax relief to some homeowners.
The bill is intended to give tax credits to homeowners with high property values but low incomes. It is patterned after a law that has been in effect on Maui since 1996.
Mayor Bryan Baptiste is expected to sign the bill, which is expected to lead to a major rewrite of Kaua'i County's property tax law next year.
Tax reform proponents are critical of the new measure, saying it affects too few people.
The tax measure is a reaction to huge increases in property values since Kaua'i's real estate boom began in 1999.
Because the value of a parcel of property is based on the sales price of similar neighboring properties, many longtime homeowners have seen their valuations triple and in some cases quadruple in recent years.
