Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
HONOLULU
Waihee not a candidate
The field of candidates for the Jan. 4 special election to replace the late Patsy Mink in the 108th Congress has grown to 32, but former Gov. John Waihee announced yesterday that he will not enter the race.
Candidates filing for the office yesterday were Republicans Carolyn Golojuch, Mike Rethman and former state Sen. Whitney Anderson; Democrats Paul Britos and Mike Gagne; and nonpartisans Sophie Mataafa, John Randall and Steve Sparks.
Waihee said after talking with close friends and family members, he decided that entering the race would not be good for the Democratic team in Washington, D.C.
"If too many Democrats enter this race, the result could be a Republican winner on Jan. 4," Waihee said. "I believe that is not in the best interest of the working families of the 2nd District and, for that matter, the entire state. Therefore I have decided not to run."
Today is the filing deadline for the 2nd Congressional District seat, which represents rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands.
A Nov. 30 election will determine who will serve the final five weeks of Mink's current term, and 38 candidates are vying for that position.
Asphalt plant to be discussed
Plans for an industrial development on Sand Island Access Road will be discussed at the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at Kapalama Elementary School, 1601 N. School St.
The project is on a 5.43-acre parcel and would include a 31,500-square-foot, three-story office building, 84 parking stalls in a two-story structure, and four smaller buildings. The applicant is general contractor James W. Glover Holding Co. The development will include a hot-mix asphalt plant, and 50 people would work at the site when fully staffed.
Consultants Kusao & Kurahashi Inc. will give a presentation on the project.
The board will also try to fill three vacant seats and prioritize its capital improvement projects for fiscal 2004.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police search for fisherman
WAIMEA, Hawai'i — Big Island police yesterday reported they are looking for a Waimea man who has been missing from a fishing trip for more than three months.
Jason Henderson, 30, was last seen in the early morning hours of Aug. 14 fishing offshore between Kapa'a and Mahukona Beach Park on the North Kohala coast, said Detective Nancy Haitsuka of the Kona Criminal Investigation Section. He was in a green and yellow Seahawk Zodiac inflatable boat with a two-horsepower Honda outboard engine, and was wearing red and black surf shorts.
Police did not say why Henderson was not reported missing until now. He is described as 6 feet tall, weighing about 210 pounds with a medium build, a shaved head and hazel eyes. He has a tattoo of a ram's head on his left arm.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call Haitsuka at 326-4227, the police nonemergency number at 935-3311, or Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo.
