Police Beat
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$3,000 donation fine leveled
A Honolulu engineering company has been fined $3,000 for illegal donations to prominent state Democrats.
District Judge Lono Lee ordered Thermal Engineering Corporation to pay the fine and complete 105 hours of community service for excessive donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris, former Gov. Ben Cayetano and former Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana. The violations occurred between 1997 and 2001, according to a penal summons filed in District Court.
Howard Luke, an attorney for the firm, said the case involves "solid citizens who were swept up" in a campaign practice that dates back decades. He said Thermal Engineering's board of directors voted last week to ban corporate contributions to local political candidates.
The firm's sentencing on Friday came two years after it agreed to pay a $31,000 fine to settle charges that it made $55,000 in illegal contributions since 1997.
Fire destroys vacant house
Fire destroyed a vacant house in Kailua last night.
HFD Capt. Emmit Kane said that neighbors noticed the blaze at 1439 Auwaiku St. in Keolu Hills at about 7:20 p.m. and called 911. By that point, he said, the flames could be seen from the windows of the one-story house.
About 30 firefighters fought the fire, but the damage to the 2,200 square-foot home was already extensive. The fire did about $250,000 damage to the house, and $10,000 more to the roof and fence of the house next door.
Investigators had not determined the cause last night.
The house had been unoccupied for 18 months and there were no contents, Kane said.
Two injured in motorcycle crash
A man and a woman were flown by helicopter to The Queen's Medical Center last night after a motorcycle accident near Iroquois Point.
The man, who was driving the motorcycle, was in critical condition with head and internal injuries, said Sue Rauch, a district chief for Emergency Medical Services.
His passenger, a woman between the ages of 25 to 30 was in serious condition but awake and alert.
Neither wore a helmet, officials said. No information was available last night about what caused the accident, which reportedly took place about 8 p.m.
Motorcycle, car collide; one hurt
A man in his 20s was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition yesterday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with a car near Leeward Community College. The man suffered head and internal injuries, said Sue Rauch, a district chief for Emergency Medical Services.
She said he had not been wearing a helmet.
The accident happened at about 2 p.m.
