Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Bone marrow donors sought
The Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry will conduct bone marrow donor registration and testing this month to help people with terminal blood diseases including 29-year old Tu Minh Tran of Mililani, who is battling multiple myeloma.
More than 16,000 people nationwide are diagnosed with some type of fatal blood disease each year. By registering, donors increase the chances of people such as Tran finding a match.
The drives are today, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Relay for Life at Mililani High School, 95-1200 Meheula Parkway; and on June 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pearlridge Shopping Center (Uptown) Center Court ground floor. The June 22 drive is sponsored by the United Okinawan Association.
The registry hopes to reach as many potential donors as possible, especially those of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry. Tran is of Vietnamese/Chinese ancestry.
Donors must be between 18 and 60 years of age and in general good health. A small sample of blood is collected from potential donors for tissue typing. The person is placed on the Hawai'i and the National Donor Registries at no cost to the donor. All donors need only register once.
For more information, please call the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry at 547-6154.
Men asked to fight domestic abuse
Men are being encouraged to take a public stand against domestic violence by signing a Father's Day pledge for peace today at Pearlridge Center, the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline said.
Grace Caligtan, a program coordinator at the clearinghouse, said fathers also are being asked to donate to a fund that will help the clearinghouse purchase the building where it houses its offices in Honolulu.
Purchasing the building would save the organization $140,000 in rent that could be applied to other programs, Caligtan said.
"This is giving men an opportunity to support the clearinghouse by taking a stand on Father's Day," she said. "We're asking them to give instead of receive and to make a pledge."
In helping to purchase the building, the men making donations will leave a legacy of safety and security for women, she said.
Men can make their pledges from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the mall. The clearinghouse booth will be part of a larger Father's Day observance.
Car fire damages house, too
HILO, Hawai'i — A fire that apparently started in the engine compartment of a parked van spread to a Honoka'a home Thursday and did an estimated $116,000 damage, fire officials said.
Firefighters who reached the scene at 3 p.m. found the 1993 Chevy Astro van engulfed in flames, with parts of the three-bedroom home and carport burning.
The fire was extinguished at 3:30 p.m., and paramedics treated one person from a neighboring home for anxiety.
The neighbor declined to be taken to the hospital.
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but witnesses reported that the fire began in the engine area of the van.
A 1998 Suzuki Intruder motorcycle was also damaged in the fire, fire officials said.
Power plant failure blacks out Kaua'i
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A failure in a main fuel valve at the Kaua'i Power Partners plant outside Lihu'e caused an islandwide power failure just before dawn yesterday.
The fuel control valve was replaced during the day and the plant was scheduled to begin producing electricity again last night, said plant manager Randy Hee.
When the plant dropped off the electricity grid at 4:16 a.m., it tripped protective switches around the island, and caused the Wainiha hydroelectric plant to drop offline as well.
The Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op started generators at its main 'Ele'ele plant and restored power in about 20 minutes, said Anne Barnes, the utility's communications chief.
