Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
CENTRAL O'AHU
Father arrested in baby's death
A Salt Lake man was arrested this weekend on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his 7-month-old son. Derrick S. Smith is being held on $100,000 bail. The baby died Thursday.
Smith told police he was holding his son at their home on Ala 'Ilima Street about 2 a.m. when the boy slipped from his grasp and fell on his head.
HONOLULU
Parking trouble topic of meeting
A public meeting to discuss parking problems in Kaimuki will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Lili'uokalani Elementary School cafeteria.
The meeting is part of a city vision team project to study several possible solutions to alleviate the parking shortage for businesses in the area and will result in a proposed parking master plan.
For more information, call the Greater East Honolulu Community Alliance at 737-7487.
Convicted attorney resigns
A convicted Honolulu attorney has resigned from the practice of law to avoid facing disciplinary action. Attorney Stacy Moniz, 44, has been restrained by the Hawai'i Supreme Court from practicing law since May 23, 2000.
Moniz was convicted in December 1999 of six counts of money laundering and income-tax violations. He was sentenced in April 2000 to 27 months in prison. Resigning in lieu of discipline is akin to disbarment for all purposes under Supreme Court rules, according to a statement from the court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Moniz was admitted to the Hawai'i bar in October 1985.
Memorial Park utilities back on
Friends of Honolulu Memorial Park said yesterday the cemetery's utilities have been turned on and its liability insurance has been reinstated.
The former owners had closed the cemetery last month, turning off the water and electricity and ending maintenance.
Honolulu Memorial Park is the site of a beautiful but deteriorating landmark pagoda in need of repairs totaling $1 million. The former owners, brothers Manning, James and Montague Richards, said they had been losing money, and recently turned over majority ownership to the plot and niche owners.
Bids are out for administrators, landscapers and marketing specialists; call Rod Tam at 216-5454. Volunteers are being sought to help with the landscaping; call Ann Ono at 261-0549.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Maui lobbies for helicopter
WAILUKU, Maui — Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa hopes to convince Gov. Linda Lingle to release $1 million for a helicopter air ambulance service for Maui County. He was to lead a delegation of county and health officials to Honolulu today to confer with Lingle.
The appropriation was included in a bill passed by the Legislature this year. Lingle vetoed the measure, saying the state couldn't afford it, but the Legislature overrode the veto.
Arakawa said the sticking point is fear that the state may be exposed to lawsuits if the money is used for Maui but not the other Neighbor Islands. He said his administration has come up with a solution, but declined to elaborate.
The Maui County Council has authorized spending about $650,000 toward the service.
The delegation was to include John Schaumburg, chief executive of Maui Memorial Medical Center, who lobbied for the air ambulance service.
