Posted on: Thursday, December 30, 2004

HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Architect fined for donations

Advertiser Staff

The state Campaign Spending Commission voted yesterday to fine Honolulu architect Dwight K. Mitsunaga $39,500 to settle an investigation of illegal campaign contributions.

The commission found that Mitsunaga helped funnel $15,000 to then-Gov. Ben Cayetano, $13,000 to Mayor Jeremy Harris, $6,000 to then-Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana, $4,000 to then-City Council Chairman Arnold Morgado and $1,500 to then-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.

Mitsunaga, president of Pacific Architects Inc., was fined $2,000 in October after pleading no contest to two misdemeanors stemming from the donations to Harris. He has not been prosecuted for the donations to other politicians.

MLK dinner and dance on Jan. 14

The second annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Gala Dinner Dance will be held at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

The event is sponsored by the Honolulu-Hawai'i NAACP and the Hawai'i Friends of Civil Rights.

Admission is $50 with special tables for $1,000. The event will include a silent auction, no-host cocktails followed by dinner at about 7 p.m. William D. Kennard, former chairman of the FCC, will be the keynote speaker. He is the managing director in telecommunications for the Carlyle Group.

For tickets or information, call Faye Kennedy at 732-4987.

New bridge opens today

A new bridge in Kahuku will be opened to the public today, the state Transportation Department said.

The Ki'i Bridge and Hospital Culvert along Kamehameha Highway near Kahuku hospital replaces an old bridge in the area. Since early this year, residents traveling through the area have been detoured through a side road while the new bridge was built.

Waimea teen dies in car crash

HILO, Hawai'i — A Waimea teenager died yesterday from injuries he suffered in a one-car crash in Waikoloa.

Kyle Umeda, 18, was driving a 2003 Toyota four-door sedan out of Waikoloa Beach Drive and onto Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway when his car ran off the shoulder of the road shortly before 12:39 a.m., police said. Umeda was thrown from the car. He was pronounced dead at North Hawai'i Community Hospital at 1:30 a.m.

DOT warns of traffic changes

The state Transportation Department is warning motorists about several temporary traffic changes along Fort Weaver Road.

• Starting Jan. 3, one northbound lane along the road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2 pm.

• Also the 'Ewa-bound ramp from Farrington highway to Fort Weaver Road will be modified to require a complete stop.

The changes, part of a widening project along the road, are expected to be in place for about two months.