Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Ka'u woman dies in crash
A 40-year-old Ka'u woman died Tuesday after the vehicle she was driving rear-ended another car in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision.
Police said Elizabeth Mathewson was driving her 1986 Toyota station wagon south on Koa Lane shortly before 11:45 a.m. when her car struck a 1981 Jaguar driven by Andrew James, also of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.
Mathewson lost control of her vehicle and was ejected when it struck a utility pole, police said. She was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. Police said James was not injured in the collision.
Police suspect speeding was a factor in the crash and believe Mathewson was not wearing a seat belt.
Drunken-driver arrests increase
HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island police arrested 1,075 motorists for drunken driving in 2003, which was a 23 percent increase from the previous year. Of the total, 188 drivers were involved in traffic collisions at the time of their arrests; 161 others were under the legal drinking age of 21.
Six of 35 traffic deaths on Big Island roadways were alcohol-related. Despite stepped-up enforcement, the Big Island had a 5 percent increase in major accidents, with 2,363 in 2003.
EAST HONOLULU
Lecture today on ahupua'a
Steven Kubota of the Ahupua'a Action Alliance will give a free lecture at 6:30 p.m. today at the Hanauma Bay theater. The lecture is titled "The Ahupua'a: Hawaiian Communities, Kinship and Resource Management."
The event is part of the Hanauma Bay Education Program.
For more information, call 397-5840.
HONOLULU
City to extend hours for park
The city has agreed to extend the hours at Smith-Beretania Park to 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. for a one-month trial beginning Jan. 15, following a request from the Downtown Neighborhood Board.
The park, which opened Oct. 31, has been open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. That restricted use of the park, according to board chairwoman Lynne Matusow.
"We want to thank the city for being responsive to the community's request and for resetting the hours to what was promised," Matusow said.
City economic aide to speak
Manuel Menendez, executive director of the city's Office of Economic Development, will give an overview of what his office is doing for the business community at the next Rotary Club of Downtown Honolulu meeting at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow at the Pacific Club, 1451 Queen Emma St.
The meeting costs $12 and includes a breakfast buffet. For reservations or information, call Judy Goo at 779-7147.
