A 44-year-old man was in critical condition last night after he was stabbed three times during an argument at 'A'ala Park.

Police arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with the stabbing. He was being held last night pending charges.

Police said the suspect and his girlfriend had been drinking with the other man when the couple began to argue outside a bar shortly before 7:30 p.m. The 46-year-old man allegedly hit his girlfriend and the victim stepped in and told the man to stop, police said.

The man hit the suspect, who police said then pulled out a knife and stabbed the other man three times. The wounded man was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.

Police arrested the suspect at the park without incident.

ATOMIC BLAST TO BE REMEMBERED

Youth representing YMCAs in Hiroshima and Nu'uanu will place 1,001 paper cranes they made on the Peace Bell on Friday during ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

The Hiroshima Commemoration and Peace Committee and the YMCA of Honolulu are hosting the commemoration and peace ceremony at Izumo Taishakyo Mission at 215 N. Kukui St. at 11:30 a.m.

Speakers will the Rev. Daiya Amano of the Izumo Taishakyo Mission and Takei Yukiyoshi of the Hiroshima YMCA.

Retired Bishop Yoshiaki Fujitani of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i will officially ring the Peace Bell.

KAUA'I

MISSING KOKE'E HIKER FOUND SAFE

LIHU'E — A 55-year-old woman was found safe yesterday after spending the night alone on the Awa'awapuhi-Nualolo trail complex in Koke'e.

Fire crews located Robin Drapkin, a part-time Kaua'i resident, on the trail yesterday morning nearly 24 hours after she had gone hiking alone.

Drapkin had gone hiking shortly before noon Sunday, leaving her car at the trailhead. Her husband called for help about 6:15 p.m. after she failed to return.

Rescue crews searched the trail until dark Sunday and returned yesterday morning, when she was found. Drapkin was reported unhurt.

1,100 MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED

LIHU'E — A Kaua'i Police Department Green Harvest marijuana eradication program last week netted 1,100 plants ranging from seedlings to mature 12-foot tall plants.

The three-day effort was part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program. Local police worked with officers from the Big Island and Honolulu departments and with DEA officials.

The plants were recovered from private as well as goverment lands. The DEA calculated the value of the haul at $1.1 million, presuming all plants had been grown to maturity.

BIG ISLAND

APPARENT VICTIM OF DROWNING ID'D

HILO — Police have identified a man who apparently drowned Saturday in waters off Pololu Valley in North Kohala as Wisconsin resident Frederick Wideman, 52.

Wideman, of Soldier's Grove, Wis., was reportedly overcome by waves and a strong current at about 11 a.m.

Bystanders pulled him to shore, but he was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 5:19 p.m.

Police have ordered an autopsy.

LUNCH TO OUTLINE KEAUHOU PLANS

HILO — Kamehameha Investment Corp.'s plans for the Keauhou area will be the focus of a Hawai'i Island Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee luncheon on Aug. 11.

Gregory Chun, the recently appointed general manager and president of Keauhou Resort, will outline the Keauhou Strategic Master Plan that covers 2,368 acres of land on the Kona Coast.

The plan was developed by Kamehameha Investment Corp., a for-profit subsidiary of Kamehameha Schools.

LA'IE

POUNDERS SURF VICTIM IDENTIFIED

The medical examiner's office yesterday identified the man pronounced dead Saturday at Kahuku Hospital after being pulled from the ocean at the Pounders surf spot in La'ie as Alan Ashcroft, 54, of Mesa, Ariz.

Ashcroft was visiting Hawai'i with his wife, daughter and two sons.

'AINA HAINA

SCHOOL TO COLLECT HI 5¢ PRODUCTS

The 'Aina Haina Elementary School Parent Teacher and Student Association will collect HI 5¢ redeemable cans and plastic bottles for a fundraiser from 7:15 to 10:30 a.m. Aug. 17 at the school, 801 W. Hind Drive.

The community is encouraged to drop off containers to help the environment and to help the school raise money. The money raised from the recycling effort will help pay for a visual arts program.

For more information, call 372-7702 or e-mail ahspta @hawaii.rr.com.

WAIKIKI

JAZZ SAX PLAYER TO HOST 2-HOUR CLINIC

Veteran jazz saxophone player Gabe Baltazar will hold a musicians clinic at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Waikiki Community Center, 310 Paoakalani Ave.

Baltazar, who is recognized as one of the world's great alto saxophone players, will coach musicians and vocalists who need to brush up on their skills.

The two-hour class is $15; musicians should bring their own instruments.

For information, call Jeff Apaka at 923-1802.

AROUND THE STATE

MONEY GIVEN TO IMPROVE SCHOOLS

Kapa'a High School and Kaiser High School will receive a combined total of more than $2 million from the state for improvements to meet gender equity requirements.

A nearly $1.8 million project at Kapa'a High will provide a new softball field and restrooms by August 2007. A $300,000 project at Kaiser High School will provide restrooms at the school's softball facility.

Other schools receiving money for improvements and renovations include Kane'ohe Elementary School, which will receive $830,000 for electrical and telecommunications upgrades, and McKinley High School, which will undergo $80,800 in renovations for Building 857 to maximize space on the fourth floor.