HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Man charged in attempted assault
Advertiser Staff
A 24-year-old Kalihi man was charged yesterday after police said he drove a stolen car at a police officer Sunday night in Kahala.
Edward Chun of Kamehameha IV Road was charged with attempted assault on a police officer and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. He was being held in the police cellblock last night in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Chun was arrested late Sunday after police responded to a loud music complaint at the rear of Wilson Elementary School. Officers saw a man and woman in a parked car, which police said was reported stolen.
The officers approached the car and police said its driver reversed the vehicle, striking an officer on the arm. The driver fled, but was captured a short while later.
MAUI
Court error favors ex-officer
A former Maui policeman faces a lighter sentence after two counts were dropped yesterday from his conviction for attempting to extort sexual favors from a woman he stopped for a traffic violation.
Instead of a possible 10 years in prison, Aaron Won, 25, now faces a maximum of five years, apparently thanks to a jury-instruction error.
Won
The state yesterday agreed to drop two counts of attempted second-degree sexual assault, leaving one count of attempted second-degree extortion and one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment. Won waived his right to appeal.
Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza is scheduled to sentence Won on June 2.
O'AHU
Royal court prospects sought
Candidates for Aloha Festivals O'ahu royal court have an April 2 deadline to apply, with the selections to be announced April 9. The court will be invested Aug. 25, at the start of the festival events on O'ahu.
Scholarships of $1,000 will be awarded to the selected Aloha Festivals prince and princess, who must be 16 to 20 years old. In addition, candidates ages 30 and up will be considered for the court's king and queen.
Each year, the festival's organizers select a court on each island to preside over the celebrations and promote the festival during a one-year term.
All court members must be of Hawaiian ancestry and must undergo training in the portrayal of Hawai'i's ali'i. For more information, call 589-1771.
MILILANI
Library offers Hawaiian tales
Mililani Public Library will feature storyteller Brenda Freitas-Obregon's presentation of "He Hawai'i Au" or Hawaiian tales at 11:15 a.m. March 31.
The free 45-minute program, which includes tales about sharks and volcanoes, is suitable for audiences 10 and older. The Mililani library is at 95-450 Makaimoimo St.
Freitas-Obregon is the children's librarian at Kalihi-Palama Public Library.
WINDWARD
Fishpond group seeks volunteers
The Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society is seeking volunteers to become docents who will learn about the construction, management and history of fishponds to teach children.
Docents will be trained to work with school groups and be taught about the Kane'ohe ahupua'a, the ancient Hawaiian fish-farming method and the mo'olelo or stories of the area at a training session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 4 at Kokokahi YWCA.
To register call Bob Kahihikolo at the Pacific American Foundation at 533-2836.
MANOA
Branch falls, pinning trimmer
A man was seriously injured when a large tree branch fell on him yesterday in Manoa.
The man was trimming a 30- to 40-foot tree at 3288 Huelani Drive when a branch fell. Co-workers managed to pull the branch off him before emergency workers arrived.
The 50-year-old man was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, said Donnie Gates, of the city's Emergency Medical Services.
KAUA'I
Garden official wins fellowship
KALAHEO, Kaua'i — David A. Burney, director of conservation at the National Tropical Botanical Garden, has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for 2005. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship provides money for accomplished scholars and artists to conduct research in any field they choose.
Burney has been conducting fossil studies at south Kaua'i's Makawehi cave complex, where he has conducted archaeological digs yielding information on endangered species, early environments and causes of extinction.
He said he will use the fellowship to continue that research and to work on an upcoming book, "An Ecological History of Prehistoric Kaua'i."
