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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, May 4, 2005

HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Beaches reopen; others shut down

Advertiser Staff

KU'AU, Maui — County water safety officials reopened a stretch of north-shore coastline yesterday following Monday's shark attack at Ku'au Bay, but three other beach parks on the south shore were temporarily closed after lifeguards spotted an 8-foot shark.

Scott Hoyt, 47, was surfing Monday off Ku'au when a shark bit the back of his board. Hoyt was not injured, and water safety officers closed beaches a mile on either side of the bay. Supervising ocean safety officer Archie Kalepa said yesterday that the shoreline was reopened at about 8:30 a.m. after an ocean patrol reported no sharks in the area.

At midday, county water safety officers in a tower at Kama'ole Beach Park I in Kihei reported a shark about 30 yards offshore, Kalepa said. The park was closed, as was Kama'ole Beach Parks II and III.



DOWNTOWN

2 men detained in sex assault

Two men were arrested after a 29-year-old woman said she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a downtown home.

The men, ages 24 and 36, were arrested early yesterday on three counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of third-degree assault, and one count of kidnapping. They were being held last night in a police cellblock pending charges.

The woman told police she went to visit two male acquaintances at a North Beretania Street home Monday night. She said that after a few drinks, she suddenly felt weak and was unable to move.

The woman said the two men then took advantage of the situation and sexually assaulted her. She told police that while she was being assaulted, she was able to regain some strength and fight off the suspects.

Police were called and the two men were arrested.



STATEWIDE

Seasonal ban on lobsters, crab

The state has closed Hawaiian waters for spiny lobsters, slipper lobsters and Kona crabs through Aug. 31 to allow the species to propagate.

The four-month closed summer season began Sunday. Anyone who violates the closure is subject to arrest and fine of up to $1,000 and/or 30 days in jail per specimen taken.

"The reason for the closure is that lobsters and crabs lay most of their eggs during the summer months," said Peter Young, DLNR chairman. "It is important to keep harvesting practices in balance with the reproductive life cycles of lobsters and crabs, to ensure a strong population of these species."

It is prohibited for anyone to spear or take lobsters and Kona crabs with eggs at any time. Ê

Anyone witnessing or having knowledge of a violation is asked to call the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement 24-hour hot line on O'ahu at 587-0077.

Neighbor Island residents can call toll-free by contacting the operator and asking for "Enterprise 5469."



WAI'ANAE

Girl arrested as threat suspect

A 15-year-old Wai'anae High School student was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threatening after she took out what appeared to be a handgun from her backpack on campus and threatened to "shoot everybody up."

The girl was in a class at about 12:45 p.m. Monday when police said she reached into her backpack, removed what looked like a handgun and said she would go to the front office and shoot everybody.

But police said the teacher noticed that the gun did not appear to be real and reported the incident to her supervisors. Police were called and the girl was arrested on one count of first-degree terroristic threatening.

The girl told police the weapon was a cigarette lighter. But police were unable to recover the evidence because the girl said she smashed and disposed of the lighter.

The girl was released without charges yesterday pending investigation.



BIG ISLAND

Kidnap attempt reported in Kona

KEALAKEHE, Hawai'i — Big Island police are looking for two men who allegedly tried to kidnap a girl from a school bus stop Monday morning in the Honaunau area of South Kona.

The girl told police she was alone waiting for the bus when a black compact sedan with two men inside drove up. The passenger reportedly grabbed the girl's wrist and attempted to pull her into the car, but the girl told police she was able to break free and run. She suffered a minor injury to her head after falling to the ground as she fled, police said.

The girl told police that the men were in their 20s and wore baseball caps. Anyone with more information should call officer Walter Ah Mow at (808) 326-4646, ext. 302, the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311, CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.



Web site flags nature's threats

HILO, Hawai'i — A new Web site is available that describes the six most serious natural hazards encountered on the Big Island and how to protect homes and families. The site is at www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~nat_haz.

The six hazards are earthquakes, lava flows, tsunami, hurricanes, brushfires and floods. The Natural Hazards Hawai'i Web site, devised by the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, explains how these events occur and provides tips on how to get out of danger and how to reduce risks and damage, such as bracing bookshelves so they won't topple in an earthquake.

Each natural hazard has its own section. There is a gallery of photographs and video clips of Big Island disasters, including the Kapoho eruption of 1960, the 2000 flood, and the huge storm waves of 2003.

Although the site targets hazards found in Hawai'i County, the information is valid for the rest of the state, which faces many of the same natural threats.



MANOA

Media award going to Burris

Jerry Burris, editorial page editor at The Honolulu Advertiser, will be presented the Award of Excellence in Media from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa during a dinner ceremony Friday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Tapa Ballroom.

The award is part of the UH College of Education's 18th annual recognition dinner called "Education in a Democracy."

Other recipients include: Awards of Distinction to Gail Awakuni of Campbell High School and Valorie Johnson of the Kellogg Foundation; and Awards of Excellence to Alfred Castle of the Castle Foundation, state Sen. Norman Sakamoto and state Rep. Roy Takumi. The Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Janet Ishikawa-Fullmer.