HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Man dies after surfing off Po'ipu
Advertiser Staff
A middle-aged man died Friday night after surfing in Kaua'i, authorities said yesterday.
Friends brought the unconscious man to shore at the beach fronting the Beach House restaurant in Po'ipu about 7:30 p.m. Friday, a Fire Department spokesman said.
He was pronounced dead at Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
AID SUGGESTED IN HIRING POLICE CHIEF
LIHU'E — The Kaua'i County Police Commission plans to ask the county for about $50,000 to hire a consultant to help find a new police chief.
The process would be similar to the steps Honolulu went through to select its police chief, said Deputy County Attorney Galen Nakamura. The County Attorney's office suggested hiring a consultant.
County Councilman Mel Rapozo said he supports the idea, adding that $50,000 is not expensive if it enables the county to select a police chief in a fair and impartial way.
The island's previous police chief, K.C. Lum, resigned last month after a tumultuous tenure.
Nakamura told the commission that it would take about 30 days to choose a consultant, then about four months to find a new chief.
BIG ISLAND
TIPS SOUGHT ON MISSING HILO GIRL
Big Island police are searching for a 15-year-old girl who has been missing from her Hilo home since March. Police said Shaila Oishi was last seen March 16. She is described as being of Japanese extraction, 5 feet 4, about 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information should call the Hilo police juvenile section at (808) 961-2278, the police nonemergency telephone number at (808) 935-3311, or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.
LEEWARD
MEETING TO FOCUS ON LANDFILL ISSUE
Leeward O'ahu residents will gather on Wednesday to discuss alternatives to keeping the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill open. The Close the Landfill Public Education Task Force will meet at the Kapolei High School cafeteria. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
"The city needs to be held to its commitment to close the landfill and come up with a closure plan," said task force Chairman Robert Kaialau.
Community members and others will make presentations on the landfill's history and alternatives to the site. Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Sierra Club of Hawai'i, will talk about how people can get the attention of their lawmakers. Call 306-9787.
CENTRAL
SHARK EXPERTS GIVING SLIDE SHOW
Shark researcher and author Gerald L. Crow and author/ photographer Jennifer Crites will present "Hawaii's Sharks: Ancient Appetites and Modern Technology," a free 45-minute slide program, at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in the reference room of Mililani Public Library.
Also the authors of "Sharks and Rays of Hawaii," they will share information about some of the 40 shark species found in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands.
The program is suitable for ages 12 to adult. After the presentation, the authors will have a book-signing session. Mililani Library is at 95-450 Maka'imo'imo St. Call 627-7470.
Other presentations:
Kapolei Library is at 1020 Manawai St. Call 693-7050.
HONOLULU
VETERINARIAN GAINS TOP HONOR
Honolulu veterinarian Allen Miyahara has been honored by the American Veterinary Medical Association at its 143rd Annual Convention, at the Honolulu Convention Center.
President Henry E. Childers presented Miyahara with the AVMA Award, the group's top honor, yesterday at a sunrise ceremony at Fort DeRussy Beach Park.
Miyahara has worked internationally to confront threats to the worldwide medical community, such as bioterrorist threats. He has shared his ideas with colleagues in the Pacific Rim countries as an officer of the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association and as Hawai'i's AVMA delegate since the early 1970s, the association said.
