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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff
and wire service
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Plane breaks part of landing gear
Part of the landing gear broke off on a small plane touching down on a Honolulu Airport runway yesterday, state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.
The hard landing occurred at 11:30 a.m. Four people were on board the Piper aircraft, Ishikawa said.
The 45-year-old pilot and his nephew suffered cuts and bruises, but there were no serious injuries, Ishikawa said. Also on board the plane, owned by the pilot, were the pilot's mother and father, Ishikawa added. They were returning to Honolulu from Lanai.
The airport runway was closed for about an hour while the badly damaged plane was cleared.
Hawaii gets conservation grants
Hawaii is receiving $2.1 million in federal grants to acquire and conserve lands for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
On Oahu the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife will get $361,196 to protect the 3,582-acre Honouliuli Preserve on the slope of the Waianae Mountains, an area home to more than 90 endangered plant and animal species.
The agency also will acquire 65 acres of wetlands and uplands in the Hamakua Marsh watershed with an additional $740,000 to preserve species such as the endangered Hawaiian stilt, coot, moorhen, duck and the sedge.
About $1 million will allow Hawaii County to acquire about 551 acres in Kau, including two miles of coastline with nesting beaches for the endangered hawksbill turtle and feeding areas for the threatened green turtle.
Since 2002 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given about $7.4 million in similar grants to Hawaii.
State returns unclaimed funds
A state program has returned $22 million of previously unclaimed funds to the rightful owners in the past five years.
The Department of Budget and Finance says it has paid 29,810 claims to individuals and businesses under the Unclaimed Property Program.
The state holds in safekeeping abandoned or unclaimed property. It includes dormant savings accounts, unclaimed inheritances, un-cashed payroll checks and insurance refunds.
The department's outreach effort includes a free online search database at www.unclaimedproperty.hawaii.gov.
Mokuleia park restrooms closing
The city is closing the restrooms at Mokuleia Beach Park because the structure has deteriorated to the point of becoming a safety hazard, a city news release said.
Outdoor showers at the park will continue receiving water, but the bathroom will no longer have water or electricity, Les Chang, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, said in the news release.
As a safety measure, park crews are boarding up the restroom and will eventually tear down the structure, he said.
Kaaawa comfort station opens
The city opened a new comfort station at Kaaawa Beach Park last week, nearly a year after construction was completed.
The comfort station includes modern toilets, potable water, new walkways and an irrigation system, according to a news release last week.
The comfort station replaced one that had badly deteriorated, city officials said. The replacement was substantially completed in April, at a cost of $600,000, but the project was delayed because a septic tank had to be relocated.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Boy critically hurt in stolen-car crash
A 16-year-old Molokai boy was in critical condition yesterday after he and three other boys crashed a stolen vehicle on Kamehameha V Highway near the 3.8-mile marker in Kawela, Molokai police said.
The crash happened at about 4:50 a.m. yesterday when the vehicle, driven by the victim from Hoolehua, lost control and overturned off the road, police said.
The boy was flown in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center yesterday. The passengers, three boys ages 14, 15 and 16, were from Kualapuu and taken to Molokai General Hospital in stable condition.
WEST OAHU
Man hit by car and hospitalized
A 30-year-old Waipahu man remained in critical condition last night after he was struck by a vehicle in Waipahu shortly after midnight yesterday.
Police said that at about 12:23 a.m. yesterday, a 29-year-old Waipahu man was driving a silver 1999 Mitsubishi Mirage on the leftmost Ewa-bound lane of Farrington Highway, just before the Kahualii Street intersection.
According to police, the car struck the pedestrian, who entered the road from an unknown direction and was not in a crosswalk. Police said the driver was not speeding or under the influence and that he was wearing a seat belt.
The man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.
Suspect caught on the second try
Police arrested a 44-year-old man Wednesday who allegedly burglarized Sears at Pearlridge Center twice.
On Tuesday, security officers monitoring video surveillance cameras at Sears saw the suspect stealing electronic items after the store had closed. Police were called, but the suspect was gone when they arrived.
On Wednesday at about 10:50 p.m., motion sensors in the same store were set off, and a security officer saw the same man in the store putting electronics items into his backpack. Police arrived again and this time arrested the suspect on suspicion of two counts of second-degree burglary.
CENTRAL OAHU
Suspect charged in Mililani robbery
A man suspected in a brazen burglary and car theft in Mililani earlier this month is being held on $111,000 bail.
Keo Aiwohi, 29, was charged with second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and four felony warrants. Aiwohi was arrested Friday.
Police said two men ransacked the home of 79-year-old Yaeko Matsumoto on March 7, held her in her bathroom and stole several items, including a portable safe and her 2003 Cadillac.
Matsumoto sustained broken ribs and a collapsed lung in the attack. Her husband, former City Councilman Toraki Matsumoto, 78, was not home when the robbery happened.
Police found the Cadillac abandoned on Loaa Street.
An Oahu grand jury indicted another man in connection with the incident on Wednesday. Matthew Ako III is charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. He was arrested last weekend.
HONOLULU
Cyrus Belt's mother arrested
The 33-year-old mother of a 1-year-old boy who was thrown off an H-1 freeway overpass was arrested Friday on outstanding warrants.
Nancy Chanco remained in custody yesterday after her arrest at 4:25 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Bethel and Beretania streets on four warrants. Her bail was set at $3,800.
Chanco's son Cyrus Belt was killed when he was thrown off the Miller Street pedestrian overpass and onto westbound H-1 freeway traffic. Matthew Higa, 23, is accused in the murder.
Chanco was found guilty of fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, in November. She also was found guilty of criminal contempt of court in 1998.
Suspect accused of identity fraud
Police arrested a 29-year-old Aiea man on Friday for allegedly using a Colorado man's identity to apply for a loan.
At about 6:45 p.m. Friday, the suspect entered a bank at 1600 Kapiolani Blvd. and allegedly presented a counterfeit Hawaii driver's license containing the personal information of a man who resides in Colorado.
When the bank manager checked the identity, police were called. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of first-degree forgery and unauthorized possession of confidential personal information.
