Newswatch Star-Bulletin staff and wire service

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$6,500 raised for Dikito children

Big City Diner announced yesterday that the restaurants raised $6,500 for the Dikito children, who lost their parents April 25 in a murder-suicide.

"These funds will assist the children in covering at least two months of their $2,600 mortgage (and other expenses)," said Walter Enriquez Jr., corporate director for human resources.

The company contributed 15 percent of customers' tabs who dined Tuesday at any of its five locations to the children.

Wade Tanaka of Hilo contributed $1,000. Checks have been received from donors as far away as Louisiana.

Anyone who would like to contribute can drop off a check payable to Blayne Dikito at any Big City Diner location or mail it directly to Big City Diner, Corporate Human Resources, 94-800 Ukee St., Waipahu, HI 96797. A relative of the children works for the restaurant chain.

Pearl Harbor could be monument

President Bush is considering listing Pearl Harbor as a national monument to safeguard the site of the attack in 1941 that plunged the United States into war with Japan.

"I have been advised that there are objects of historic and scientific interest at Pearl Harbor" and elsewhere in the Pacific that "may tell the broader story of the war," Bush said yesterday in a memo to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

He asked them to assess whether landmarks and sites associated with the war in the Pacific should be given "additional recognition or protection."

The Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and other military bases in Oahu lasted two hours and killed more than 2,000 people, including 1,177 crewmen on board the USS Arizona. Eighteen ships were either sunk or disabled, according to the National Park Service.

TV reporter is DOT spokeswoman

KHON reporter Tammy Mori has been named the new Department of Transportation public information officer.

Mori will begin Monday, replacing Scott Ishikawa, who left May 2 to work in the private sector. She will handle media inquiries and help to inform the public of upcoming state airport, harbor and highway projects.

Mori, a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in political science and communications, got her start as a reporter in Washington state. She has worked at KHON since December 2006 as a general assignment reporter.

"We needed a communications professional with the energy, dedication and proven skills to hit the ground running on day one," said Transportation Director Brennon Morioka. "We're confident Tammy is the right person to help keep the public informed."

Realtor is fined $9,000 in tax case

A woman was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for failing to file her tax returns.

Sylvia K. Berrington, a Realtor, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful failure to file her general excise annual returns. She failed to pay $25,739 of taxes owed on her returns for 2000 through 2005.

She agreed to pay a fine of $9,000 and was granted a one-year deferred acceptance of a guilty plea.

UH gets $2M for ocean program

The University of Hawaii is getting $2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Federal officials say the money will be used to support ocean observing efforts in Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands. The university will oversee the continued development of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System and associated management efforts. One aim of the program is to maintain and enhance ocean and coastal observations in the region.

Zdenka Willis is the system's program director. She says with increased understanding comes an increased ability to keep the nation safe, the economy secure, and the environment healthy and productive.

Police, Fire, Courts Star-Bulletin staff

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Motorcyclist runs into SUV

A 27-year-old Kapolei man was in serious condition yesterday after his motorcycle slammed into a sport utility vehicle in Wahiawa.

At about 8 a.m. a 2003 SUV was traveling northeast on Kunia Road. Just after the Kunia Drive intersection, the driver, a 39-year-old Wahiawa man, was making a U-turn at the top of an incline.

The motorcycle, traveling southwest on Kunia Road, could not avoid hitting the SUV as it reached the top of the incline, police said.

The motorcyclist sideswiped the SUV's passenger side and crashed. He was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition but was later upgraded to serious condition. The SUV's driver was not hurt.

Windward Oahu

Man allegedly robs ex-girlfriend

Police are looking for a 48-year-old man accused of stealing money from his ex-girlfriend.

About 10:10 p.m. Wednesday, the suspect went to his 31-year-old ex-girlfriend's Kailua home and allegedly held up the woman at knifepoint. Police said the suspect allegedly demanded money, received some cash and fled on foot. There were no injuries, but police are still looking for the suspect.

Man, 37, arrested in sex abuse of boy

Police have arrested a 37-year-old Kailua man who allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy at 1 a.m. Monday.

Police located the man yesterday and arrested him on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Reward is offered for tips on robbery

A private reward of $2,000 is being offered for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the man who robbed a Waimea resident in his home.

The reward would be in addition to the $1,000 offered by CrimeStoppers. Big Island police said the resident awoke at 2:30 a.m. May 18 to find an intruder in his home in the Hokuula Street area trying to steal electronics and other items.

The suspect was hit in the head with a laptop computer and might have a head injury, police said. The suspect is described as 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches, about 200 pounds, with short, dark, curly hair. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and cargo pants.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective David Araki at 326-4646, ext. 238, or the nonemergency police number at 935-3311.

Autopsy shows Puna man drowned

An autopsy determined that drowning was the cause of death for the Puna man who died at Peepee Falls on the Big Island Tuesday.

Big Island police said the man, Vincent E. Scerbo, 27, of Ainaloa subdivision in Puna, had climbed a cliff Peepee Falls, otherwise known as Boiling Pots, and was standing under a waterfall when he either fell or jumped. Fire rescue divers and a helicopter recovered his body.