Newswatch
Although it was a relatively safe Fourth of July with no significant fires or drunken-driving accidents, police said the three-day weekend is not over, and they're still on alert. Fourth of July weekend
has been safe, so farPolice are continuing to hold DUI checkpoints at unannounced times and locations Saturday night and Sunday.
Police made only a routine number of DUI arrests Friday, while thousands of isle residents flocked to holiday celebrations on the Windward side and in Waikiki and Ala Moana Beach Park for entertainment by the Air Force's Thunderbirds, and the massive fireworks show at Magic Island.
Friday was one of the safest Independence Days in recent memory for lifeguards, said Rob Miller, an Ocean Safety radio-telephone operator. There were no drownings reported. The day's major concern was a massive invasion of man-o-wars at Bellows and Waimanalo Beach Parks. The creatures stung about 40 swimmers in a one-hour period that began about 1 p.m., Miller said.
For the day, a total of approximately 100 people were stung, Miller added.
The crew of the yacht Survivor is doing more than racing. Trans Pac yacht crew
is racing AIDSAll 10 sailors living with HIV, some with AIDS, are challenging themselves by racing in the Trans Pacific Boat Race from Long Beach, Calif. to Honolulu.
"We're coming up on a new era of the AIDS virus," said Robert Hudson, the crew's founder. "We're figuring out that we can lick this disease by getting back on the treadmill of life ... getting off the couch, going back to work, showing this virus that we're not going to roll over."
Two more weeks and 1,878 miles of possibly high seas stand in the way of Survivor crossing the finish line at Diamond Head. The boat left California on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
The Survivor is expected to pull into Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor on July 16, said race spokeswoman Carol Hogan.
Hudson, a former stockbroker from Ojai, Calif., said he decided to enter the race to inspire others and enlighten the public about AIDS.
"If you're HIV-positive, most of the time you're going to stay in the closet. You're too fearful of the repercussions," he said. "Say, for instance, the human resources department hears about this and says, 'You know, I've always had some kind of bias about hiring anyone with HIV or AIDS, but if these guys can sail across the ocean, I can certainly put them back in accounting.'"
The state is shutting down its aircraft noise complaint hot line in a move a Federal Aviation Administration official criticized as "shirking its responsibility" to Hawaii residents. State shutting down
aircraft noise hot lineInstead, the Department of Transportation will staff a telephone hot line (888-697-7813) that accepts complaints and comments only about operations and conditions at state airports "because that's something we can do something about," said transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali.
But FAA regional director Tom Rea said, "To turn their back on all issues if they're not directly associated with the airports themselves, to me, it's kind of shirking their responsibility as proprietors of the airports. And I think the community will remind them of that."
Barry Stokes, president of Citizens Against Noise, agreed. "I think we've really got to put the state on the hot seat for this." He said the hot-line statistics helped the group identify trouble spots around the state so it could "put pressure on the FAA to change altitudes or flight plans so they don't keep impacting the same people over and over."
But Kali said the state noise hot line, which logs an average of 1,468 complaints annually, has proved virtually meaningless because the state cannot control aircraft except at the airports.
