They've pulled enough debris from the Ala Wai Canal to fill a six-unit, two-story apartment building. Waikiki group has held its ground
They've also protested prostitution and drug activity, and waged a 10-year battle to preserve a Spanish mission-style house across from Kapiolani Park.
Along the way, members of the Waikiki Residents Association hope they have made life a little better for those who live in the community.
"They've been like the watchdogs for the area," said former state Sen. John Carroll, an association founder.
The association, which marked its 25th anniversary last month, got off the ground in 1972 -- and volunteers eventually went into the murky waters of the Ala Wai for cleanup.
Carroll credits Audrey Fox Anderson with starting the organization.
Anderson, the first association president, recalled testifying on many issues. As a Waikiki condo owner, she objected to moves to assess her and others to benefit the tourist industry. Anderson left the association to run for office. She praised later leaders, finding it amazing the association has lasted so long.
A warning light indicating the cargo door was not secure caused Delta Air Lines Flight 54 to be aborted at Honolulu Airport on Aug. 7, said a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based carrier. Cargo door was not secure
on Delta flightJackie Pate, Delta's manager of corporate communications, added that braking the airplane started a tire fire.
Twenty-five of the 295 passengers aboard the nonstop flight to Atlanta were treated for injuries that included a fractured ankle, back pain and abrasions.
Flight 54 was leaving Honolulu 31/2 hours late due to earlier mechanical problems, also involving a warning light.
Say goodbye to the open roads of summer -- school is back in session. Commuters urged
to help avert traffic jamsWith more than 262,000 students returning to school in the next two weeks, traffic woes are looming.
Next week more than 38,000 University of Hawaii and community college students hit the books. The real surge, though, comes on Sept. 2 when 195,000 students return to public schools.
To reduce the traffic congestion associated with their return, state and city officials today kicked off their 11th annual "Beat the School Jam" campaign.
"We know when school starts it's no picnic out there in bumper-to-bumper traffic," said Kazu Hayashida, director of the state Department of Transportation.
"Oahu's traffic congestion will not go away on its own. Everyone will have to get involved and look at new ways of getting to work and school."
Such ways include car-pooling, van-pooling, taking the bus, riding a bicycle and even walking.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Info] section for subscription information.
Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffAn Asian man found dead late Saturday night on Tantalus Drive was shot at least once in the head from close range, police said. Corpse found on Roundtop road
Residents on the 400 block of Tantalus Drive, where the shooting occurred, reported hearing two shots at 10:54 p.m. Police responding to the scene, which is on the Papakolea side of Tantalus Drive, found the man sprawled on the roadway.
Homicide Detective Anderson Hee said police unsuccessfully attempted to identify the victim through fingerprints on file at the police department.
"There doesn't appear to be a connection to other recent (homicide) cases we have," Hee said.
The dead man was wearing a silver ring on his right index finger but carried no identification, Hee added.
The victim is about 5 feet 10, 120 to 130 pounds with short black hair and was wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.
Police are investigating three separate armed robbery cases in Waikiki that occurred within an 11-hour span from yesterday afternoon to early this morning. 3 robberies at gunpoint,
knifepoint in WaikikiThe robbery spree started at 4:40 p.m. when a 32-year-old Honolulu woman was robbed at gunpoint in an elevator at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center by a heavy-built man.
Witnesses told police the man fled in a blue car driven by a woman.
Another woman, 44, was robbed between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m.
Two men armed with guns took her wallet containing cash and credit cards. They had entered her apartment at 2231 Ala Wai Blvd. through a door that was left open.
One of the suspects struck the woman with a handgun while fleeing.
The third robbery was reported at 3 a.m.
Two men, one of them armed with a knife, allegedly robbed another man near the Ala Moana-side bridge of the Ala Wai Canal.
In other police/fire news:
Honaunau man arrested for alleged sex assault
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Info] section for subscription information.
