Murder probe opened in death at airport
Police have reclassified the death of a 39-year-old man, found at a loading dock near the Honolulu Airport, as a homicide.The man, believed to be homeless, was found at 8:57 a.m. yesterday at 3127 Ualena St., police said. The case was initially classified as an "unattended death," meaning there were no visible signs of foul play or trauma.
No further details were available this morning.
Judge won't drop bail for stabbing suspect
Bail will be maintained for a 24-year-old Wahiawa man charged in the November stabbing of another man.James Russell is charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of Chance Paris on Nov. 1.
He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Russell yesterday asked District Judge Rhonda Nishimura, sitting as a Circuit Court judge, for supervised release or for a reduction in bail.
But the judge confirmed the current bail amount, Russell's defense lawyer, Keith Shigetomi said.
Russell is accused of fatally stabbing Paris on California Avenue in Wahiawa.
A witness said Paris was beating Russell at the time the stabbing occurred.
Christmas drive yields plenty of books, toys
Needy kids received more than 1,200 books, puzzles, toys and other gifts for Christmas, thanks to Hawaii gift-givers.Bess Press of Kaimuki donated items, and a toy drive by state housing employees reaped a bumper harvest.
Donations for families in homeless shelters or receiving other social services included:
Benjamin "Buddy" Bess, Bess Press owner and publisher, said he wanted to share the gift of literacy.800 keiki Hawaiiana puzzles;
Donald Lau, the executive director of the Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii, thanked Bess Press for the gifts.
Humanities panel awards fund grants to island projects
The Hawaii Committee for the Humanities, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, recently awarded $64,795 to support cultural projects.The Hawaii Heritage Center and Chinese Chamber of Commerce received $34,125 for a traveling photo exhibit.
The Friends of Waipahu Cultural Garden Park received $13,550 to make an orientation video for Hawaii's Plantation Village and to develop lesson plans for teachers focused on the social and labor history of Hawaii's sugar industry.
To examine the role of sports and recreation in a multiethnic community, Hans L'Orange Baseball Park Council, Hawaii's Plantation Village, Leeward Community College and the University of Hawaii were awarded $3,820.
A grant of $5,000 was awarded to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii to catalog and preserve the personal papers, poetry and photographs of Otokichi Ozaki, who worked for the Hawaii Mainichi newspaper.
Chaminade University of Honolulu and the Hawaii Council for Education received $2,500 to hold after-school workshops related to the Holocaust.
The University of Hawaii Art Department, the Contemporary Museum and the YWCA received $2,500 to hold a public lecture by art historian Linda Nochlin.
Six forums on Filipino immigration will be sponsored by a $2,500 grant to the Friends of Operation Manong, UH Center for Philippine Studies and the Philippine Centennial Coordinating Committee.
The Kauai Historical Society also received $800.
Chamber of Commerce donates to Safe Haven
Safe Haven, a residence for the homeless with serious mental illness, has received $7,000 from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.The grant will be used for pharmacy supplies.
The home, a project of Mental Help Hawaii and the Kalihi-Palama Health Center, helps the homeless reconnect with the community.
Don't miss these dates for grant proposals
The Hawaii Committee for the Humanities has announced its upcoming 1999 deadlines for grant proposals.For more information, call 732-5402.
Nonprofit groups in Hawaii are eligible for awards supporting public programs that promote awareness of intellectual and cultural traditions, humanities discussions of public issues and concerns, and state, local and ethnic history:
Waipahu library hosts story times for kids
The Waipahu Public Library will hold preschool story-times followed by puzzle-times at 10:30 a.m. each Thursday in January.The library is at 94-275 Mokuola St., next to the Waipahu Civic Center.
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Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPipe bomb builder loses part of one hand
Part of a 22-year-old man's hand was blown off yesterday while he was building a pipe bomb in his home, police said.The man was screwing on the bomb's cap when it detonated at 7:50 p.m. at his Waipahu Street apartment, police said.
In addition to injuring both hands, the man's body was cut from the flying bomb fragments, police said. He was taken to Queen's Hospital, where he remains in guarded condition.
He faces first-degree reckless endangerment and possessing prohibited explosives charges when he is released from the hospital.
Police also recovered two other homemade explosive devices yesterday. One was found in Waipahu, the other in Kaimuki.
A resident reported a possible explosive device on the road near his home at 94-1378 Hinokea St. in Waipahu, police said.
Officers arrived and removed the bomb at 9:20 p.m.
The other device was found at 955 14th Ave. in Kaimuki.
A Hawaiian Electric Co. employee was working on a line when he spotted the bomb near a telephone pole at 2:30 p.m., police said.
The device was made from firecrackers.
No arrests were made in either of those cases.
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