Two injured
in Puna stabbing
Two people were sent to the hospital with injuries after being stabbed late Wednesday night.
Police said Thursday a 28-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, both from Kapoho, suffered severe injuries. Both underwent surgery and are listed in serious condition at Hilo Medical Center. A 45-year-old Kapoho woman suffered minor injuries.
Police arrested a 43-year-old Kapoho man on suspicion of assault.
Police responded to a call to a home near mile marker 7 on Route 132 in Kapoho at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Police ask that anyone with information about this case contact Detective Norbert Serrao at 961-2383 or nserrao@co.hawaii.hi.us.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
Hilo man sentenced
to 10 years
A Hilo man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison on a drug charge.
John Kaua, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of second-degree attempted methamphetamine trafficking. The charge came after his Nov. 18 arrest. According to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Kaua did not stop at a traffic light on Kilauea Avenue and Mohouli Street in Hilo. A drug detection dog alerted police to drug contraband in Kaua’s car, the prosecutor’s office said. Police got a search warrant and found a packet with 1.9 grams of methamphetamine in Kaua’s pocket and another 12 packets with 5 grams of the same drug, 12 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and other drug paraphernalia.
Because he has a prior criminal history, the prosecutor’s office said, Kaua must serve one year, eight months in prison before he is eligible for parole.
North Hawaii hospital honors volunteers
North Hawaii Community Hospital recognized nearly 60 volunteers on Wednesday during an annual appreciation luncheon to honor and celebrate its volunteers during National Volunteer Week.
Volunteers donate 15,000 hours annually. Many of them started volunteering shortly after the hospital opened nearly 16 years ago, hospital officials said Thursday.
Anyone 18 years and older and willing to give a minimum of four hours per week is invited to apply for volunteering positions. Contact Arielle Faith Michael, NHCH’s Director of Holistic Care Services and Volunteer Program at (808) 881-4416 or via email at Arielle.Michael@nhch.com.
Environmentalists calling for bag bill vote
HONOLULU —Environmentalists, retailers and Hawaii’s first lady have called on state lawmakers to vote on a bill that would charge shoppers 10 cents for each paper or plastic bag they need to hold their purchases.
The fee is intended to encourage consumers to bring reusable bags to the stores. However, those who prefer the single-use bags will help pay for the protection of the state’s watersheds.
“This legislation for us represents a perfect storm in terms of timing and impact. It allows us to turn a negative — which is the harmful use of plastic bags to our aina (land) — into a positive, which allows us to protect and enhance our watersheds, which is so essential to our everyday lives,” said Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s wife Nancie Carraway.
By local and wire sources