Hilo man faces theft charge for car break-in
An 18-year-old Hilo man is facing theft and unauthorized entry into to a vehicle charges in connection with a reported Nov. 13 car breazk-in in Hilo.
Makalii Kahumoku-Jose was charged Thursday with first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree theft, according to the Hawaii County Police Department.
The charges stem from Nov. 13 when a 41-year-old Kurtistown woman reported her vehicle, which was parked fronting a business on Keawe Street, had been entered and a duffel bag removed. Police said they were able to identify Kahumoku-Jose after viewing security video footage.
Driver license, state ID characters set at 120
Driver licenses and state identification cards will now provide space for names with up to 120 characters, according to the state Department of Transportation, which coordinated the change with various county departments of motor vehicles.
The cards will include 40 characters for the last name, 40 characters for the first name, 35 characters for the middle name, five characters for suffix like Jr. and Sr., according to the department, which noted the change went into effect earlier this month to conform with national standards.
Hawaii Island road work continues with closures
Alternating single lane closures will be in effect on Mamalahoa Highway, between Uluoa Street and Old Kona Village Road, in North Kona for sign installation, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Alternating single lane closures will also be in effect on Volcano Road, between mile markers 8.6 and 13.4, in the vicinity of Keaau to Mountain View for pavement reconstruction, according to the department.
Alternating single lane closures will also be in effect on Hawaii Belt Road, also known as Route 19, between mile markers 26 and 27, in the vicinity of Laupahoehoe Gulch, in North Hilo for roadway improvement work, according to the department.
Alternating single lane closures will also be in effect on Hawaii Belt Road, also known as Route 19, between mile markers 28 and 29, in the vicinity of Kaawalii Gulch, in North Hilo for roadway improvement work, according to the department.
Crews will be working from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, according to the department.
Alternating single lane closures remain in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the Umauma Stream Bridge on Hawaii Belt Road, near mile marker 16 in Hakalau, for bridge repairs, according to the department. Vehicle weight is limited to 25 mph and the speed limit over the bridge is 25 mph. Vehicles weighing 25 tons or greater must use Kuniho Road, Old Mamalahoa Highway and Leopolino Road as a detour route.
Matson increasing rates effective January
Matson Navigation Co. is increasing its container and terminal handling rates, effective Jan. 5.
Company officials announced the rate changes Monday. The increase is $175 per westbound container and $85 per eastbound container, which Matson officials estimated to be an average 5.5 percent hike.
That isn’t the only rate change Matson announced. The terminal handling charge will increase by $50 per westbound container and $25 per eastbound container.
Matson also announced Monday it will increase its container and terminal handling rates for Guam/Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and Micronesia, effective Jan. 26.
The increase is $275 for both westbound and eastbound containers, according to Matson. The company will also increase its West Coast terminal handling charge to $75 both ways.
The charge increases will be filed with the Surface Transportation Board.
Matson’s terminal handling charge was implemented in 2003 and is designed to recover a portion of the costs associated with the movement of cargo through terminals. The charge appears as a separate line item at the bottom of a company’s freight bill.
University of Hawaii sets up veteran task force
HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii is forming a task force to improve services for military veterans.
The university said Friday that it wants the task force to help different campuses within the university system to learn from each other’s successes.
Task Force results and recommendations will be shared at a systemwide conference at Manoa next spring.
The 15-member group may work with veteran students and recent veteran graduates to understand what barriers they have faced and what contributed to their success.
They may also identify federal policy changes that would help student veterans. They may also make recommendations to federal officials and Hawaii’s congressional delegation.
The task force is chaired by Chris Manaseri, dean of Student Services at Leeward Community College.
Nonprofit’s adaptive surfboards stolen
HONOLULU — A Hawaii nonprofit organization that teaches people with disabilities how to surf said two of its adaptive surfboards were stolen.
AccesSurf said the boards were taken from a truck in Kaimuki, Oahu, on Saturday. The organization said the boards together are valued at about $2,000 and are two of the most utilized in their programs. The boards are marked with the letters ASH. The organization wants the boards returned, no questions asked.
Mo-ped crash victim dies from injuries
HONOLULU — Maui police said a 54-year-old Kihei man has died of injuries suffered in a mo-ped crash last month.
Police said Nicholas Webb died last week.
Webb on Oct. 25 was driving south on South Kihei Road when he crossed the center line and collided head-on with a pickup truck traveling north. The 36-year-old truck driver from Haiku was not injured.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Webb was seriously injured and died Nov. 18.
Pesticide blamed for Oahu kids feeling sick
EWA BEACH, Oahu — Emergency responders have treated eight elementary schoolchildren and two adults who complained of feeling sick from the smell of pesticides in Ewa Beach.
Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said those treated Monday morning were at Pohakea Elementary and Kaimiloa Elementary schools.
State Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said an 11-year-old girl was taken to a hospital as a procedural measure because her parents were unable to immediately be reached. Dela Cruz said the girl and those who were treated at the scene are fine.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said a nearby resident had sprayed a pesticide called malathion. Seelig said the concentration was likely too strong. Firefighters diluted it with water and put foam on the yard to suppress the vapors.
By local and wire sources