Victim killed in shed collapse identified
Big Island police identified the 90-year-old man killed in a shed collapse Tuesday as Walter K. Sugi of Honaunau.
Police determined Sugi had crawled under the shed on his property to retrieve an item when the building fell on him. Hawaii County Fire Department rescue personnel responded to the scene and extracted Sugi. He was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m., according to the Hawaii County Police Department.
The case is classified as a coroner’s inquest and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death, police said.
Park seeks comments on aviation plan
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has released its mission critical administrative aviation plan and environmental assessment for managing the use of administrative aviation over the park. The public has until March 7 to submit comments online or via mail.
The park and cooperating agencies use helicopters over the 333,086-acre park to respond to eruption activity, monitor and study Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, control invasive species, recover rare species, restore degraded ecosystems, protect cultural resources and conduct wildland fire, search and rescue, and law enforcement operations.
The plan outlines project alternatives. Under the no-action alternative, park staff and cooperating agencies would continue to use aviation as needed. Under the preferred alternative, aviation would be used for the health and safety of visitors, employees and residents, and for park resource protection and restoration activities. Under this plan, formal best management practices, area closures and flight restrictions would be instituted to minimize impacts to park resources, soundscapes, wilderness, visitors and adjoining landowners.
To view the plan and make comments online, go to parkplanning.nps.gov/havo. Select the mission critical administrative aviation plan link, and click “open for comment” on the left, then open the document name. Download the document or comment directly on the page.
Written comments may also be mailed to Superintendent, re: Admin Mgmt Plan/EA, P.O. Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718-0052.
Commercial air tours over the park are being addressed through a separate planning process to develop an air tour management plan and environmental impact statement. The lead agency for that plan is the Federal Aviation Administration while the National Park Service is a cooperator.
Preschool Open Doors applications accepted
The state Department of Human Services will accept applications for its Preschool Open Doors program March 1 through April 30. Applications received during this period will be considered for preschool participation between July 1 and June 30, 2015.
This is a DHS child care subsidy program that provides statewide services to eligible low- and moderate-income families sending their children to a licensed preschool, prior to kindergarten entry. The goal is to promote school readiness and to help children develop a lifelong love for learning.
Effective August 2014, a child must be 5 years old on or before July 31 to enter kindergarten. Families affected by the new 2014-15 entry age, and families with children who will be enrolling in kindergarten during the 2015-16 school year, are encouraged to apply for the program. Underserved or at-risk children born between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009, will receive priority consideration for the 2014-15 school year.
Program applications will be available from the DHS contractor, PATCH, beginning March 1. To reserve a packet, call 800-746-5620. Applications also can be downloaded by visiting patchhawaii.org.
Applications must be received by April 30 to be considered for the 2014-15 program year. Return completed applications to PATCH-POD, 560 North Nimitz Highway, Suite 218, Honolulu, HI 96817.
Priorities for the program’s selection are posted on the DHS website at humanservices.hawaii.gov/admin-rules-2/admin-rules-for-programs.
PTA opens areas for archery hunting
Army officials will open several parts of Pohakuloa Training Area for archery mammal hunting from 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Hunters must check in and check out of designated hunting stations at Kilohana, between mile markers 43 and 44 on the old Saddle Road, and Puu Huluhulu station, across from Mauna Kea access road near mile marker 28. Check-in time for hunting areas is 5 a.m, and check-out time is 7:30 p.m. No early access to hunting areas is allowed. All hunters are required to be familiar with the hunting and no hunting areas.
Training areas 2, 10 and 11 will be open to archery mammal hunting only. Hunting is subject to state hunting rules and bag limits. No person shall remove any live game from any hunting area. Bag limits will be enforced by Hawaii hunting guidelines. For training area 2, enter and exit through north gates 1 through 5 only, on Highway 200. For training areas 10 and 11, enter and exit through north gates 1 through 6 only, on Highway 200.
For more information, call the Hunter’s Hot Line 969-3474 or PTA Public Affairs 969-2411. Also, visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the “Hunting” tab, or refer to instructions on the hunting pass.
Kauai rejects lone bid for free legal help
LIHUE, Kauai — Kauai County won’t be getting free legal services to help defend an ordinance regulating the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops by large agricultural businesses.
The county said it received only one response to a request for pro bono legal services. But the county rejected that attorney’s submission, partly because of a lack of relevant qualifications.
Last month, three biotech companies filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the county from implementing the law when it goes into effect in August.
The county said several firms had previously offered pro bono attorneys for lawsuits expected in response to the bill passing.
The county council on Wednesday was expected to hear a $75,000 funding request to hire a law firm.
Arrest made in Waikiki weekend stabbing
HONOLULU — A 45-year-old Waikiki man has been charged with attempted murder in a weekend stabbing.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported bail has been set at $250,000 for Charles Crawford.
He is suspected of stabbing a 34-year-old man around 8:15 p.m. Sunday on Lemon Road in Waikiki.
Paramedics from Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Division transported the injured man to a hospital. He was in critical condition.
Police arrested Crawford at his home near Kuhio Beach.
By local and wire sources