HPD: Correction on travel direction

Two men died in a traffic crash early Thursday morning in North Kona near the 81-mile marker of Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

Responding to a 1:02 a.m. call, police determined that the operator of a 1999 Chevrolet van had been traveling south on Queen Kaahumanu Highway when it crossed the centerline and was involved in a head-on collision with a 2004 Honda van, which had been traveling north.

A press release issued Thursday stated incorrect travel directions.

Professor/student relationship ban pitched

HONOLULU (AP) — Right now, there’s no policy that bans University of Hawaii professors from dating their students.

In recent years, there’s been a national trend among universities, including Harvard, Yale and Arizona State University, to ban professors from dating their students. Many universities have made new policies as they’ve been urged to boost efforts to prevent sexual assault and rape on campus.

Hawaii lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban romantic relationships between University of Hawaii professors and students. The bill would also make rules to prevent sexual assault on campus, for example, by educating professors and students on sexual assault and domestic violence.

The University of Hawaii system has 10 campuses statewide that enroll 57,000 students. It came under fire two years ago when it was among dozens of schools nationwide that the U.S. Department of Education started investigating because of the way it handled sexual assault allegations.

Right now, the University of Hawaii says it’s planning to implement a new policy to prohibit faculty and students from dating. Most of the faculty and staff are unionized, so the university is in the midst of discussing the policy with unions, said Dan Meisenzahl, a spokesman for the university.

Hawaii’s lone Republican Senator Sam Slom taken to hospital

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s lone Republican Senator Sam Slom has been taken to the hospital for tests.

Slom’s chief of staff Kathryn Higa says he was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center by ambulance right after the Senate floor session Friday.

Higa says she can’t release information about Slom’s medical condition. But she says Slom was chatting with her on his way to the hospital.

Higa says Slom headed to the hospital shortly after voting no on a bill about transporting sand onto beaches.

By West Hawaii Today staff and wire sources