By local and wire sources
Convoy could snarl traffic near PTA
Military units will convoy from Pohakuloa Training Area to Kawaihae Harbor between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, according to the U.S. Army Garrison Pohakuloa Public Affairs Office.
They will travel via Saddle Road, Mamalahoa Highway, Waikoloa Road, Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Saddle Road. Motorists are advised to be alert and drive with care, according to the office.
For more information, call 969-2427.
Palani lanes to remain closed
The mauka-bound lane of Palani Road from Queen Kaahumanu Highway to Henry Street will remain closed this week.
The department expects the lane closure to be in effect through March 23.
Lane closures planned near Makalei
Alternating lane closures in both directions are planned this week on Mamalahoa Highway between mile markers 27 and 31, in the vicinity of Makalei, for guardrail installation and pavement striping, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Crews will be working from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted. Road work is weather permitting.
Keaau library tech honored for service
HONOLULU — Mountain View library technician Teri King-Agan is the latest recipient of the Friends of the Library of Hawaii’s Excellence in Service Award.
King-Agan, who works at the Keaau Public Library, received the award Thursday at the Friends annual meeting in Honolulu. The award honors library employees who work “in the trenches” as assistants, technicians, custodians and in other support capacities.
During her 15 years with the library system, King-Agan has created a variety of programs, including a color-coded video catalog system. She also simplified a technique for teaching novices how to use the computer-based catalog.
State Sen. Gilbert Kahele honored King-Agan, saying she is an asset to the Keaau community because she is dedicated to her work and has created programs to stimulate engagement.
Surfer, snorkeler drown in separate incidents
HONOLULU — The waters off of Hawaii have claimed the lives of a Honolulu surfer and a Japanese tourist, while a second Japanese tourist is hospitalized in critical condition after being found at the bottom of a hotel pool.
Howard Hutchings, 47, drowned while surfing with friends at Rocky Point Lefts on Honolulu’s North Shore Thursday.
After Hutchings was pulled from the water by other surfers, lifeguards tried to revive him by performing CPR, authorities said.
In a separate incident, authorities have released the name of a Japanese tourist who drowned during a snorkeling trip.
The Medical Examiner’s Office says Ichiro Kawashima, 67, was snorkeling off a tour boat near the Heeia Kea pier when he drowned Tuesday.
Emergency crews met the tour boat when it returned to the pier, but Kawashima died at the scene, police said.
His death has been determined to be accidental.
In a third incident, a Japanese tourist believed to be in his mid-70s was hospitalized in critical condition after he was found at the bottom of a pool at Hilton Hawaiian Village Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The man’s name has not been released.
Teen convicted in beating death of taxi cab driver
HONOLULU — Jurors needed less than four hours to find a 19-year-old man guilty in the beating death of a taxi driver.
Kilani Derego was convicted Friday in the killing of Charlys Tang in May of 2010.
Tang died in a hospital after he was found badly beaten in a supermarket parking lot. It was his 41st birthday.
Derego denied beating Tang, or that he had been a passenger in his taxi on the night of the attack. He claimed that he was at a party with his girlfriend at the time.
But during the trial, Derego’s co-defendant, Michael Robles, told jurors that Derego beat the taxi driver after an argument.
Derego is facing life in prison when he’s sentenced in May.
Robles has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in the case.
30 leave Am. Samoa in search of Guam jobs
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — Thirty American Samoa residents have left the U.S. territory with the hopes of landing jobs that come with thousands of military personnel being relocated from Japan to Guam.
They are participants of the National Emergency Grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor in response to the Sept. 29, 2009 earthquake and tsunami that killed 34 people in American Samoa.
The program has provided temporary jobs for workers left unemployed by the closure of the Chicken of the Sea Samoa Packing cannery that same year.
The group’s send-off on Thursday was part of an agreement between the local government and the government of Guam.
The participants needed to pass health tests and criminal background checks. Once in Guam, they’ll undergo job training and placement.
By local and wire sources