17 Hawaii deputy sheriff recruits graduate
17 Hawaii deputy sheriff recruits graduate
WAIPAHU, Hawaii — Seventeen new deputies will be joining the ranks of the Hawaii Sheriff Division.
A graduation for the 2012 recruits was held Friday at the Hawaii Okinawa Center. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was a special guest speaker addressing the graduates.
The deputies will be assigned to various locations across the state.
Duties of the statewide law enforcement division include protecting the governor and Honolulu International Airport.
Maui teen found dead after home broken into
KAHULUI, Maui — Police say a 15-year-old Maui boy is dead after taking painkillers and drinking beer at a house that was broken into for a party.
Police say the owner of the Kahului home wasn’t on the island and didn’t know it has been broken into to throw a beer party.
When police were called to the house on Thursday, the teen was dead. Police say an investigation shows he brought the medication to the party and offered it others. He and a 19-year-old were seen ingesting the drugs with beer.
The 19-year-old was taken to a hospital and is expected to be released Friday.
Police continue to investigate.
Hawaii Tourism Asia: China direct flights needed
HONOLULU — The number of Chinese travelers to Hawaii surged 43 percent during the first half of this year, making China the fastest growing market for the state’s visitor industry.
But the organization that promotes Hawaii in China says this pace will lag if airlines don’t add more flights linking the two places.
Hawaii Tourism Asia Managing Director Michael Merner told industry professionals at a tourism conference Friday that his organization is doing everything possible to encourage China Eastern Airlines to add a fourth regularly scheduled flight to Honolulu from Shanghai.
The company launched its first flight to Hawaii in August 2011. It plans to add a third in December, and may add a fourth in April.
Merner said China Eastern’s flights were 97 percent full last month. There’s no question the airline will add flights, he said. It’s just a question of how quickly.
Hawaii welcomed more than 49,000 visitors from China in the first six months of 2012. That’s a sharp increase from the previous year, but still few compared with the state’s largest foreign market, Japan. More than 600,000 visitors from Japan came to Hawaii in the first half of the year.
Merner said Hawaiian Airlines now has sales agents in Shanghai and Beijing. He said Hawaii Tourism Asia also was encouraging Hawaiian to test the waters by operating some charter flights next year.
Chinese people also are spending more time in Hawaii than they used to because more often they’re coming to visit Hawaii, not just stop for two to three days on their way to or from the U.S. mainland.
Merner said the agency planned to double the number of Chinese visitors to the neighbor islands, noting only about 15 percent of Chinese are visiting the Big Island and 13 percent are going to Maui.
Honolulu mayoral candidate apologizes for daughter
HONOLULU — A Honolulu mayoral candidate has apologized to his opponent for the actions of his 18-year-old daughter.
Hawaii News Now reports candidate and former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell confirms that his daughter Maya is one of two girls seen in photos setting fire to opponent and former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s campaign sign.
One of the photos posted on Instagram shows Maya holding a lighter to the sign. The photos have been removed from the social networking application.
Her father says he’s disappointed and planned to have a serious father-daughter talk. She is scheduled to leave for college in Massachusetts on Friday.
Caldwell says he apologized to Cayetano. Cayetano says he’s sure Maya regrets what she did.
The election is centered on Cayetano vowing to stop Honolulu’s rail project.
Pearl Harbor sailor surrenders in shotgun standoff
HONOLULU — A 22-year-old Hawaii sailor was taken into custody after a standoff that required evacuating homes at Moanalua Terrace Navy Housing.
Police say the Pearl Harbor sailor was armed with a shotgun when he arrived home Wednesday afternoon and threatened his wife, along with other women and babies inside.
Police say the women picked up the children and ran out.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the man and his wife walked out and he surrendered. He was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threatening and firearms offenses.
KHON-TV reports the Navy says a military and family support center has been opened to help with counseling.