Ore. man injured in shark attack off Maui
Ore. man injured in shark attack off Maui
WAILUKU, Maui — A 61-year-old Oregon man has been bitten by a shark in waters off Maui.
Maui County said Friday the man was snorkeling with another man about 200 yards off Kihei when the shark attacked.
The Oregonian identified the man as Thomas Floyd Kennedy of the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego.
The county says the man suffered multiple cuts on his lower left leg and thigh.
He told authorities the shark’s head was about two feet wide, but it’s not known what type of shark attacked him.
After treatment by lifeguards, he was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.
The beach from Kamaole III to Waipuilani Park was closed to swimmers.
Man dies after fight in homeless camp
WAILUKU, Maui — A 52-year-old man died at a homeless camp on Maui after getting in a fight.
According to the Maui News, police were called to the camp in Waiehu at 2:25 a.m. Thursday after receiving a report that four men were fighting.
Lt. Jayson Rego of the Criminal Investigation Division says officers found the man unresponsive in a tent and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Police say an investigation revealed that the victim had been involved in an argument that became physical and had been thrown to the ground.
The man eventually went back to his tent where he collapsed.
Police say there were no obvious signs of injury. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Japan donates $5M for tsunami debris cleanup
TOKYO — Japan is providing $5 million to the U.S. to help with collection and disposal of marine debris from its 2011 tsunami.
The Foreign Ministry announced the donation to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Friday. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda informed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of the plan during a meeting in September on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
A huge tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast killed or left missing more than 18,000 people and washed millions of tons of debris into the sea.
NOAA has said it expects some of the debris to wash up on U.S. shores in the next several years. Japan’s donation will help fund its monitoring, removal and processing.
About 70 percent of the tsunami debris is said to have sunk, but a few items have been confirmed as having floated across the Pacific, including a large plastic bin used to transport seafood that landed in Hawaii, a fishing dock found on the Oregon coast, buoys and other flotsam and jetsam.
Alleged Hawaii concert scammer pleads not guilty
HONOLULU — A North Carolina man accused of scamming the University of Hawaii out of $200,000 for a Stevie Wonder concert pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges.
Prosecutors allege Hubbard defrauded the school out of money that was intended as a deposit for a concert that never happened. The club and concert promoter from Waxhaw, N.C., faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities say Hubbard convinced a local promoter that he had connections with a former Motown Records executive who could secure Wonder for a fundraiser on Aug. 18. The school paid $200,000 as a deposit and began selling advance tickets for the concert, but later learned neither the singer nor his representatives authorized the concert. It hasn’t been able to recover the money.
Another man accused of transporting the money as part of the deal has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. Sean Barriero, 44, is a British national who lives in Miami.
Hubbard’s trial is scheduled to start on Jan. 21, said John Schum, who was initially appointed by the court to represent Hubbard. He said Pete Anderson has taken over as Hubbard’s attorney, and a phone message for Anderson left with his office in Charlotte, N.C., wasn’t immediately returned.
Earlier this month, a special state Senate committee investigating the university’s response to the bungled concert and its aftermath said the incident tarnished the university’s reputation both nationally and within the state.
The university spent at least $1.1 million responding to the debacle, the committee said. A large chunk went to attorneys, accountants and public relations consultants.
About half of the money is going toward a new three-year contract — worth about $600,000 altogether — for former athletic director Jim Donovan, whom President M.R.C. Greenwood had removed as athletic director after the fiasco. The university gave Donovan a new contract when he threatened to sue if he wasn’t reinstated as athletic director.