Missing Maui pilot identified
Missing Maui pilot identified
WAILUKU, Maui — The Coast Guard has identified Maui pastry chef Jose Krall as the pilot of a small plane that went missing over the weekend.
Krall, owner of the popular Maui Bake Shop & Deli, is believed to have been the only person aboard the Cessna 172 that disappeared Saturday.
His wife, Claire Fujii-Krall, told the Maui News that her husband was talking to the air tower when he went off the radar and they lost sight of him. A debris field was spotted about 2 miles north of Maui.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the airplane had departed from Kahului Airport en route to Molokai when it disappeared. Fujii-Krall said her husband was trying to turn around and return to Maui.
“The conditions were really bad. The haze was too dense,” she said. “He wanted to turn around.”
Krall was born in Nimes, France, south of Paris. He was trained as both a baker and a pastry chef and has worked from Switzerland to Belgium. He arrived in the U.S. at age 19 and has been in the kitchens of some of the top names in pastry. His shop on Maui has been in business for nearly 23 years.
Residents reject sewage plan as too expensive
HILO — Residents of two Kapoho subdivisions on the Big Island have rejected a centralized sewage plan as too expensive.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports that Dora Beck, acting director of Hawaii County’s Environmental Management, says once residents heard the cost they weren’t much interested. The cost ranged from $2.85 million to nearly $8 million.
Many homes in Kapoho Beach Lots and Kapoho Vacationland Estates remain on cesspools despite being adjacent to the Wai Opae tide pools and Champagne Pond. Concern over pollution of swimming areas goes at least back to the 1980s when sewage was found seeping from porous lava tubes.
New cesspools have since been banned, and the Department of Health tests water in the swimming areas almost on a weekly basis.
Oahu marathon looks for largest field since ‘97
HONOLULU — Organizers are expecting the largest field in 15 years for Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon.
Nearly 30,000 participants have already registered for the race, and that figure is expected to top 31,000 with late registration.
This is on track to be the biggest race field since 1997, when there were more than 33,000 competitors. Last year, more than 22,000 racers took part.
Honolulu Marathon Association President Jim Barahal attributes the increase to a number of factors, including this being the 40th running of the race. Organizers also offered a $1-a-mile entry fee for Hawaii residents early this year that drew more than 10,000 people.
Barahal also cites the strength of the yen and increased promotion. The race traditionally draws a large contingent of runners from Japan.
Airline offers service to Taiwan
HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines plans to begin offering service to Taiwan next summer.
The airline says it will launch service three days a week between the capital city of Taipei and Honolulu.
Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines’ president and chief executive, says the new service will be a convenient way for many in Hawaii to connect with family and create new business relationships, or just visit Taiwan.
Beginning next July, Hawaiian will become the only airline offering nonstop service between Taiwan and Honolulu. It plans on using its new 294-seat Airbus aircraft.
The airline’s announcement comes soon after the United States said it would include Taiwan in the Visa Waiver Program. The program permits visa-free travel to the U.S. for eligible travelers visiting for 90 days or fewer for business or tourism.