Wedding disrupted by false alert
KETCHIKAN, Alaska — Alaska resident Cara Wallace was researching and comparing wine at a Maui grocery store the morning of her wedding when whispers turned to cries.
Wallace said a sense of paranoia spread through the store that morning, Jan. 13 — moments after nearly everyone in Hawaii received warning of an inbound missile.
“As we started to walk around the grocery store, it was just like you could start to sense, like, the anxiety, or, like, paranoia or concern that other shoppers were having,” Wallace said.
Wallace and her fiance, Charles Peele, did not receive the warning text. But their guests did — and it quickly became clear what was happening.
Wallace and Peele left the store and went back to their rental property, where family gathered and some prayed.
Thirty-eight minutes after the alert, the false alarm text came in. The wedding went on as planned, but clearly didn’t go as planned.
“We were happy,” Wallace said. “I moved on and started getting ready for the wedding. And you know, that was kinda it for the day.”
Bruno Mars cleans up at
the Grammys
NEW YORK — The Grammy Awards seemed poised to make this a triumphant year for rap at music’s showcase event — until Bruno Mars crashed the party.
The song-and-dance man from Hawaii won all six awards he was nominated for on Sunday night, including the three most prestigious Grammys for song (“That’s What I Like”), record (“24K Magic”) and album of the year. His music also dominated the rhythm and blues categories.
The Grammys also saw Kendrick Lamar win five awards, Jay-Z go home empty-handed, some memorable performances by the likes of Lamar, Kesha, Mars and Logic, an odd oversight of singer Lorde and a surprise cameo from Hillary Clinton.
In accepting a trophy for the album “24K Magic,” Mars recalled when he was 15 and singing shows for tourists. He’d perform hits written by Babyface, Teddy Riley and Jimmy Jam &Terry Lewis, and loved looking down from the stage to see people from all over the world who had never met dancing together and toasting one another.
“All I ever wanted to do with this album was that,” he said. “These songs were written with nothing but joy.”
Mars has won 11 Grammys in his career.
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Online:
http://www.grammy.com
12-hour standoff ends peacefully
HONOLULU — A nearly 12-hour police standoff at a Honolulu affordable housing complex ended peacefully.
Police say the incident began Saturday night when a driver fled officers and fired multiple gunshots at police vehicles.
Police say that after hitting a fence, the driver abandoned the vehicle and ran into a friend’s apartment, where two females and a male were already inside.
According to police, the male and one female left the unit Saturday night and the second female left the unit Sunday afternoon. About an hour later, the suspect surrendered without incident.
He was taken into police custody and booked for auto theft, attempted murder, fleeing the scene and firearms offenses.
Injured bicyclist revives street racing worries
HONOLULU — A motorist was arrested after critically injuring a bicyclist, reviving residents’ concerns about street racing in Honolulu.
The victim of the Thursday evening crash was identified as Lectie Altman, a triathlete and Honolulu real estate agent. The suspect was a 20-year-old man who was arrested on one count of negligent injury but later released pending an investigation.
Witnesses said they heard revving engines and screeching tires before a car went off the road on one side, came across the other lane of traffic out of control and hit Altman head on.
The impact was so hard that Altman flew about 40 feet, said bicyclist Lawrence Friedman, who was riding behind Altman at the time of the incident.
Tantalus Drive, where the incident took place, is well known for illegal racing and drifting.
Residents and bicycling advocates said it’s a major public safety issue, and they’re hoping police will step up patrols.
