Group admits to removing lava rock from reserve
HONOLULU (AP) — Officials say four men admitted to taking lava rock from the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve on Hawaii Island.
Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers gave the men cease and desist orders after they say the men were illegally cracking large chunks of pahoehoe lava and hauling tons of it by the truckload to sell to hotels and home builders for rock boundaries, decorative walls, and fireplaces.
Officers say the men were making anywhere from $800 to $1,000 for a “load of rock, often selling it to commercial properties and residential homeowners in Waikoloa and other places on the Big Island.”
Maui County clears rape kit backlog
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — More than 100 rape kits dating to 1999 in Maui County have been tested, making the county the first in Hawaii to catch up on old cases.
The county tested 105 kits collected from 1999 to July 1, 2016, as part of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, The Maui News reported Sunday.
The state Department of the Attorney General last year was awarded a $2 million grant as part of the initiative.
Of 166 Maui County cases where there were untested rape kits, 105 met the criteria for testing through the initiative, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera said.
“We are completely caught up with the old cases,” Rivera said.
Kits were not tested if an offender was already convicted and in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, if complainants had filed written withdrawals of prosecution and if offenders were juveniles.
Wife of late senator Inouye celebrates Navy destroyer
BATH, Maine (AP) — The wife of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has helped a Navy shipbuilder celebrate a milestone in construction of a destroyer bearing his name.
Irene Hirano Inouye’s initials were etched into the ship’s steel during a keel-laying ceremony on Monday at Bath Iron Works. As the ship’s sponsor, she will be responsible for christening the future USS Daniel Inouye later this year or early next year.
Inouye served as senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in Italy during World War II, where he lost his right arm in combat.