Honolulu warns illegal vacation rental owners of new fines
HONOLULU — Honolulu sent approximately 5,000 “courtesy” letters to owners and operators of illegal vacation rentals, warning them to stop advertising or face hefty fines.
Violating the new ban on advertising short-term rentals could result in fines of up to $10,000 a day.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said everyone on Oahu who might be operating an illegal vacation rental should be aware of the new law.
The letter sent to owners says even if tenants are the ones advertising for the rentals, owners are ultimately accountable.
Caldwell says the city scoured hosting platforms to get names and addresses associated with illegal rentals. Officials also compared photos on advertisements with actual addresses and city records.
Jury being picked for biker club racketeering trial
LAS VEGAS — A jury is being picked in federal court in Las Vegas for the racketeering trial of eight accused Vagos motorcycle club members in a sweeping case stemming from the killing of a rival Hells Angels leader from California at a northern Nevada casino in 2011.
Prosecutors allege the Vagos is a broad criminal enterprise engaged for more than a decade in murder, kidnapping, extortion, witness intimidation and drug and weapons trafficking.
The eight men standing trial represent the first of three groups totaling 21 defendants in the case that prosecutors allege involves crimes in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon and Nevada.
The men each pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection is expected to take several days, and opening statements are scheduled Aug. 12.
Trial could take up to four months.
Ohio soldier killed in WWII returns home
HAMILTON, Ohio — A soldier killed in combat in World War II has been buried with military honors in his home state of Ohio more than 70 years after his death.
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. William Brandenburg, of New Miami, was buried Saturday next to his parents in a cemetery in southwest Ohio’s Butler County.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the 17-year-old soldier died in November 1943 in a battle against the Japanese on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean. He was later buried with other unknown service members at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Brandenburg’s sister, who has since died, submitted DNA to the Pentagon in 2011. It enabled his identification last year.