Hawaii

HONOLULU — Students at Moanalua Middle School on Thursday rallied in front of their school, urging motorists to think twice before making sudden and potentially dangerous U-turns.

Many parents make quick U-turns on Mahiole and Ma’alahi streets after dropping off their kids. So students, teachers and police gathered to raise awareness about safety.

Making a U-turn in a residential area is not illegal, but it is illegal when a car blocks the crosswalk, police said.

Rep. (Read the full post about ‘Moanalua Students Urge Drivers To Stop U-Turns’…)

HONOLULU — A sleepy truck driver plowed into a fire hydrant, a traffic sign and brought down a utility pole on Dillingham Boulevard on Thursday morning, police said.

It happened at about 8 a.m. near a Popeye’s restaurant at Dillingham Plaza.

The truck was going Ewa bound when the driver said he fell asleep.

The driver works at two jobs, police said. If the accident happened earlier in the rush hour, it could have been a lot worse, they said.

HONOLULU — Slack key guitarist and Hawaiian music singer Raymond Kane died on Wednesday night, friends said.

Kane, 82, had been hospitalized for three months with respiratory problems.

He was known for his distinctive style of playing the guitar. He performed with many of the greats in Hawaiian music including Albert Kawelo, Henry Kapuana, Gabby “Pops” Pahinui and more.

In 1973, Kane held his first solo concert devoted to slack key guitar, or ki ho`alu. In 1987, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Kane as a “National Living Treasure” with an NEA National Heritage Fellowship.

Ki Ho`alu Slack Key Guitar Festival organizer and Kane’s friend, Milton Lau, said the legend’s death is saddening. (Read the full post about ‘Hawaiian Music Legend Raymond Kane Dies’…)

HONOLULU — Honolulu police are looking for the men involved in the stabbing of a 17-year-old boy in Kalihi on Wednesday night.

It happened at about 9 p.m. at Mayor Wright Housing in Kalihi.

The teenager was last reported to be in serious but stable condition.

The victim was stabbed after a fight broke out between four men, police said.

O’AHU, Hawaii — Food thrown in the garbage is a big problem on O’ahu, making up about a third of the rubbish going into the landfill.

A decade ago, the city wanted restaurants to give their food waste to recyclers, but the idea failed when the biggest recycler failed and left behind a big mess.

Now, a company with a lot of experience in composting wants to give it a try.

Industrial Park Hawaiian Earth Products is well established as the city’s partner in green-waste recycling, known for turning landscaping rubbish into compost and mulch in four months. (Read the full post about ‘City Hopes To Recycle Trashed Food’…)

LOS ANGELES — Two networks and at least one TV studio have made it clear they’d be interested in Jay Leno when Conan O’Brien takes over the “Tonight” show next year.

The New York Times reported that Sony Pictures Television wants to make Leno the highest-paid late-night host with a salary of $40 million a year and would give him ownership of his show as well as the show that would come on after him.

ABC and Fox reportedly have also expressed interest.

It’s all being done discreetly because no one can legally negotiate with Leno until November of next year.

The Times said that NBC Universal has a plan of its own to keep Leno in some capacity.

BROCKTON, Mass. — Singer Bobby Brown will not face any criminal charges after police said they found a small amount of cocaine in his possession, but has agreed to a year’s community service.

Brown’s attorney said Tuesday that a court clerk magistrate found no probable cause to issue a criminal complaint, but recommended that Brown volunteer to mentor young people, which Brown wanted to do anyway.

Attorney Jeff Denner said that if no other issues arise over the next year, the matter will be struck from the docket.

Police responding to a disturbance at a Brockton hotel on Dec. (Read the full post about ‘Bobby Brown Avoids Criminal Drug Charges’…)

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police say they are looking into allegations that someone drugged Britney Spears but have not decided whether to open a formal investigation.

Police Capt. Kyle Jackson said in a statement Wednesday that the allegations “are being considered” by the Robbery-Homicide unit to determine if laws have been violated.

Jackson said no suspect has been identified.

Spears’ mother claimed in recent court papers that the pop star’s sometime companion Sam Lutfi drugged Spears and tried to take control of her life. (Read the full post about ‘Police Looking Into Alleged Spears Drugging’…)

WAILUKU — The Maui County Council Land Use Committee has unanimously approved land-use changes for a long-awaited West Maui medical facility, The Maui News reported.

Wednesday’s committee action could lead to the official filing for a state certificate to build a new hospital that the West Maui community has rallied behind for years.

“I know it’s been a tortuous road for you and you’re only on your first mile,” council member Gladys Baisa acknowledged to West Maui Improvement Foundation President Joe Pluta during a committee meeting in the council chambers.

Last fall, Pluta’s organization announced the intent of Southwest Health Group in Texas to develop a small hospital with an estimated investment of $70 million on 14.9 acres near the Lahaina Civic Center.

(Read the full post about ‘Changes approved for medical facility’…)

Pomaika’i Keawe Lyman took to the open-air stage at the Moana Terrace Bar and Grill in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort last night, continuing the musical legacy of her beloved grandmother, Aunty Genoa Keawe, who died Monday at age 89.

Before the show Lyman, 26, conceded that following in the footsteps of a legend could be daunting, especially when it’s less than a week after losing the loved one who provided the inspiration.

“I tried to sing yesterday, and I noticed I was choking up a little,” Lyman, a mother of three, said before moving into the spotlight that her grandmother had occupied for so many years.

“It can be overwhelming — living up to her standard.

(Read the full post about ‘Aunty Genoa in her heart’…)