Kailua soldier killed in Afghanistan
Kailua soldier killed in Afghanistan
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii National Guard solider from Kailua was killed in a plane crash in Afghanistan.
Hawaii National Guard officials said 25-year-old Sgt. Drew Scobie and two others were killed in Friday’s crash of an MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft.
The military said there is no indication the plane crashed as a result of enemy action. The Department of Defense has not yet released the names of those killed or details about the crash.
Scobie leaves behind a son and a pregnant wife.
His family traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to greet his casket and then returned to Hawaii for a gathering Tuesday at Makapuu Beach, one of his favorite spots.
Man sought in gas station robberies
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu police are looking for the same man who was involved in two gas station store robberies that occurred within an hour of each other.
The first robbery occurred early Wednesday morning at a Tesoro gas station on Lawehana Street. The second occurred at the Aloha Island Mart on the Farrington Highway.
Police said no one was injured in either robbery.
The man is described as being short, wearing a white hoodie and white sweatpants, and covering his face with a green handkerchief.
UH president to visit White House
HONOLULU (AP) — University of Hawaii’s interim president will be at the White House for a national workshop on increasing college access and success for disadvantaged students.
The university said David Lassner is participating in today’s invitation-only event in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan are scheduled to speak.
Lassner said Hawaii’s goal of having 55 percent of the population having a college degree by 2025 can’t be achieved without improving access for low-income students.
He said he looks forward to learning what works in other states.
West Maui hospital on schedule for ’16
LAHAINA, Maui (AP) — The nonprofit operator of a planned hospital in west Maui picked a board of directors, and developers are on schedule to finish construction in 2016.
Residents said the planned Kaanapali facility is needed to serve a growing number of tourists and residents on the island’s west side.
At a meeting last week for the West Maui Taxpayers Association, Michelle Berner, attorney for developer Newport Hospital Corp., said the West Maui Hospital and Medical Center is on schedule to be completed by mid-2016.
The hospital’s nonprofit operator, West Maui Hospital Foundation, selected members of a four-person board of directors, Berner said.
The directors include Jo Anne Johnson Winer, director of the county Department of Transportation and former council member representing West Maui; Howard Hanzawa, a member of the Maui Police Commission and retired senior vice president for Kaanapali Land Management Corp.; Alfred Arensdorf, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and an executive assistant for former Mayor Charmaine Tavares; and Newport Hospital Corp.’s president, Brian Hoyle.