Deal in Honolulu military love triangle death hits a snag ADVERTISING Deal in Honolulu military love triangle death hits a snag HONOLULU (AP) — A plea deal is in jeopardy for a woman who admitted to conspiring with her Army
Deal in Honolulu military love triangle death hits a snag
HONOLULU (AP) — A plea deal is in jeopardy for a woman who admitted to conspiring with her Army medic lover to kill his wife while she slept in Honolulu military housing.
The judge in the case ruled this week that she’s not ready to accept or reject the deal Ailsa Jackson made with prosecutors to testify against Sgt. Michael Walker in exchange for a lighter sentence.
The prosecution and the defense urged the judge to approve the deal. They agree Jackson’s testimony will provide context to the sordid details laid out in text messages and emails of the lovers plotting the murder.
Prosecutors worry that without her testimony it will be more difficult to win a murder conviction for the 2014 stabbing death of his wife, Catherine Walker. Defense attorneys want the deal secured to ensure she gets something in return for testifying.
But U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway wants to make a decision about the deal after she knows everything that was revealed during Walker’s trial, which is scheduled for August.
At a hearing earlier this week, Mollway expressed various concerns about the deal, including the “narrow range” of the negotiated sentence: 30 to 33 years. If Mollway learns something that would warrant deviating from that range, “I’d be hamstrung,” she said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Brady tried to assure the judge that if Jackson’s testimony comes with any surprises, the deal is off.
Census: Kauai sees growth in population in 2015
LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — New census numbers show Kauai’s population is growing, and those familiar with the real estate market say the growth has led to a property shortage on the island.
The U.S. Census Bureau data show Kauai saw a 1.5 percent increase in population between 2014 and 2015. The island grew from 70,762 residents to 71,735 residents last year.
Kelly Libertore with Coldwell Banker Makai Properties said newcomers are having difficulties finding housing and many people are choosing to room with friends until they can find somewhere to live.
“There is definitely a problem,” she said. “There is pressure. We’re hearing things like, “Can you help my friend find a rental?” They will take anything from the Westside from Lihue. You find a lot of people that share housing or they share with a friend. ‘You can stay with me.’ Eventually something will be open.”
Phil Fudge, a real estate agent with Kauai Landmark, said he currently has vacancies to offer up, but that there’s “turnover all the time.”
“It allows you to be selective when you have that many people looking,” he said.
New school lunch trend grows among Hawaii schools
HONOLULU (AP) — The state’s public schools have been phasing out school kitchens, opting instead to have school lunches trucked in each day by the state Department of Education in order to cut back on costs.
The department serves hundreds of thousands of meals to students every day, with some of the meals being prepared at one school and then driven elsewhere. Of the more than 200 schools in the state, 62 of them have their lunches prepared at what the state calls satellite kitchens.
According to the DOE, the satellite kitchens allow schools to save money. Officials say eliminating the staff and equipment needed to operate a full kitchen saves about $230,000 per school.
Schools that got rid of their full kitchens and switched to relying on the DOE for lunches also benefit from not having to worry about keeping up with state food safety regulations. The DOE kitchens are inspected regularly by the state Department of Health.
DOE officials said there is no difference between the meals served at school kitchens and ones served as part of the satellite kitchen program.
