DOE accused of negligence in student’s rape

An autistic high school student raped a classmate while the adult assigned to monitor him was taking a nap, according to a federal lawsuit accusing Hawaii’s statewide school district of negligence.

The autistic student had a full-time one-on-one aide because he was known to be violent, the lawsuit filed Monday said. The aide was asleep when the 2012 attack happened during Pearl City High School band practice, the lawsuit said.

The 10th-grade girl was in the back of the band in the percussion section when the larger 11th-grader raped her there and then again in a curtained area of the auditorium.

State Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz declined to comment on pending litigation. Kyle Miyashiro, who was a vice principal at the time and is named as a defendant, referred questions to the school’s principal, who didn’t immediately respond Tuesday. The aide, Bryan Simpson, is also named as a defendant and no longer works at the school, Miyashiro said.

The autistic student was prosecuted in family court and convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual assault, the girl’s attorney, Peter Hsieh, said.

Maui dispensary gets OK to grow marijuana

Pono Life Sciences Maui was approved Tuesday to begin growing medical marijuana.

The company is the fourth licensee to receive approval from the state Department of Health to acquire and grow up to 3,000 plants. Manoa Botanicals on Oahu received state approval Thursday. Aloha Green Holdings Inc. on Oahu and Maui Grown Therapies got the OK earlier this month.

Before retail sales can begin, the DOH still must contract with laboratories to test the potency and purity of the drugs, and the state’s so-called seed-to-sale tracking system must be able to connect with its patient registry system to ensure patients do not purchase more than 4 ounces in a 15-day period.

Live hand grenade safely destroyed by Army

A live hand grenade was detonated in South Kauai by an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, Kauai police said Tuesday.

A Kauai man brought the M22 grenade to the Kalaheo Fire Station on Saturday.

Police said the grenade was detonated with no injuries Monday afternoon at a remote location in Kalaheo.

The man said he discovered the grenade in his belongings and walked it into the fire station.

“He was an elderly man,” police spokeswoman Sarah Blane said.

“He had it in his possessions but couldn’t recall how he came upon it.”

According to the website UXOInfo.com, M22 grenades are used for signaling and laying smoke that’s green, red, violet or yellow.

Kauai police remind the public that if an explosive object such as a grenade is found, do not disturb it, but call police immediately.

Credit unions to share site in Kahului Wal-Mart

Two Maui credit unions will serve each other’s members in the Kahului Wal-Mart.

Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union will open its sixth Wal-Mart in-store credit union in mid-May and be joined by Valley Isle Community Federal Credit Union, which will occupy the same space in making its first appearance in a retail location. Members of both credit unions will be serviced at the site, the companies announced Monday.

The location will boast both credit union names and give Maui residents the opportunity for credit union membership from both credit unions.

Hawaiian Tel FCU is the fifth-largest credit union in Hawaii with more than $600 million in assets and 56,114 members. Valley Isle Community FCU has $115.1 million in assets and 13,309 members.