Child nearly drowns off Ala Moana

A girl who appeared to be under 5 years old is fighting for her life after being pulled from waters off Ala Moana Beach Park at 5:38 yesterday afternoon.

Lifeguards performed CPR on the girl near Tower 1E, near Magic Island, said Bryan Cheplic, a spokesman for the city Department of Emergency Services.

Paramedics then treated her and were able to resuscitate her before taking her to a hospital in critical condition, Cheplic said.

Man arrested in tree-trimming scam

Police say they busted a 31-year-old Kapahulu man who allegedly scammed elderly victims, primarily in East Honolulu, by collecting money to trim trees and then not doing the work.

There are 10 victims in their 60s through 90s, police said. The alleged thefts happened between June 23 and yesterday, when police arrested the man on suspicion of two counts of second-degree theft.

Officials investigating lounge blaze

Firefighters put out a blaze in the kitchen of V Lounge, 1344 Kona St., early yesterday.

Fire dispatchers received a call at 2:42 a.m. that smoke was coming from the roof of the bar, said Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig.

The fire was extinguished at 2:50 a.m. Firefighters said the fire began in an oven, but an investigation into the cause continues. There was no immediate damage estimate.

Photographer acquitted of fondling

A state jury found a 32-year-old photographer not guilty yesterday of fondling two 10-year-old students at Lehua Elementary during picture-taking at the school last year.

The jury acquitted Gerard Fernandez Mueden of two counts of third-degree sexual assault.

The students told their parents and police that Mueden fondled them in the school cafeteria Sept. 22.

Mueden’s lawyer told the jury that such acts on Mueden’s part could not have gone unnoticed by other students waiting in line to be photographed, another photographer, parent volunteers and teachers in the cafeteria.

Study cites alcohol’s role in fatalities

A recently released report shows that 58 percent of traffic deaths on the Big Island in the previous decade resulted from drunken driving, compared with the national average of 41 percent.

The report, "Reducing Impaired Driving Deaths: A Call to Action for Hawaii County," released Aug. 31, shows that 343 people died from 2000 to 2009 on Big Island roads.

"The saddest part about these deaths is that 100 percent of the deaths from drunk driving are preventable," said the report’s author, Dr. Sharon Vitousek.

Funding for the report came from the Earl & Doris Bakken Foundation, a Safe Communities grant and help from the Hawaii County chapter of MADD, Hawaii County police and other traffic safety partners.