HPD officer’s assault trial starts today
A jury trial begins today in Ewa District Court for a Honolulu police captain accused of striking a teenager last year at a water polo tournament.
Capt. Mark Ward, a 27-year veteran assigned to the Homeland Security Division, is charged with one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.
Ward is accused of striking a teenager after a high school water polo match on May 8, 2010, sources said.
As is common with investigations into possible wrongdoing by a police officer, Ward has been on restrictive duty since the complaint was made, police officials said.
Repaired jet airliner leaves Midway
A Delta Air Lines 747 that made an emergency landing Thursday on Midway Atoll flew off the island early Monday morning after it was repaired.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Delta flew mechanics and parts to Midway Sunday and that the plane left safely at 3:15 a.m. for Japan.
Pilots noticed a major crack in the cockpit windshield last week during a flight from Honolulu to Osaka.
The 747 aircraft landed safely at Midway’s Henderson Field at about 5:40 p.m. Thursday with 359 passengers and 19 crew members aboard, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the airfield.
A replacement 747 arrived from Japan and flew the passengers to Japan at about 5 a.m. Friday, officials said.
Cyclone prep on tap
The community group Kanu Hawaii and the American Red Cross will hold free, hourlong public workshops on hurricane preparedness Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Salt Lake Library, Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Kapolei Library and July 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Kahuku Library. For details, contact livealoha@kanuhawaii.org or 343-2428.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man told he cannot testify for a ‘spirit’
HILO » A hearings officer on the Big Island says a Waimea man should not be allowed to testify on behalf of a guardian spirit in a case contesting the construction of a giant telescope on Mauna Kea.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Monday that Paul Aoki found that Mauna Kea’s guardian spirit is not legally a person and has no standing in the case.
A Waimea couple argues the spirit should be part of the proceedings to contest the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope because she lives on the land and the project would directly affect her.
E. Kalani Flores says he is authorized to speak on her behalf.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources will vote on Aoki’s recommendations at a meeting Thursday in Honolulu.
The board approved the University of Hawaii’s plan for the telescope in February.
