Isle newspaper begins publishing online
The Hawaii Herald, with its roots in one of the island’s first Japanese-language newspapers, launched its online English edition Friday.
"After 34 years of sharing stories in print with loyal readers, mostly in Hawaii, we look forward to sharing the Herald with a wider audience of readers around the world," Keiichi Tagata, president of parent company Hawaii Hochi Ltd., said in a written statement.
The debut issue is focused on the Aug. 9 primary election.
The Hawaii Herald name dates from 1942, when Hawaii Hochi founder Fred Kinzaburo Makino changed the name of the Japanese-language newspaper he founded in 1912 from Hawaii Hochi to a more "American" name. The change was to deflect the anti-Japanese sentiment in the community during World War II.
The Japanese-language newspaper returned to its original Hawaii Hochi name in 1952. In 1980 an English-language publication covering Hawaii’s Japanese-American community debuted with the publication of the Hawaii Herald. The newspaper is published twice a month.
The website is www.thehawaiiherald.com.
Female military veterans sought for survey
The Hawaii Office of Veterans Services is surveying female veterans to determine how to better meet their needs.
A Hawaii female veterans’ task force recently concluded female veterans suffer from high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. Many also suffer from the effects of sexual harassment or sexual assault.
They are disproportionately jobless and homeless.
The state estimates about 14,000 female veterans are permanent Hawaii residents. The state wants to survey as many of them as possible.
The state will give survey data to health care providers and others who work with veterans who are women. Respondents won’t provide personal information unless they choose to.
The survey is available at the Spark Matsunaga VA Medical Center on Oahu and veterans services offices on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island. It’s online at dod.hawaii.gov/ovs/ hawaii-military-womens-survey.
Visitor from Texas dies on snorkeling trip
A Texas man died Sunday after he got into trouble snorkeling at Molokini islet.
He was identified as Mark Strickert, 50, of Austin.
A crew of three and 12 passengers went out to Molokini, off Maui, aboard the Double Scoop, operated by the Scuba Shack, around 8 a.m., police said.
The Coast Guard got a call that one of the snorkelers was unresponsive and three others were stranded on rocks in the surf zone.
A 45-foot Coast Guard boat from Maalaea and a Jet Ski from the Maui County Fire Department responded to the scene. Rescue personnel administered CPR to Strickert, but he was pronounced dead.
A female crew member, 23, was brought to the Kihei Boat Ramp and was transported in critical condition to Maui Memorial Medical Center. A 48-year-old woman had scrapes and went to the hospital in good condition.
Traffic deaths and DUI arrests fall on Big Island
Hawaii island saw a steep drop in traffic fatalities and DUI arrests in the year ending in June, according to police. Traffic fatalities dropped 67 percent, to 14 from 42 the previous year, West Hawaii Today reports.
The number of fatalities due to drugs and alcohol was down 64 percent, to five from 14, according to a report presented to the Hawaii County Police Commission on Friday in Kailua-Kona.
DUI arrests fell 12 percent, to 1,238 from 1,414. Traffic crashes were down 7 percent overall, to 1,318 from 1,418.
But auto thefts were up on the island’s east side, rising to 365 from 250, due in part to an increase in thefts in Waiakea, usually at night, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares said. The department has stepped up night patrols in the area, he said.
