Tropical depression gains power
Tropical Depression Genevieve, which is on a track to pass south of the islands, is regaining strength, forecasters said Tuesday.
The center of Genevieve, 640 miles southeast of Hilo as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, is headed west at 5 mph and is packing sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters expect the depression to continue on the same track for the next 24 hours and slowly increase in both forward and wind speeds afterward.
Hanabusa, Schatz report funds
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa raised more than $109,950 for her Democratic primary campaign for Senate during the first three weeks of July, tallying $2.8 million overall.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz collected $72,290, for $4.9 million overall.
The federal campaign-finance reports for July were the last before the Aug. 9 primary election. The candidates, however, must report individual contributions or loans of $1,000 or more in the days leading up to the vote.
Lawsuit demands ability to use medical marijuana
HILO » A Hawaii island man who pleaded guilty to pot distribution is suing federal probation officers for access to medical marijuana.
Aaron Zeeman’s lawsuit, filed July 22, says the refusal by probation officers to allow him to use medical marijuana violates his rights, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. Denying him the drug constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, the lawsuit says.
Zeeman, 46, of Mountain View, was one of the co-defendants in a marijuana-ministry case. He was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to four counts of marijuana distribution. A condition of his probation is that he’s not allowed to use marijuana without authorization from the probation department.
Zeeman said he asked the probation office for permission to use medical marijuana or Marinol, which contains a synthetic version of an ingredient in marijuana, but was denied. A Hilo doctor prescribed him Marinol to treat pain from rat lungworm disease.
Zeeman said he has started taking Marinol in defiance of the probation office, causing him to fail at least two drug tests. He expects to be arrested for violating probation, he said.
Man dies from 700-foot fall while hiking on Garden Isle
A 25-year-old Maui man died Tuesday after falling from a trail on Kauai, police said in a news release.
The man was hiking at about 1 p.m. with two friends on the Waimea Canyon Trail when he fell about 700 feet, police said.
Kauai fire rescue personnel aboard a helicopter found the man’s body at about 2:30 p.m. Police said the body was recovered, flown to Waimea Canyon Park and then taken to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital.
