Thief who stole ill girl’s donations jailed
A Pahoa man has been sentenced to six months in jail for stealing a jar containing cash donations for a girl who needs a heart transplant.
Jeffrey William Kleinschmidt previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge for stealing the jar at Irie Hawaii Smoke Shop in Pahoa.
Surveillance footage from the store shows a man in February stuffing the jar into his pants and walking away.
Store manager Jose Miranda says the jar had at least $200 in donations for Madisyn Tamaki, a third-grade student at Pahoa Elementary School.
Hilo newspaper Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Tuesday that 57-year-old Kleinschmidt must also reimburse the store $201.
Deputy Prosecutor Winston Albright says he’s pleased with the six-month sentence.
Rainfall forecast for Wednesday night
Weather forecasters are predicting an increased chance of rain Wednesday night and Thursday.
Most of the rain is expected to be in the usual windward and mauka areas, and some of the showers could be locally heavy, the National Weather Service said. Some rain might move over the mountains to leeward areas.
Satellite and radar images showed scattered rain clouds being blown over the islands by the northeast tradewinds Tuesday morning.
Wednesday’s forecast calls for cloudy skies and scattered showers increasing later in the day as a weather system moves over the islands. There’s a slight chance of thunderstorms Wednesday night and Thursday, the weather service said.
Showers are likely Thursday morning, according to the weather service.
Tour participant falls ill on boat
A woman who fell ill on a tour boat in the Molokini Crater was evacuated Tuesday afternoon.
The Coast Guard said the woman, 60, was experiencing shortness of breath and weakness aboard the Pride of Maui tour boat while preparing to scuba-dive.
Crew members on the tour boat administered oxygen, and a Coast Guard crew was diverted from a training mission to respond.
The woman was transferred to the Coast Guard vessel and transported to Kihei Boat Ramp on Maui, where local emergency medical services personnel were waiting to take her to Maui Memorial Hospital.
No further information on her condition was available.
Training offered on housing law
Kauai County is offering free training on the federal Fair Housing Law on April 28.
"We provide this training every year to keep everyone apprised of the Fair Housing Law," said county Housing Director Kamuela Cobb-Adams.
There will be two sessions held at the Lihue Civic Center, Piikoi Building, rooms A and B.
The first one, scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, is geared toward property and resident managers, housing agents, homeowners association board members and landlords, as well as security and police officers.
The second session, from 1 to 4 p.m., is intended for tenants, Section 8 clients and the public.
Featured speakers include representatives from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
