Waiawa inmates work to eradicate pesky butterfly
Inmates in Hawaii are tackling a butterfly pest that has been damaging crops at an Oahu prison farm.
Television station KITV reported this week that the population of cabbage moth butterflies exploded two years ago at the Waiawa prison farm.
Prison officials came up with a plan to eradicate the butterflies with the help of inmates.
Farm supervisor Milton Sato says inmates earn one point for catching a caterpillar and two points for a butterfly. He says the total will be tallied, and inmates can earn cash incentives.
Inmates earn 25 cents an hour but can make more through the butterfly eradication program.
Correctional industries supervisor Shanwentay Yasuda says the work builds inmate morale.
Inmate Aaron Maxwell says the work has made an impact, despite people being skeptical about the project.
Cruise ship rescues 2 sailors stranded on remote island
The U.S. Coast Guard says a cruise ship rescued two men Thursday after their sailboat ran aground on a remote island between Hawaii and Tahiti.
The men reported they were not injured when their ship got stranded near Malden Island in Kiribati. But their 37-foot vessel, Hina Nui, suffered irreparable damage. The men were sailing from Lanai to Tahiti at the time.
One of the sailors called his wife with a satellite phone. She called the Coast Guard late Wednesday.
The Coast Guard contacted the Celebrity Solstice cruise ship, which was about 184 miles away. The ship diverted its course and picked up the men. They were brought onto the cruise ship Thursday morning.
The Solstice is scheduled to be in Hawaii waters this weekend.
Car thefts surge on Big Island
Hawaii County police are warning the public about a recent increase in auto thefts in the Hilo District.
In March, 38 vehicles were reported stolen in Hilo. That compares with 21 stolen in March 2014 and 19 taken in February. In addition, police responded to eight reports of attempted auto thefts.
Honda sedans were the most common cars stolen, followed by Toyota and Nissan pickup trucks. Only four of the vehicles were taken from homes. Most were stolen while parked at businesses and in commercial parking lots.
Seventeen of the stolen vehicles were recovered.
Maui police test body cameras
WAILUKU » Some Maui police officers are wearing body cameras to study whether the department will adopt the technology.
Police spokeswoman Sgt. Audra Sellers said Friday that the one-month study began last week. Ten officers are wearing cameras attached to their chests or on sunglasses.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii has expressed support of officers wearing cameras, but the group wants to make sure there are guidelines for protecting citizens’ privacy. While generally against the proliferation of surveillance cameras in society, the ACLU says police body cameras are different because of the potential to serve as a check against abuse of police powers.
