HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE HERALD VIA AP
Peter Kema Sr., left, appears Monday, July 24, 2017, in Hilo, Hawaii, with his attorney, Stanton Oshiro, for sentencing in the 1997 death of his 6-year-old son, Peter Kema Jr. The father of a 6-year-old Hawaii boy who disappeared two decades ago was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for manslaughter, fulfilling a deal with prosecutors that required him to reveal the location of his son’s body.
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Closure is what’s expected when a long-anticipated end to a story finally arrives. But it’s difficult to imagine that the family of Peter “Peter Boy” Kema Jr. will really find it.
Family members waited Monday at the sentencing for Peter Kema Sr., who had entered a plea deal for manslaughter, to apologize for the killing two decades earlier. They didn’t get that, either.
The Kema case consumed Hawaii and compelled reforms in child-protection policies. That is good but inadequate compensation for the loss of Peter Boy, age 6, whose father will serve a mere 20 years, maximum.
Another upgrade for a 60s-era Waikiki hotel
The campaign to upgrade and freshen Waikiki’s aging hotel inventory has been ongoing for some time, but it’s still good to see the momentum continue with the renovation of the Queen Kapiolani Hotel.
Work on the changes, awaited since DiamondHead Land bought the hotel two years ago, will start this month. New eateries and an extended lanai will be standout features for visitors.
Guests will enjoy upgraded furnishings in the rooms, reflecting mid-century decor popular when the hotel was built in 1969. That all seemed new at the time, but all styles become retro, eventually.