A bill making property owners of stream beds and other waterways responsible for unsanitary conditions and public nuisances was signed Tuesday by Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

The current law says property owners must maintain, dredge and clear their waterways, as well as remove debris, vegetation, silt or other items for flood-control purposes. Bill 43, the measure signed Tuesday by Caldwell, adds that owners need to remove anything within the waterways that makes them unsanitary or a public nuisance.

The bill was introduced by City Councilman Joey Manahan in response to long-running complaints by residents of the Country Club Village condominium complex and others in the Salt Lake neighborhood that management of the Honolulu Country Club has not properly maintained the waterways on its golf course property, leading to health concerns and stench.

An HCC spokesman told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the club recently bought a machine that removes vegetation and that a person has been assigned to use it daily to clear different parts of the waterways.

Residents, however, insist the problems persist.

Another section of the bill makes it clear that the city Department of Facility Maintenance is tasked with enforcement of waterway management.

Hawaii island

Alleged ambulance thief had just been released by ER

HILO >> A 24-year-old Hilo man accused of stealing an ambulance Friday afternoon from Hilo Medical Center had just been discharged from the emergency room when the vehicle was taken, and he later appeared in court where he stuck out his tongue, mugged and pranced, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

Maksim Stasyuk made his initial court appearance Monday on charges of first-degree theft and third- and fourth-degree property damage.

It’s unknown why Stasyuk was at the hospital. Police said the keys were inside the American Medical Response ambulance when it was taken from the ER entrance. It was recovered about an hour later on Leilani Street near the Hilo landfill.

According to police, the ambulance crashed through a locked gate belonging to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, causing about $2,000 in damage to the gate and less than $500 in damage to the ambulance’s rear bumper.

An AMR official said no equipment or supplies were taken from the ambulance, estimated to be worth about $100,000.

Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Shiigi told Hilo District Judge Michael Udovic that Stasyuk “endangered the public by taking that ambulance out of service for the period that he had that ambulance in his possession.”

Wanted pair apprehended in stolen vehicle with shotgun

HILO >> A stolen vehicle seized by a newly formed police auto-theft task force contained a loaded, sawed-off, 20-gauge shotgun and ammunition, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

Juanita Grammer and Bronson-Lee Oili, both 28 and of Pahoa, made their initial court appearances Monday. They were arrested July 19 on outstanding bench warrants while sitting in a stolen vehicle at a Hawaiian Beaches home, according to police. Police said the car was reported stolen July 11 from a Hawaiian Paradise Park home.

Grammer was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing a prohibited weapon and driving a stolen vehicle.

Oili was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.