Honolulu, Honolulu County | featured news

Inquiry begun in car-wheelchair collision • Search on for missing furlough inmate • Police apprehend woman in stolen truck

Downpours close roads on Big Island • Fallen birds create mystery

Question: I have a medical-marijuana card, for medical purposes. Will I be disqualified if I am called for jury duty? Can an employer refuse to hire me or a health insurer disqualify me if I have a card? Is this discriminatory?

Duke Takeshi Kawasaki, described by political leaders as a man of integrity who served 20 years as a state senator, died at a nursing home on Oahu on Aug. 28. He was 94. Former Govs. Ben Caye-tano and John Waihee said Kawasaki was a man of high character.

A 19-year-old Kahaluu man has confessed to participating in a violent purse-snatching Sunday near Kualoa Ranch, during which a Japanese tourist was hit by a car and dragged, according to court documents.

Hanalei Elementary School’s principal was reassigned, this week, to work at the state Department of Education’s Kauai District office while complaints about her leadership style are investigated.

State Rep. Matt LoPresti and House Speaker Joe Souki are quarreling with the state Ethics Commission after the agency’s staff questioned LoPresti about his campaign to solicit fans and air conditioners for Ewa schools.

The Board of Education’s Finance and Infrastructure Committee this week rejected a proposal by education officials to divvy up nearly $15 million worth of imposed budget restrictions, citing concerns that school-based funding would take the biggest hit.

Earthquakes in Chile and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska historically serve up the most dangerous tsunami threats to the Hawaiian Islands. And while Wednesday’s quake off Chile had a very large magnitude — 8.3 — the unleashed energy is only one of the factors that determine whether ensuing seismic sea waves are destructive or deadly.

A powerful magnitude-8.3 earthquake off the coast of Chile was forecast to send a small tsunami to the Hawaiian Islands early Thursday morning, where experts deemed an evacuation unnecessary but nonetheless directed local swimmers and boaters to stay out of the water during early morning hours.