Local News

Toyoko Ajifu • Patricia Crosetti • Marian Momoyo Hironaga; and more

The man accused of killing a fellow prisoner at Oahu Community Correctional Center has a history of mental illness and of refusing to take his medication, according to state court records.

A new health insurer is poised to do business in Hawaii this year, boosting competition in the market dominated by Hawaii Medical Service Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. Family Health Hawaii, a nonprofit mutual benefit society, received approval last month.

As a state Senate committee plans to look into an escape and a homicide in Hawaii's prison system, Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said Thursday he has a plan to improve training and recruitment screening of corrections officers.

Police are investigating a former Kamehameha Schools high school teacher. An attorney says the allegations against the teacher may be of a sexual nature.

Hawaii residents have a 30 percent greater chance of suffering kidney failure than the national average, but many people in the early stages of kidney disease have no idea they have it, according to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii.

Thousands of Hawaii public school teachers rallied and chanted around the state Capitol on Thursday to protest the lack of a new labor contract. An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 teachers attended the event, according to the Hawaii State Teachers Association, which organized the rally.

The state is confident it has found a way to fill a void and fund much-needed after-school programs for intermediate and middle schools through community involvement and private donations, Lt. Gov. Shan Tsu­tsui said Thursday.

Q: The new concrete bus stop pads being installed on Waialae Avenue are mostly lower by several inches, like giant rectangular potholes. Is anything going to be done about this? • Q: Is use of handicap stalls by HPD patrol vehicles an acceptable practice? • Mahalo: For clean up help after a property fire

For six millennia we humans have deliberately manipulated genes; modern corn is as distantly related to its wild ancestor as a Chihuahua is to a wolf. In 1944, American biologist Norman Borlaug began 30 years in Mexico developing new strains of wheat.

Power-line failures investigated • Moanakai Road being repaved

Woman hurt in shooting along highway • Bulldozer hit Marine during training • Woman suspected in robbery surrenders • Man arrested in bank robbery

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call 529-4758.

State lawmakers will not prevent an increase in the unemployment insurance tax, a choice that will cost businesses $66 million for the next year but could strengthen the unemployment reserve.

The Justice Department is conducting an investigation of allegations of assaults at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, the state Attorney General says in federal court records.

PORTLAND, Maine » The only state to provide laptops to public school students statewide said Thursday the contract it's negotiating for new devices can be used by other states, such as Hawaii, if they're interested in following suit.

Four years from the end of the Obama presidency, Chicago and Honolulu are ramping up major campaigns to build the center that will house the records of America's 44th president.

Kauai residents were reassured by county officials last week that their drinking water is safe from the chemical herbicide atrazine.

ELGIN, Ill. » At first glance, the humble American Legion Post 57 just off Liberty Street in this tired river town near Chicago seems like a perfect slice of Americana — careworn, cozy and forever preserved in the amber of its ale and old-timey, wood-paneled charm.

BROOKLINE, Mass. » Your mother-in-law fixes you a plate of food. Does she determine what you eat, and how much?