Local News

Military Intelligence Service veteran Glenn Masu­naga’s eyes filled with tears as he gently opened a velvet box where he keeps a replica of the Congressional Gold Medal presented to him and fellow Japa­nese-American World War II veterans in a 2011 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

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

Leon Bergman • Paul Matthew Bonanno • Rick Kaulaokalani Botelho • Henry C.H. Chu • Julia Ann Cosser • Alfredo Almazan Dela Cruz • Frank Farias • Beverly Moneypenny Fisher • Francis Seichi Futagawa, and more

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan » On the surface, the Gul sisters seemed to have it all: They were young, beautiful, educated and well off, testing the bounds of conservative Afghan traditions with fitted jeans, makeup and cellphones.

DETROIT » This city was already sinking under hundreds of millions of dollars in bills that it could not pay when a municipal auditor brought in a veteran financial consultant to dig through the books.

Shawna-Leigh Balon was a seventh-grader sharing a room with her sister, her sister’s boyfriend, their baby and her mother.

The state House Finance Committee on Friday took a cautious approach to the state's two-year budget, shaving Gov. Neil Abercrombie's spending request but agreeing with the governor that the state must take meaningful steps to address unfunded liability in the public-worker health care fund.

The family of a 27-year-old Schofield Barracks solider killed when a mortar misfired at the Pohakuloa Training Area will get another chance to recover money from the manufacturer that assembled the mortar round.

A state judge on Friday sentenced Samu Gu, the driver of a car involved in a fatal head-on collision with a mo-ped near Makai Pier at Maka­puu, to one year in jail for negligent homicide.

A man shot and critically injured by police responding to a domestic disturbance at a Kalihi Valley home Friday is scheduled to go on trial on a felony burglary charge next month.

The late Douglas Wayne "Butch" Akina and his wife, Sandra Akina, of Akina Aloha Tours were honored last month with the lifetime achievement award at the 2013 Mayor's Small Business Awards on Maui.

Hawaiian Home Lands director confirmed • Former armored car driver jailed for thefts • Man declared guilty of murder

Arson suspect to be arraigned April 1 • Blaze destroys Maui condo unit

Executives of the firms awarded the largest contract in state history assured Hono­lulu transit leaders Thursday that they have the financial muscle to deliver a train operating system and rail cars on time and on budget despite recent hurdles confronted by their Italian parent company.

A former Pearl Harbor base police officer charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of a Navy exchange cashier in 1992 pleaded no contest to assault Thursday in state court.

The aging Hale Kula Elementary campus at Schofield Barracks will get a $33 million face-lift.

Museums that operate in orbit around the USS Arizona Memorial are hoping federal sequestration funding cuts don’t have a ripple effect on their nonprofit businesses.

Isle scientists have uncovered new evidence that comets or meteorites could have helped create life on Earth.

Federal scientists have postponed plans to temporarily transfer some young Hawaiian monk seals from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the main Hawaiian Islands as part of a population recovery program.