Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we've been following today:
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Today's Big Stories
1. Crews begin work to remove Haiku Stairs
The Honolulu City and County announced Wednesday that crews are preparing to remove the iconic Haiku Stairs, also known as Stairway to Heaven, from the Koolau Mountains.
Crews will begin removing the nearly 4,000 stairs later this month, according to a news release. The $2.5 million project is expected to take six months to complete.
The Honolulu City and County contracted The Nakoa Companies Inc. last year to remove the stairs. The project contractor started conducting preliminary assessments of the stair modules on Wednesday.
With work on the removal project underway, the Honolulu City and County warned potential trespassers in its news release that the stairway is now an active work site and considered extremely dangerous.
As part of the Haiku Stairs removal project, The Nakoa Companies Inc. will remove the narrow metal stair structure while preserving associated structures. The contract requires the company to take direction from a biologist, who will evaluate each section of the stairs prior to and following removal in order to protect native species and prevent erosion. Native flora will be planted when necessary.
Defense attorney Thomas Otake cross-examined former Mitsunaga & Associates Inc. architect Laurel Mau Tuesday about dozens of emails between herself and clients for various side jobs she conducted while on company time.
Mau, who is one of the government’s central witnesses in the bribery trial of former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and five other defendants, worked for the architecture firm for 15 years before she was abruptly fired in 2011.
Her former employers said she stole from the company by conducting side jobs using Mitsunaga & Associates’ resources. She was charged with four counts of second-degree theft in 2012.
Prosecutors say the charges were phony, and Kaneshiro’s office only pursued the case after the firm’s CEO Dennis Mitsunaga funneled thousands of dollars in donations to Kaneshiro’s campaign.
But Otake’s line of questioning Tuesday attempted to show that Mau was doing the jobs without permission and in violation of company policy. He highlighted dozens of emails Mau sent from her Mitsunaga & Associates email address during her work day using her company computer to clients for jobs that had nothing to do with the company. Otake is representing Mitsunaga & Associates president Chad Michael McDonald, who is also a defendant in the case.
3. OJ Simpson, fallen football hero acquitted of murder in 'trial of the century,' dies at 76
O.J. Simpson, the football star and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend in a trial that mesmerized the public and exposed divisions on race and policing in America, has died. He was 76.
The family announced on Simpson's official X account that he died Wednesday of prostate cancer. He died in Las Vegas, officials there said Thursday.
Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. He was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case, and then served nine years in prison on unrelated charges.
Live TV coverage of his arrest after a famous slow-speed chase marked a stunning fall from grace.
He had seemed to transcend racial barriers as the star Trojans tailback for college football's powerful University of Southern California in the late 1960s, as a rental car ad pitchman rushing through airports in the late 1970s, and as the husband of a blond and blue-eyed high school homecoming queen in the 1980s.
"I'm not Black, I'm O.J.," he liked to tell friends.
His "trial of the century" captured America's attention on live TV. The case sparked debates on race, gender, domestic abuse, celebrity justice and police misconduct.
Simpson didn't testify, but the prosecution asked him to try on the gloves in court. He struggled to squeeze them onto his hands and spoke his only three words of the trial: "They're too small."
His attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. told the jurors, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
The jury found him not guilty of murder in 1995, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable in 1997 for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to family members of Brown and Goldman.
4. Akebono, the famous sumo wrestler from Waimanalo, dead at 54
Akebono Tarō, born Chadwick Haheo Rowan, died at 54, according to Japanese news outlets. The cause of death was reportedly heart failure, but that has not been independently verified.
Akebono, who grew up in Waimanalo on Oahu, made history in 1993 by becoming the first non-Japanese born wrestler to reach yokozuna (“grand champion”), the highest rank in sumo.
He went on to win a total of 11 tournaments and was a runner-up 13 times. He was also known for his grand stature — standing 6’8” and weighing over 500 pounds.
He retired from sumo in 2001, but instead competed in kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling circuits, including World Wrestling Entertainment and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
In 1996, he became a Japanese citizen and legally changed his name to Akebono Tarō. He continued to live in his adopted homeland, Japan, even after retiring from sumo.
He is survived by his wife Christine, daughter Caitlyn and sons Cody and Connor.
5. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses Congress amid skepticism about U.S. role abroad
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol on Thursday, urging them to consider the importance of global commitments at a time of tension in the Asia-Pacific and deep skepticism in Congress about U.S. involvement abroad.
Kishida is in Washington this week visiting President Joe Biden as the White House completes hosting each leader of the Quad — an informal partnership between the U.S. Japan, Australia and India that is seen as important to countering China’s growing military strength in the region. Kishida highlighted the value of the U.S. commitment to global security and offered reassurances that Japan is a strong partner.
“As we meet here today, I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be,” Kishida told Congress. He sought to remind lawmakers of the leading role the U.S. has played globally since World War II. After dropping two nuclear weapons on Japan to end the war, the U.S. helped rebuild Japan, and the nations transformed from bitter enemies to close allies.
“When necessary, it made noble sacrifices to fulfill its commitment to a better world,” Kishida said of the U.S.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier this week that he hoped Kishida’s visit would underscore “that we’re in a worldwide situation here against the enemies of democracy — led by China, Russia and Iran.”
Japan has taken a strong role in supporting Ukraine’s defense against Moscow as well as helping humanitarian aid get to Gaza. It is also seen as a key U.S. partner in a fraught region where China is asserting its strength and North Korea is developing a nuclear program.
“Japan is a close ally — critical to both our national and economic security,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement. “This visit will continue to deepen the diplomatic and security relationship between our two countries and build on the strength of decades of cooperation.”
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Friday, April 12
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival begins
- PaleyFest television festival begins
- The Masters golf continues
- Mariah Carey begins residency 'The Celebration of Mimi' in Las Vegas
In Case You Missed It
Mid-Pacific Institute pitcher Payton Dixon, right, met first baseman Chandler Murray in midair after the Owls beat Kamehameha 2-1 at Damon Field on Wednesday afternoon. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Mid-Pacific baseball keeps up winning ways in wake of video incident, loss of 12 players
Surprised? That is not the right word, according for pitcher Payton Dixon.
Twelve Mid-Pacific Institute baseball players were removed from the storied Interscholastic League of Honolulu program in the preseason after a circulated social media video showed them give broadly offensive responses to a question about super powers they desired.
The player losses included two expected starters and several pitchers. And yet, the Owls have not just survived, but contended for a title in the ultra-competitive ILH. Behind a three-hitter from Dixon, MPI beat defending state champion Kamehameha 2-1 at Damon Field for a fifth straight victory and a half-game advantage in a four-way race for the league lead on Wednesday.
Mid Pacific stands at 9-3 with two regular-season games remaining. Kamehameha, Iolani and Saint Louis entered Thursday at 8-3.
Dixon told Spectrum News the late February video incident caused the team to come together stronger than before. So, a moment like Wednesday’s first-inning error that allowed Kamehameha to take a one-run lead was no big deal, in the grand scheme.