SATURDAY STATE EDITION

DECEMBER 27, 2008 H A W A I ‘I’ S N E W S P A P E R

75 cents on O‘ahu | $1.00 on Neighbor Islands
[ BREAKING NEWS 24/7 AT HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM ]

POWERLESS

EUGENE TANNER | Special to The Advertiser

A time-exposure shot shows cars driving toward Downtown Honolulu on the H-1 Freeway last night after the power went out across O‘ahu.

Officials say lightning mas shoppers at malls and thousands A Hawaiian Electric Co. officials HECO officials said it would take at Honolulu International Airport, but
of residents. said a lightning strike surged the sys- least 12 hours to bring the entire island outbound flights were grounded at
strike surged system; President-elect Barack Obama, who tem, causing generators to automati- back up. about 7 p.m., said Brennon Morioka,
power likely out 12 hours was staying at a beachfront compound cally shut down as a safety measure. Traffic was extremely heavy and director of the state Department of
in Kailua, also lost power at his rental Four of five generators at Kahe congested in Honolulu, as people left Transportation.
Advertiser Staff home at about 8 p.m. but was report- power plant and five of six at the Wa- malls and tried to get home, only to be Honolulu airport has emergency
A major power outage left much ed to be fine, according to the city iau power plant shut down in the ear- caught in near-gridlock because traf- power to keep runway lights in oper-
of O'ahu in the dark last night, dis- Department of Emergency Manage- ly evening, HECO said. By 9 p.m. all fic signals were not working.
rupting outgoing flights, post-Christ- ment. generators had shut down. Inbound flights were able to land at SEE BLACKOUT, A2

THE ADVERTISER’S
BLOGS Asia reefs bouncing Fewer shoppers at mall even
back after tsunami for after-Christmas bargains
BY MICHAEL CASEY Surveys of coral reefs after the BY CURTIS LUM
Associated Press tsunami found that up to one- Advertiser Staff Writer
BANGKOK, Thailand — third were damaged and experts For longer than she can remember,
Hawaii‘n Design Southeast Asia’s tsunami-ravaged predicted it would take a decade Anne Willits of Waikïkï would battle
coral reefs have bounced back for them to fully recover. the crowds to take advantage of after-
Minette McCabe with surprising speed, according Scientists from the New York- Christmas sales at Ala Moana Cen-
revisits some of her to a study released yesterday, based Wildlife Conservation So- ter.
favorite blog posts from four years after the deadly waves ciety, working with the Indone- Willits was back at the mall yester-
the past year. hit. sian government and the Aus- day morning with her family, looking
HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM The findings came as commu- tralian Research Council Centre for bargains. The administrative as-
/BLOGS nities across the Indian Ocean of Excellence for Coral Reef sistant said she found some good
remembered the disaster that Studies, said their examination deals, but noticed something missing
struck Dec. 26, 2004, with of 60 sites on 497 miles of coast- from her holiday tradition.
TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL 538-NEWS prayers, songs and tears. About line along Indonesia’s Aceh “This is the first time it has not
230,000 people were killed in a province found that the reefs are been crowded, which is unusual —
6 sections, 42 pages dozen countries when a magni- bouncing back. because usually the day after, people
Classifieds | F1-10 tude 9.0 earthquake triggered the At T&C Surf Designs at Pearlridge Center, Gal Paison of Kalihi,
Comics | E6 tsunami. SEE TSUNAMI, A5 left, and nephew Kawaika Antolin of Las Vegas browse T-shirts. SEE SHOPPING, A5
Crosswords | E2
Editorials | A6
Movie ads | E5

Obamas take trip to Hawai‘i Kai

President-elect
Nation and World | A3 Barack Obama,
Obituaries | B2 with daughter
Stocks | C5-7 Sasha and
friends, ordered President-elect and a sandwich and shave ice. with cheddar cheese?”
TV listings | E3-4 Obama entered Koko Mari- Obama then approached the
shave ice daughters eat shave
Weather | A4 yesterday at na Paradise Deli and said, “So, press pool to say hello. He
Kokonuts Shave ice, visit Sea Life Park what are we going to get?” “Let placed his shoulder on this re-
© COPYRIGHT, 2008
Ice & Snacks in me get a tuna sandwich,” Oba- porter, who was scribbling
Advertiser staff ma said, asking for it on 12- notes, and said, “You don’t re-
Hawai‘i Kai.
President-elect Barack Oba- grain bread, tomatoes and no ally need to write all that
LAWRENCE ma, daughters Malia and Sasha, mayo. down.”
JACKSON and friends at 1:55 p.m. entered “Actually, can you melt Then Obama walked with
| Associated Press the Koko Marina Center in cheese on that?” he asked.
Hawaii Kai near Honolulu for “Can you make like a tuna melt SEE OBAMA, A2
A GANNETT NEWSPAPER
A2 | Saturday, December 27, 2008
Obama
CONTINUED FROM A1
Sasha, who was wearing a purple,
yellow and white dress, to
Kokonuts Shave Ice & Snacks.
There were dozens of onlookers
swarming the crowded parking
lot snapping pictures and saying
hello. Obama waved and said “Hi,
Merry Christmas.”
At one point on the sidewalk,
Obama dropped his sunglasses,
bent down and picked then up.
Obama ate his sandwich be-
fore his shave ice, saying he
wanted to set a good example
for his girls by eating healthy
food before dessert.
Inside Kokonuts, Obama, with
his BlackBerry on his left hip, or-
dered shave ice for the kids and
friends.
He told Malia, “We’re going to
do it one at a time.”
Some ordered banana coconut
or pina colada. Sasha ordered a
medium banana-flavor shave ice.
“Everyone, once you’ve or-
dered, step back,” Obama in-
structed the kids.
Obama pulled cash out of his
wallet and Eric Whitaker pitched
in to pay the bill. Obama ordered
mixed-berry shave ice for Sam
Tubman and offered shave ice
to the press pool.
“Guys, here’s your chance,” he
told the pool. “No? I’m telling
you, this is really good ... I don’t
think this is against policy. You
want one, I can tell.”
The press pool declined the
president-elect’s offer.
Then Obama, Sasha, Malia and
other kids sat at a blue picnic
table enjoying their shave ice.
He asked the kids, “How is it?
Good?”
Michelle Obama is not here.
The group left the Koko Mari-
na Center at 2:25 p.m. After wind-
ing along a narrow two-lane high-
way overlooking the Pacific, they
arrived at the Obamas’ Kailua va-
cation home at 3:02 p.m.
Earlier in the day, the group
left Sea Life Park about 1:40 p.m.
after spending 90 minutes at the
marine amusement park.
The press pool was not al-
lowed inside the park. Obama
did not pose for pictures or talk
to reporters, but reporters could
see him, his daughters, and sev-
eral other family friends leave
the park from the interactive dol-
phin area.
Tourists who were inside
showed pool reporters photo-
graphs they took of Obama and
his family and friends. Obama is
wearing a casual cream-colored
shirt tucked into olive shorts, and
sandals.
The Obamas and friends were
seen attending the dolphin show,
tourists said.
It is unclear whether the Oba-
mas swam with dolphins, and
Obama’s clothing did not appear
wet.
When they left the park, about
50 park guests, many wearing life
vests, stood near the motorcade
to see the president-elect.
When he came out, they
screamed, “We love you, Oba-
ma” and “Obama ohana!” Oba-
Blackout
CONTINUED FROM A1
ation, Morioka said. The control
tower also has emergency pow-
er, he said. By 9:30 p.m. the In-
terisland Terminal was operating
as well as Delta, Northwest, Con-
tinental and American, Morioka
said.
Traffic was moving slowly as
most street lights and signals
were out. Morioka said motorists
should treat signalized intersec-
tions as four-way stops during
the outage.
Two the state's largest shop-
ping centers shut down due to
the power outage that cut off
electricity to tens of thousands of
customers.
Ala Moana Center said most
of its stores had decided to close
early today, which is traditional-
ly one of the busiest shopping
days of the year.
Pearlridge Center closed its
Go to HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM
for the latest
on this breaking story.
The Honolulu Advertiser •
REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser
Kokonuts Shave Ice & Snacks president Sabina Yi, left, and part-time worker Michiko Kinoshita prepare shave ice.
pool as quickly as possible.”
The park is nestled along the
shoreline in the sparsely popu-
lated and scenic Waimanalo area,
with soaring volcanic mountains
nearby.
The group arrived at Sea Life
Park about 12:10 p.m. today.
Wearing his gray T-shirt and
White Sox cap, Obama earlier in
the day exited the Semper Fit
Center at Marine Corps Base
Hawaii in Kailua at 8:58 a.m., ac-
cording to the White House press
pool report.
He spent about two minutes
talking with onlookers and shak-
ing hands.
One woman yelled, “Thank
you for staying in our neighbor-
hood.” Obama replied, “Thank
you.”
Obama turned to a young boy
and said, “Hey man, good to see
you. Are you a football player?”
The boy nodded. Obama said, “I
can tell!”
Obama shook more hands and
told the crowd, “You guys have a
wonderful new year.” The pres-
ident-elect also said, “Good to
see you.”
Obama’s motorcade returned
safely to the Kailua home at 9:09
LAWRENCE JACKSON | Associated Press a.m.
Obama later left his vacation
President-elect Barack Obama greeted well-wishers yesterday at Koko Marina Shopping Center in Hawai‘i Kai. Obama, his daughters and
home with daughters Malia and
friends also visited Sea Life Park.
Sasha about 11:45 a.m. on his way
to Sea Life Park. His motorcade
ma stood and waved at them and Sasha, as well as several adults. to the pool: “With no further ther notice. The president-elect
left without the press pool, the
smiled. Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt scheduled events for the day, a decided to take the girls to a wa-
first time he has done so on this
Several kids joined Malia and issued the following statement (press) lid was called until fur- ter park and we assembled the
Hawaiian vacation.
doors and escorted customers
from its premises after losing
power, said mall spokeswoman
Debra Sharkey.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said
the power outage that hit most of
the island of Oahu may last for 12
hours at the least. HECO offi-
cials later said it may take up to
24 hours to restore power fully.
Hannemann said the officials
were unsure of the cause.
Hawaiian Telcom had virtual-
ly all of its system operating be-
cause of generator and battery
backup system, said company
spokeswoman Ann Nishida.
Power went out about 6:50
p.m. downtown, and earlier at
some places, such as Pearlridge
Center.
City spokesman Bill Brennan
said the activated the Emergency
Operations Center shortly after
the power went out.
Power was out in downtown
Honolulu, Kaimuki, Waikiki,
Pearl City, Kapolei and other ar-
eas. Makakilo had power as of
7:20 p.m.
NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser
Cars turn from Kapi‘olani Boulevard onto South Street after the power went out last night.
PAGE A3
SATURDAY | December 27, 2008
See pictures from
around the world in
Seth’s Pix at
HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM
BACK IN TEXAS
AFTER CHRISTMAS
EVAN VUCCI | Associated Press
Former President George H.W.
Bush and his wife Barbara
returned to Texas yesterday
after spending Christmas at
Camp David.
Woman missing
from cruise ship
MEXICO CITY — Three
Mexican Navy boats and a hel-
icopter were searching the wa-
ters off the Caribbean resort
of Cancun yesterday for an
American woman who report-
edly fell from a cruise ship, au-
thorities said.
A U.S. Coast Guard search-
and-rescue crew using a Falcon
jet halted its efforts to find 36-
year-old Jennifer Feitz late yes-
terday, but will resume early
this morning, said Petty Officer
Third Class Nick Ameen.
Feitz’s husband reported her
missing from the Norwegian
Pearl cruise ship just before
dawn yesterday.
Brazil detains
suspect rancher
BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil-
ian police yesterday detained a
rancher suspected in the slay-
ing of rain forest activist
Dorothy Stang for allegedly il-
legally acquiring titles to land
the U.S. nun died trying to de-
fend.
The detention of Regivaldo
Galvao at his home in the Ama-
zon state of Para could lead to
the reopening of the case in
the death of Stang, 73, who was
shot in 2005 amid a dispute
with ranchers over land she
wanted brought under federal
protection.
Galvao was arrested in 2005,
but freed on bail by Brazil’s
Supreme Court in 2006. He has
since used appeals to avoid tri-
al.
Death toll at 27
in Kiev collapse
KIEV, Ukraine — Rescue
workers were combing
through piles of concrete and
glass yesterday in an ongoing
search for survivors from an
apartment building explosion
in southern Ukraine, but au-
thorities said hope was waning
as the death toll climbed to 27.
Salvage teams have pulled
21 people out alive from the
rubble since the five-story
building collapsed Wednesday
night in the Crimean peninsu-
la resort of Yevpatoriya.
It was unclear if other vic-
tims could still be buried in
the wreckage.
Loyalists mourn
Ghana dictator
MOUSSAYAH, Guinea —
Tens of thousands of loyalists
yesterday mourned the dicta-
tor who ruled Guinea for near-
ly a quarter-century, lining the
roads to the lavish palace
grounds where he was interred
and crowding around his
grave.
Lansana Conte, who took
power in 1984, was the only
leader who many Guineans
had ever known. Though he
was widely seen as corrupt,
many saw stability under him
as preferable to the bloody civ-
il wars elsewhere in West
Africa. His death Monday at
the age of 74 has left the coun-
try in political turmoil.
— Advertiser news services
Nation and World
13 dead,
3 escape
in Iraq
jailbreak
Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD — A man suspect-
ed of being a Sunni Arab insur-
gent with ties to the group al-
Qaida in Iraq persuaded a prison
guard to open his cell door, then
overpowered the guard and stole
his weapon, setting off a deadly
riot that left 13 people dead in
Ramadi, west of Baghdad, au-
thorities said.
Seven detainees, including the
riot’s instigator, were killed in
the clash early yesterday, along
with six police officers.
Three detainees escaped and a
fourth turned himself in without
incident, said Tareq Yusuf Du-
laimi, Anbar’s province police
chief. One of the escapees is con-
sidered a high-ranking leader of
al-Qaida in Iraq who authorities
said has confessed to killing at
least three police officers.
Ramadi Mayor Latif Ubaid Iya-
da blamed the prison guard for
negligence in unlocking the cell
while carrying his AK-47. “They
attacked our policeman and
killed him,” Iyada said. “They did
their dirty trick and exploited his
humanity for trying to help the
sick prisoner.”
Dulaimi said police officers
took control of the situation
quickly, containing most of the
three dozen prisoners held in one
of two cells at the station. In all,
about 11 suspects escaped their
cells. Three were killed inside
the jail and three others died just
outside the station. Police chased
a seventh suspect about 10 miles
before fatally shooting him.
Authorities immediately insti-
tuted a curfew, at 5 a.m., which
lasted throughout the day. Po-
lice searched large swaths of An-
bar province for the three re-
maining escapees.
“The citizens of Anbar con-
demn the jailbreak,” Iyada said in
an interview on Arabiya TV.
“There is no return for terror-
ism in Ramadi — not today, nor
in the future, because the police
forces in Anbar are in full con-
trol.”
At least 10 police officers were
wounded in the attack, which au-
thorities believe may have been
premeditated. They were being
treated at a hospital in Ramadi,
the capital of Anbar.
Winter keeps grip on West;
ice glazes roads in Chicago
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. — Yet another
snowstorm closed highways in
parts of the West yesterday, the
latest in a tiring week of bad
weather, and a dangerous sheet
of ice in parts of the Midwest
contributed to a looming flood
problem.
Winter storm warnings were
in effect yesterday for parts of
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Col-
orado, Wyoming, Montana and
the western Dakotas, and a bliz-
zard warning covered the moun-
tains of southwest Colorado.
“It’s going to be a heck of a
storm,” said Chris Cuoco, senior
forecaster for the National
Weather Service in Grand Junc-
tion, Colo. “We’re expecting sig-
nificant snowfall in all the moun-
tains of Colorado. Even the val-
leys are going to see 4-plus inch-
es of snow.”
Up to 20 inches of snow was
forecast in parts of the Rockies,
along with wind gusts of up to 80
mph.
The Utah Avalanche Center
yesterday renewed its warning
against travel in mountain back-
country, saying up to 3 feet of
new snow in places, plus strong
wind, had overloaded layers of
very weak snow and raised the
threat of avalanches.
In the Midwest, freezing rain
glazed streets and highways in
the Chicago area. The Eisen-
hower Expressway — Interstate
290 — was closed for a time be-
cause of the ice, and the village of
Lemont blocked off all its major
intersections.
The full length of the Indiana
Pakistan troops moving
toward tense India border
Indian Border Security Force soldiers kept vigil Thursday at the western sector of the India-Pakistan international border at Ranjitpura village.
Shift of forces reflects
increasing wariness
after Mumbai attacks
BY LAURA KING
Los Angeles Times
KARACHI, Pakistan — Ratch-
eting up tensions heightened by
last month’s terror attack in
Mumbai, India, Pakistan yester-
day redeployed thousands of
troops toward its border with
India and canceled soldiers’ fur-
loughs, according to security and
intelligence officials here.
The Pakistani moves reflected
increasing wariness on the part
of the nuclear-armed rivals fol-
lowing the rampage through In-
dia’s commercial and entertain-
ment hub. Indian authorities
have blamed Pakistan-based mil-
itants for the orchestrated at-
tacks in which more than 170
people were killed.
In the intervening weeks, In-
Snow piles up on Redington Pass, near Saguaro National Park East,
east of Tucson, Ariz. Winter has a tight grip on much of the nation.
Toll Road, more than 150 miles,
was shut down for about two
hours yesterday morning because
it was “an entire sheet of ice”
with numerous accidents, said
state Trooper William Jones. In-
diana also closed a 10-mile sec-
tion of Interstate 69 just north
of Fort Wayne.
Seven Indiana traffic deaths
were blamed on the ice yester-
day, adding to four weather-re-
lated deaths in that state earlier in
the week. In Indianapolis, a fire
engine slid head-on into a tree,
sending four firefighters to a hos-
pital with minor injuries.
Temperatures could reach the
50s and even 60s in the region to-
day, after subzero readings ear-
lier in the week, and a possibili-
ty of 2 inches of rain was forecast
dia and Pakistan, which have
fought three wars in the past 60
years, have veered between con-
ciliatory gestures and stridently
nationalistic statements. Both
governments insist they do not
want armed conflict, but both
have said they will defend their
interests.
Pakistan’s shifting of troops
toward the Indian border and
away from the Afghan frontier
probably will come as a blow to
the Bush administration, which
has praised Pakistan’s military
offensive against insurgents long
based in its largely lawless trib-
al areas. The zone abutting the
Afghan frontier is a stronghold
for Taliban and al-Qaida mili-
tants. Senior diplomats, includ-
ing U.S. Secretary of State Con-
doleezza Rice, traveled to the
region shortly after the Mum-
bai attacks, urging Pakistan to
cooperate fully in India’s inves-
tigation and crack down on mil-
JEFFRY SCOTT | Arizona Daily Star via AP
in Indiana.
The National Weather Service
issued flood watches for much of
Illinois, saying “the potential ex-
ists for very serious and poten-
tially life threatening flooding.”
Heavy snow and whiteout con-
ditions in the Sierra Nevada on
Thursday led authorities to in-
termittently shut down Interstate
80, the busy main link between
northern Nevada and Northern
California. The mountains
around Lake Tahoe received
about 2 feet of snow, bringing
totals at some resorts in the past
two weeks to 10 feet.
“This is one of the snowiest
Christmas holiday periods I can
remember,” said Kent Hoopin-
garner, general manager at
Homewood Mountain Resort.
itant groups implicated by Indi-
an officials in the attacks.
The Bush administration yes-
terday reiterated calls for calm.
“We hope that both sides will
avoid taking steps that will un-
necessarily raise tensions dur-
ing these already tense times,”
said Gordon Johndroe, a
spokesman for the National Se-
curity Council, according to
news agency reports. “We con-
tinue to be in close contact with
both countries to urge closer co-
operation in investigating the
Mumbai attacks and in fighting
terrorism generally.”
Pakistan’s government has
taken some steps against the ac-
cused groups — the banned mil-
itant organization Lashkar-e-Tai-
ba and its affiliated charity Ja-
maat ud-Dawa — including ar-
rests and raids on the groups’
facilities. But it says India has
lagged in providing evidence
about the attackers.
Kennedy breaks silence
about decision to run
BY LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Caroline
Kennedy emerged from weeks
of near-silence about her bid
for a Senate seat by saying yes-
terday that after a lifetime of
closely guarded privacy, she
feels compelled to answer the
call to service issued by her fa-
ther a generation ago.
She said two events shaped
her decision to ask Gov. David
Paterson 11 days ago to consid-
er her for the position that will
become vacant if Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton is confirmed
as secretary of state: the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks and her work
for Barack Obama’s presiden-
tial campaign.
In her first sit-down inter-
view since she emerged as a
Senate hopeful, the 51-year-old
daughter of late President John
F. Kennedy cited her father’s
legacy in explaining why she
wants to serve alongside her
uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Ed-
ward Kennedy.
“Many people remember that
spirit that President Kennedy
summoned forth,” she said.
“Many people look to me as
somebody who embodies that
sense of possibility. I’m not say-
ing that I am anything like him,
I’m just saying there’s a spirit
that I think I’ve grown up with
that is something that means a
tremendous amount to me.”
She also credited her late
mother, Jacqueline Kennedy
Onassis, with giving her the
courage to seek the job.
“I think my mother ... made it
clear that you have to live life by
your own terms and you have to
NEWS DESK | 535-2416
VINAY JOSHI | Associated Press
U.S. military officials in
Afghanistan had no immediate
comment on the Pakistani troop
movements, but senior Ameri-
can commanders in Afghanistan
consistently have said that a ma-
jor Pakistani offensive in the
tribal areas near the Afghan bor-
der, launched in August, has
helped dampen insurgents’ abil-
ity to strike at Western troops
inside Afghanistan.
A Pakistani Taliban
spokesman, Maulvi Omar, wel-
comed news of the redeploy-
ment. Speaking to reporters from
an undisclosed location, he said
Taliban fighters would not
launch new attacks against Pak-
istani troops in the tribal areas as
long as they were on alert
against India.
The scope and repercussions
of the Pakistani troop redeploy-
ment were not clear. Pakistani
SEE BORDER, A7
not worry
about what
other people
think and you
have to have
the courage to
do the unex-
pected,” she
said.
Kennedy Since Caro-
line Kennedy
expressed interest in the job,
she has faced sometimes sharp
criticism that she cut in line
ahead of politicians with more
experience and acts as if she is
entitled to it because of her po-
litical lineage. More than a half-
dozen elected officials are vying
for the seat, including New York
Attorney General Andrew Cuo-
mo and several members of
Congress.
Kennedy said she had long
been encouraged to seek public
office and that Clinton’s likely
departure from the Senate offers
the opportunity to follow in the
footsteps of her father, two un-
cles and cousins.
“Going into politics is some-
thing people have asked me
about forever,” a relaxed
Kennedy said as she ate a grilled
cheese and bacon sandwich and
sipped coffee at a diner in Man-
hattan. “When this opportunity
came along, which was sort of
unexpected, I thought, ‘Well,
maybe now. How about now?’”
She said she realizes she will
have to prove herself and “work
twice as hard as anybody else.”
She acknowledged, “I am an un-
conventional choice,” but added:
“We’re starting to see there are
many ways into public life and
public service.”
A4 | Saturday, December 27, 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser •

PEOPLE WEATHER REPORT

See “In the Spotlight” had two daughters and a son. THE ALMANAC Hawai‘i forecast INFO BY CELL PHONE NATION Today
H/L/ Sky
Sun.
H/L/ Sky
for more photos of what Their eldest daughter, Jane, Honolulu temperatures For
An upper-level storm will move very slowly Albuquerque 32/18/s 42/26/s
celebrities are doing at and her daughter Lucy and (as of 3 p.m. yesterday)
through the area over the weekend bringing ad-
updated Anchorage 11/0/s 9/-3/s
weather,
HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM mother-in-law were killed in High .............................. 82 Low ................................... 71 ditional rain to the area. There may be a short
send a
Atlanta 69/54/pc 60/42/ts
Normal high ............... 81 Normal low .................... 67 break in the rain early next week, then a new Atlantic City 54/50/r 64/38/r
the Asian tsunami of 2004. Record high 86 (1995) Record low ..... 59 (1985) text Baltimore 56/49/r 65/37/r
upper-level storm will bring rain back to the area BEACH HAZARDS Birmingham 77/54/c 59/39/pc
Honolulu precipitation message with ZIP
toward the middle of next week. For daily
Oscar ballots (24 hours as of 3 p.m. yesterday)
Yesterday .............. 0.07" Normal ....................... 0.09" Kaua‘i
forecast, go to
http://www.
CODE to 44636
(4INFO). Info is free;
Boston
Buffalo
48/45/r 58/43/r
56/48/c 52/32/r
Burlington VT 45/38/i 52/32/r
your cell-phone service
sent to members Dec. total ............... 7.28" Dec. normal ................2.40"
Total this year ... 14.46" Yearly normal ..........17.92"
Humidity at 7 a.m. .78% Humidity at 4 p.m......73%
Lïhu‘e
oceansafety.
soest.hawaii.edu/ plan may charge a fee.
Charleston SC 78/57/pc 77/56/pc
Chicago
Cincinnati
59/30/r 35/28/pc
70/39/c 47/30/pc
77/69, Showers Cleveland 68/45/c 50/30/pc
Oscar season is officially Around the state Ni‘ihau Tomorrow: 79/69, Dallas 68/36/ts 64/34/s
Käne‘ohe 76/70, Showers
afoot: Yesterday the Academy (As of 3 p.m. yesterday) Showers Denver 29/15/pc 49/26/pc
High Low Precip. Tomorrow: 77/69, Cloudy
of Motion Picture Arts and Des Moines 33/21/sn 40/26/s
Käne‘ohe, O‘ahu ..................77 ..........72...........Trace O‘ahu Kaunakakai 77/66, Showers Detroit 60/38/r 41/26/pc
Sciences mailed out 5,810 offi- Lïhu‘e, Kaua‘i .........................77 ..........70 ...........0.22" El Paso 46/27/s 56/30/s
cial Oscar nomination ballots Kahului, Maui.........................76 ..........67 ...........0.39" Honolulu Tomorrow: 77/65, Showers Fairbanks -12/-26/pc -18/-29/s
Lahaina, Maui........................73 ..........64...........Trace 78/68, Showers Moloka‘i Fargo 18/4/sn 22/12/sn
to voting members, including Hilo, Hawai‘i............................70 ..........65 ...........6.57"
Kahului 80/65, Showers Great Falls 29/21/pc 36/18/c
the academy’s 105 newest Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i..........80 ..........68...........Trace Tomorrow: 79/68, Showers Tomorrow: 79/64, Hagatna, Guam 85/77/s 86/76/s
members, one of whom is Läna‘i Showers Hartford CT 48/42/r 61/37/r
O‘AHU SURF Maui Houston 76/49/ts 64/45/s
Jonathan Brown. Läna‘i City Indianapolis 70/38/r 47/31/s
Heights based on National Weather Service Lahaina
The cinematographer tells 76/64, Showers 78/65, Showers Jackson, MS 77/49/c 62/37/pc
method of measuring the wave face from trough Hawai‘i Kansas City 40/24/r 49/30/s
the Associated Press that he to crest. Tomorrow: 77/64, Cloudy Tomorrow: 78/65, Las Vegas 47/30/pc 56/33/s
Today Extended forecast
and his movie-industry pals East shore 6-8 ft. Wind east at 15-
Cloudy Little Rock 71/41/ts 58/35/s
Los Angeles 62/44/s 66/48/s
have been doing their own Os- North shore 3-5 ft. 20 knots. Wind Honolulu forecast Kailua, Kona Louisville 77/46/c 48/36/pc
waves 8 feet.
car polling for years — but West shore 1-3 ft. Northwest swell. Today 78, Showers 82/68, Cloudy Hilo Memphis 72/45/c 57/39/s
Bundchen Miami 80/69/s 81/67/s
this time, his vote really South shore 1-3 ft. Tonight 68, Showers Tomorrow: 82/69, 77/65, Milwaukee 54/28/r 36/27/pc
counts. “We can, in a small Tomorrow 79 / 68, Showers Partly cloudy Showers Minneapolis 27/16/sn 27/19/pc

NFL star plays way, have an influence in peo-

ple getting recognized.”
Monday 79 / 67, Clouds and sun Tomorrow: 77/65,
Showers
Nashville 72/49/pc 57/35/pc
New Orleans 81/60/c 64/53/ts
New York City 53/52/r 62/41/r
Tuesday 79 / 69, Partly sunny
marriage option Oklahoma City 49/24/c 57/30/s
Omaha 33/21/pc 44/24/s

New England Patriots quar-

Beauty queen Marine forecast
Coastal waters: Wind east
Orlando
Philadelphia
80/60/s 80/56/pc
55/50/r 65/38/r
Phoenix 54/38/s 64/43/s
terback Tom Brady gave Gise-
le Bundchen the ultimate
held in drug bust at 15-20 knots today. Wind
waves 7-8 feet. Northwest
Pittsburgh
Portland ME
68/52/pc 57/32/pc
40/36/r 52/33/r
swell of 3-4 feet. Visibility 5 Portland OR 44/36/r 43/35/r
Christmas present: a marriage MEXICO CITY — Mexican miles, lower in showers. Raleigh 63/58/c 73/51/r
proposal. And, according to congressmen called for a fed- Channels: Wind east at 20-
Reno 38/29/c 45/29/c
Richmond 63/52/c 71/47/r
E!Online, the Brazilian super- eral investigation of potential 25 knots today. Wind waves Sacramento 50/42/c 53/43/r
model said yes. drug cartel ties to the nation’s 8-9 feet. A small craft advi- St. Louis 67/33/ts 51/35/s
Brady, out sory in effect. Northwest Saipan 85/76/s 85/76/s
beauty pag- swell. Salt Lake City 34/22/c 40/29/sn
of NFL action eants yester- San Diego 63/44/s 64/48/s
since Sep- day after a Winds San Francisco 54/47/c 56/46/r
BILLY San Juan, PR 83/72/pc 81/72/s
tember with a 23-year-old E 7 to 14 mph Seattle 46/35/r 41/35/r
knee injury, beauty queen UV index (0-15 scale) Sioux Falls 27/13/pc 33/21/s
Tampa 82/62/s 80/62/pc
had a little was arrested Tide charts from EKNA Services, Inc. Today, 4 (mod.); Tomorrow, Washington 59/50/c 68/41/r
champagne on suspicion Tides elsewhere 4 (high)
party with his
0-2, Low; 3-5, Moderate; 6-7, High; WORLD Yesterday Today
of drug and Using Honolulu tides as a basis, add or sub- 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme H/L/ Sky H/L/ Sky
intended and weapons vio- tract the hour/minute figures below. For height:
her parents
Add or subtract the figure below, or multiply if Mainland forecast Athens
Auckland
50/45/r
73/56/s
51/41/r
72/62/c
Brady lations. the figure is preceded by an asterisk (*).
Rain and thunderstorms with the threat of flooding and tornadoes will stretch from the Midwest to Baghdad 66/32/pc 59/37/s
aboard a Congres- Zuniga Time Height Bangkok 88/68/pc 86/70/c
the Arklatex today. Warm air will cover most of the East, but there will be morning ice across
flight from North Jersey to High Low High Low Beijing 34/16/s 39/23/pc
sional leaders O‘ahu northern New England. Rain and inland snow will fall across the Northwest.
Berlin 32/25/pc 32/23/s
Boston on Christmas Eve. warned that cartels may have Hale‘iwa -1:02 -2:05 *0.80 *0.80 Buenos Aires 84/67/s 80/68/c
Also aboard the private plane infiltrated contests to launder Hanauma -0:59 -0:45 0.0 0.0 Cairo 65/48/s 65/48/pc
Käne‘ohe -1:46 -1:18 +0.3 +0.2 Fiji 90/73/pc 83/75/r
were Brady’s former girlfriend money, and said a full investi- Wai‘anae +0:20 +0:18 -0.1 0.0 Hong Kong 72/63/pc 65/64/c
and his child’s mother, Bridget gation was needed. Waimänalo -1:15 -1:09 *0.85 *0.85 Islamabad 72/43/s 76/42/s
Istanbul 43/36/sn 39/37/c
Moynahan, and Leonardo Di- To many, former preschool Maui
Jakarta 87/76/r 85/78/r
Häna -1:13 -1:23 +0.5 0.0
Caprio, who is Bundchen’s ex. teacher Laura Zuniga, named Kahului -1:53 -1:41 +0.4 +0.2
Jerusalem 53/41/r 57/41/c
Johannesburg 76/56/pc 79/58/c
Miss Sinaloa in the drug- Lahaina -0:35 -0:40 +0.2 +0.1 Kabul 55/23/s 54/21/pc
Attenborough plagued northern state’s annu-
Mä‘alaea
Kaua‘i
-0:01 -0:22 +0.3 0.0 London
Manila
41/34/s
88/73/pc
43/34/pc
84/72/c
al beauty contest, symbolizes Hanalei -1:28 -1:47 0.0 0.0 Mexico City 72/41/s 73/43/s
takes bad fall declining ethics in Mexico. Näwiliwili
Pt. Allen
-0:27
-0:36
-0:25
-0:22
-0.1
*0.85
0.0
*0.85
Montreal
Moscow
16/16/pc
25/12/c
46/39/i
23/19/s
“It is very sad. What we are Nairobi 82/56/pc 83/59/pc
London’s Daily Mail reports seeing is a loss of values
Big Island New Delhi 77/46/pc 80/44/s
Hilo -1:04 -0:59 +0.5 +0.1
that famed British actor-direc- among young people,” said Honu‘apo -0:26 -0:16 +0.5 +0.1
Okinawa
Paris
67/59/c
39/28/s
68/62/c
36/27/s
tor Lord Richard Attenbor- Rep. Juan Francisco Rivera.
Kailua, Kona -0:26 -0:22 +0.1 0.0 Rio de Janeiro 81/68/r 79/69/r
Kawaihae -0:04 -0:03 0.0 0.0
ough (“Gandhi,” “Shadow- Kealakekua -0:16 -0:12 +0.1 0.0
Rome 52/39/r 47/34/c
Seoul 28/12/s 38/25/s
lands,” “A Bridge Too Far”) AccuWeather.com
spent Christmas day in a Lon- ‘Marley & Me’ Moloka‘i
Kaunakakai -0:05 -0:08 +0.1 0.0
Forecasts and graphics provided
Shanghai
Singapore
Stockholm
46/42/pc
88/75/c
35/23/pc
50/48/r
89/77/r
36/30/pc
don hospital recuperating
from a Dec. 18 fall at his home tops box office Läna‘i
Kaumalapau +0:02 +0:03 +0.2 0.0
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2008
-10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s
Sydney
Tahiti
Taipei
82/67/pc
90/75/s
69/63/c
80/72/ts
83/73/s
74/64/c
that left him in a temporary LOS ANGELES — Twenti- SUN, MOON PHASES Cold front – Cold air pushing against warm air in direction of knobs. Low-pressure High- Tokyo 50/33/pc 48/37/pc
coma. eth Century Fox says “Marley Dec. Jan. Jan. Jan. Warm front – Warm air pushing against cold air in direction of knobs. system – pressure Toronto 39/35/sn 53/44/r
Winds blow system – Vancouver 32/34/c 46/35/r
This is the & Me” has set a Christmas 27 4 10 17 Sunrise 7:07 a.m. Stationary front – A boundary between cold and warm air masses. counter-clockwise Winds blow Vienna 33/23/c 29/22/c
Sunset 5:58 p.m. Trough – An elongated area of relatively low pressure.
second such around system ; clockwise around
Day record with $14.75 million Moonrise 7:27 a.m. Jet stream – High-speed winds in a narrow band in the atmosphere. usually associated system; weather Key: c=cloudy f=fair i=ice pc=ptly
incident this NEW FULL with storm y conditions usually cldy r=rain s=sun sn=snow
at the box office. Moonset 6:23 p.m. SHOWERS T-STORM RAIN SNOW ICE weather. mild. ts=t-storms w=windy
year. This
That breaks the previous
summer, At-
mark of $10.2 million, set by
tenborough
“Ali” in 2001.

CONSUMER/tell.all/REVIEWS
fell after
And “Marley & Me” may
blacking out.
not be alone: “The Curious
He was diag- Attenborough
Case of Benjamin Button” and
nosed with a
“Bedtime Stories” were also
heart irregularity and was fit-
expected to move past the
ted with a pacemaker. It was
unknown if the this fall was re- previous Christmas Day mark,
lated to his cardiac condition. according to some studio esti-
Attenborough and his wife, mates.
Sheila Sim, who wed in 1945, — Advertiser news services

GETTING IT STRAIGHT
• Dongbu Insurance Co. Ltd. (U.S. Branch), which had its finan-
cial strength rating upgraded by A.M. Best on Dec. 16, has been of-
fering automobile, homeowners and other insurance in Hawaiçi
since 2006. A story on C3 on Dec. 19 contained other information.

If you have a question or concern about the accuracy, fairness or

thoroughness of an item in The Honolulu Advertiser, please call
Marsha McFadden at 535-2426.

The Honolulu Advertiser

HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM
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Tsunami
CONTINUED FROM A1
“On the fourth anniversary of
the tsunami, this is a great story
of ecosystem resilience and re-
covery,” said Stuart Campbell,
coordinator of the Wildlife Con-
servation Society’s Indonesia
Marine Program.
“Our scientific monitoring is
showing rapid growth of young
corals in areas where the tsuna-
mi caused damage, and also the
return of new generations of
corals in areas previously dam-
aged by destructive fishing,”
Campbell said in a statement.
“These findings provide new in-
sights into coral recovery
processes that can help us man-
age coral reefs in the face of cli-
mate change.”
Healthy coral reefs are eco-
nomic engines for Aceh com-
munities, Campbell added, sup-
plying fish to eat and sell as well
as tourism dollars from recre-
ational diving.
The tsunami decimated coast-
lines across the Indian Ocean,
wiping out villages and crip-
pling the economies in parts of
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thai-
land.
The United Nations estimates
that Aceh alone lost $332.4 mil-
lion from the damage to its reefs.
But four years on, the multi-
billion-dollar community re-
building process is almost com-
plete, with more than 120,000
homes built in Aceh alone and
the reconstruction of tourist ho-
tels and restaurants along Thai-
land’s Andaman coast.
REMEMBERING THE DEAD
Thousands gathered yester-
day to celebrate the progress but
to also remember the dead and
reflect on a tragedy that turned
their lives upside down.
“I don’t think people will ever
forget the tsunami. It changed a
lot of people’s lives,” said Alisara
Na-Takuatung, a local Phuket ra-
dio disc jockey who took part in
a ceremony on Thailand’s Patong
beach attended by 200 people.
About 50 Buddhist monks
prayed while school children
played traditional Thai instru-
ments.
“I know people who lost their
This coral transplantation site off Weh island in Indonesia’s Aceh province is helping speed up reef
recovery. Local communities are also curbing pollution and destructive fishing, which damage reefs.
ON THE WEB
Wildlife Conservation Society:
www.wcs.org
husbands, their kids. Those peo-
ple won’t forget about the tsuna-
mi,” she said. “They will see it as
a lesson. You think about what
you can do for others.”
In Indonesia, Ibrahim Musa,
a 42-year-old civil servant who
joined thousands in a prayer
service in Aceh province, said it
feels like yesterday that his fam-
ily was taken by the sea.
“Even after four years, I can-
not forget how I lost hold of my
wife and baby,” he said. “I have
tried in vain to look for them for
three years. Now I have no
choice but to accept their de-
parture as destiny.”
Siti Hasnaini, 40, who still
lives in a temporary shelter in
Aceh with her two sons and hus-
band, prayed “for my daughter
who was washed away with my
house.”
In India, where thousands per-
ished, interfaith prayers and a
moment of silence were held.
The Sri Lankan government
RIAN PRASETIA | Wildlife Conservation Society via AP
declared two minutes of silence
for the 35,000 people killed there
and for other victims of natural
disasters.
ENVIRONMENTAL CARE
The healing embraced by
those devastated by the tsunami
has extended to the reefs, with
communities responding to calls
to protect them from illegal fish-
ing, pollution and coastal devel-
opment.
Campbell said residents in
Aceh have been particularly re-
sponsive — fishermen have
stopped using illegal techniques
like dynamite and villagers have
transplanted corals into areas
that were hardest hit.
“The recovery, which is in
part due to improved manage-
ment and the direct assistance of
local people, gives enormous
hope that coral reefs in this re-
mote region can return to their
previous condition and provide
local communities with the re-
sources they need to prosper,”
Campbell said.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef
expert from the University of
Queensland in Australia who did
not take part in the study, said
the findings are not surprising,
since corals typically will re-
cover if not affected by fishing
and coastal development.
“The mechanical damage from
the tsunami left a whole bunch of
shattered corals on the bottom of
the sea,” Hoegh-Guldberg said.
“Left alone, these things can
quickly grow back into what
looks like a coral reef in a short
time,” he said. “We are seeing
similar things around the south-
ern Great Barrier Reef, where
reefs that experience major ca-
tastrophe can bounce back quite
quickly.”
John Bruno, a reef expert from
the University of North Caroli-
na at Chapel Hill, agreed, say-
ing it shows coral reefs are able
to recover after severe distur-
bances.
“There has been so much bad
news about coral decline lately,
and the threats to corals seem to
increase every year. It is impor-
tant to recognize that these in-
valuable ecosystems are not
lost,” he said by e-mail. “We just
have to implement some com-
mon sense policies locally and
substantially reduce emissions
of greenhouse gases at a global
scale.”
• The Honolulu Advertiser
Shopping
CONTINUED FROM A1
would come early, look around,
grab bargains,” Willits said dur-
ing a lunch break from shopping.
“It’s empty. This is like a Mon-
day, a Wednesday, a weekday or
any day.”
Faced with a down economy
and lower-than-usual pre-Christ-
mas sales, retailers were hoping
that by slashing prices they could
attract a flood of people yester-
day, traditionally one of the
year’s busiest shopping days. But
it appears the after-Christmas
period will suffer from the same
shopper malaise that infected the
weeks leading up to Dec. 25.
The International Council of
Shopping Centers, a trade group,
estimated that sales at stores
open at least a year have fallen
2 percent in November and De-
cember. That’s the worst per-
formance nationally since 1969.
“This week isn’t going to do
it,” said Burt Flickinger, managing
director of Strategic Resource
Group. “Consumers are more
cash- and credit-constrained than
ever before. After a 25-year
spending tsunami, they’ve shift-
ed from spending to savings.”
Although there were a lot of
people at Ala Moana Center at
about lunchtime yesterday, there
wasn’t the mad rush many ex-
pected. Shoppers didn’t have to
circle the parking lot for a stall
and there were no hordes of peo-
ple inching through the mall or
lining up at the registers. At the
normally crowded food court, a
hungry shopper could even find
an open table.
“I think people are feeling the
recession,” Willits said. “A lot of
people are laid off, and in talking
to people in line at Macy’s, peo-
ple are really watching where
their money is going. If they don’t
have to spend, they’ll just stick
with the necessities.”
Wendy Vonderburgh of
Hawaiçi Kai made her annual af-
ter-Christmas trek to the mall
with her mother, brother and
daughter, Ashley. “This year is
less crowded,” Vonderburgh not-
ed. “Even when you go to pay
for things, there’s not the long
lines like there used to be. There
are a lot of people, but I don’t
Saturday, December 27, 2008 | A5
think they’re buying much.”
Vonderburgh said that the day
after Thanksgiving, commonly
referred to as Black Friday, and
the two days preceding Christ-
mas were busier at the mall than
yesterday. She and her daughter
also said the sale prices weren’t
that great yesterday and that
there didn’t seem to be as great a
variety of items on the shelves.
“Before Christmas, it was re-
ally good. Some stuff was so
much cheaper,” said Ashley Von-
derburgh, a college freshman.
“Now there are deals, but not re-
ally. But it’s OK. We’ll still come.
I love shopping.”
Sheri Uyehara of Waipahu
took the day off to shop with her
mother, grandmother and friend.
She said the economy didn’t stop
them from scooping up bargain
shoes, bags and clothes.
“All of our Macy’s packages
are already in the trunk,” Uye-
hara said during a lunch break.
“We hit Macy’s, went to the car
and we carried on to the mall.
It’s a family affair.”
Mari Flores of Kalihi went to
the mall at 7 a.m. to find a few
good deals, but went home dis-
appointed. She found some
marked-down items at Guess, but
not at her favorite Macy’s.
“No more bargains at Macy’s,”
said Flores, who was looking for
kitchenware, clothes and make-
up. “All of the stuff that I bought
wasn’t even on sale. They were
all regular price. Only certain
things were on sale.”
The day after Christmas also is
a popular time for people to take
gifts back to stores to exchange.
But to the seasoned shopper,
there is an unspoken rule that
yesterday was the day to shop,
not return. “There’s a whole lot
of people and everybody’s buy-
ing, and then there’s always the
one person who just has to return
everything,” Ashley Vonder-
burgh said. “Oh my gosh, you
couldn’t do this in four days?”
Uyehara agreed. “Today’s the
day to only buy. Don’t waste time
standing in line returning,” she
laughed. “We have some people
returning and the rest of us
standing in line wasting time.
Come back another day.”
Bloomberg News Service con-
tributed to this report. Reach
Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum
@honoluluadvertiser.com.
 • The Honolulu Advertiser Saturday, December 27, 2008 | A7

ASIA AND PACIFIC

Protesters target
whaling vessel
SYDNEY, Australia — A rad-
ical conservationist group today
said it lobbed 25 bottles of rotten
butter at Japanese whalers in the
remote and icy Antarctic Ocean,
but denied accusations they
rammed their vessel in a violent
attack.
Protesters aboard a boat op-
erated by the anti-whaling group
B.K. BANGASH | Associated Press Sea Shepherd threw the bottles
Women wait to get free food distributed by supporters of slain leader — containing butyric acid, pro-
Benazir Bhutto on the first anniversary of her assassination. duced by rancid butter — last
night at the Kaiko Maru whaling
ship, which is conducting Japan’s
Thousands pay tribute research whaling program.
Japan’s Tokyo-based Institute
of Cetacean Research described

at Bhutto mausoleum the protesters as terrorists and

accused them of “menacing” and
ramming the Kaiko Maru, caus-
Associated Press is scheduled to speak in Garhi ing minor damage to the whaling ERIC CHENG | Sea Shepherd Conservation Society via AP

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH,
Pakistan — Tens of thousands
of Pakistanis gathered yesterday
at the mausoleum of former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
on the eve of the first anniversary
of her assassination, some of
them walking hundreds of miles
to get there.
At United Nations headquar-
ters in New York, Secretary-Gen-
eral Ban Ki-moon said he is hope-
ful a U.N. commission will be es-
tablished in the near future to
investigate Bhutto’s killing in a
gun and suicide bomb attack on
Dec. 27, 2007.
Sher Mohammad, 23, was
among many supporters who
trekked hundreds of miles to
reach Bhutto’s hometown of
Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in southern
Pakistan where she is buried.
“She gave her life for the peo-
ple of this country, so we can
walk a few miles to pay homage
to her dignity,” said Mohammad,
whose feet were swollen from
the trip.
Today, Bhutto’s widower, Pak-
istani President Asif Ali Zardari,
Khuda Bakhsh.
Bhutto was killed as she was
leaving a rally in the garrison
town of Rawalpindi, just outside
the capital of Islamabad, where
she was campaigning to return
her Pakistan People’s Party to
power in parliamentary elections.
Her assassination shocked the
world, fanning revulsion at rising
militant violence in Pakistan as
well as conspiracy theories that
the country’s powerful spy agen-
cies were involved.
The government at the time,
led by President Pervez Mushar-
raf, blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a
Pakistani militant commander
with reported links to al-Qaida,
citing a communications inter-
cept in which Mehsud allegedly
congratulated some of his hench-
men. A Mehsud spokesman has
denied any involvement.
Musharraf’s government said
Bhutto died from the force of the
blast and not a gunshot wound,
but many of Pakistan’s 160 mil-
lion people, already skeptical of
Musharraf, questioned that ac-
count.
vessel. No one was injured in
the showdown, said Glenn In-
wood, the New Zealand-based
spokesman for the institute, a
Japanese government-affiliated
organization that oversees the
hunt.
13 dead after blast
at Chinese home Coalition kills 11
BEIJING — An explosion in
central China’s Henan province
Taliban militants
killed 13 people and injured five
others today.
The blast occurred around 1
a.m. in Donggancheng village in
northeast Henan, the official
Xinhua News Agency said.
An initial investigation
showed explosives intended for
civilian use went off, Xinhua said
citing the provincial work safe-
ty supervision administration.
The explosives were illegally
stored at a home when they ig-
nited, destroying more than 10
Anti-whaling protesters aboard the ship M/V Steve Irwin, right, threw bottles containing butyric acid onto
the deck of the Japanese whaling ship Kaiko Maru yesterday.
neighboring houses, Xinhua said.
It was unclear what sparked the
blast.
Rescue operations were un-
der way. No other details were
immediately available.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The
U.S. coalition said yesterday its
forces killed 11 Taliban militants,
including the leader of a bomb-
making cell, during an operation
in southern Afghanistan.
The raid in Kandahar province
on Thursday targeted a bomb-
maker responsible for roadside
bomb attacks that killed NATO
soldiers, a coalition statement
said.
Militants barricaded them-
selves inside a home during the
raid and opened fire on the coali-
tion forces. After giving time to
allow women and children to
leave, the coalition forces fired
on the militants with guns and
grenades, it said.
Coalition forces found dozens
of land mines, grenades, AK-47s
and bomb-making materials in
the home, the coalition said.
Powder sent to
embassy harmless
SEOUL, South Korea — An
official says a suspicious white
powder sent to the U.S. Embassy
in the South Korean capital has
been found to be harmless.
The embassy in Seoul re-
ceived a package containing the
white powder earlier this week.
Hwang Hyun-soon of the Ko-
rea Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said yesterday
that tests showed the powder
was starch.
The FBI said last week that
eight U.S. embassies in Europe
received letters containing a
white powder in what the
agency called a hoax. It said gov-
ernors in more than 40 U.S.
states had received similar let-
ters recently.
Officials in some of the states
said the powder was flour, corn
starch or some other harmless
food substance.
— Advertiser news services

not diminish significantly the

Border army’s ability to confront mili-

tants near the Afghan border.
But yesterday’s developments
CONTINUED FROM A3 illustrated the heavy domestic
pressures on both the Indian and
news reports, citing security of- Pakistani governments. Although
ficials, said movements involved a peace process has been in place
thousands of soldiers from the for five years, neither leadership
army’s 14th Division to two gar- can afford to be seen as weak in
risons that lie close to the Indian dealing with what many ordinary
frontier, in the towns of Kasur citizens on both sides of the fron-
and Sialkot. tier see as a dangerous enemy.
Witnesses said columns of
Pakistani troops with heavy
weapons were seen leaving po-
sitions in the areas of Bajaur and
South Waziristan yesterday.
The cancellation of furloughs
was disclosed by Pakistani mili-
tary officials earlier in the day.
Officials speaking on condition of
anonymity said some troops on
leave had been recalled.
The Pakistani moves were gen-
erally interpreted by Pakistani
analysts as a warning to India
rather than an actively aggres-
sive posture. Moreover, some ob-
servers said they expected little
immediate effect on the offen-
sive in the tribal areas. Retired
Brig. Gen. Mehmood Shah, now
an analyst, said a “thinning out”
of troops in the tribal areas would
A8 | Saturday, December 27, 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser •

Santa-clad killer planned to flee U.S. Phoenix boys, 7 and 10,

Gunman’s plot foiled by
injuries from fire; body
wife and her parents were
among them, but said they were
die after random attack
unaccounted for. The victims
Associated Press eoned repeated-
of ninth victim found were believed to range in age
PHOENIX — Two young boys ly with a base-
from 17 to 80.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG Los Angeles County-USC who were repeatedly bludgeoned ball bat or simi-
Associated Press Medical Center spokeswoman in a brutal and apparently ran- lar object. Police
COVINA, Calif. — A man who Adelaida De La Cerda said the 8- dom attack while playing at a say they found a
carried out a Christmas Eve mas- year-old girl who was shot in west Phoenix park died yester- bat in Gallegos’
sacre and arson dressed as Santa the face was released from the day, and police said their alleged home, along
at the home of his former in-laws hospital yesterday. Her mother assailant now faces murder with clothing
apparently intended to flee the had been at the hospital and was charges. that appeared to
Cousins Edwin Pellecier and Gallegos be bloodstained.
U.S., but his plans were dashed “extremely traumatized,” De La
Cerda said. Jesse Ramirez suffered severe Gallegos was
after the inferno he created se-
Her cousin, a 16-year-old girl head injuries in the attack Tues- being held on a $1 million cash
verely burned his arms and melt-
brought in for observation, had day afternoon, police Sgt. Tom- bond.
ed his red costume onto his body,
superficial injuries and was re- my Thompson said. Seven-year- Police searching for witnesses
police said yesterday.
leased Thursday. The teenag- old Jesse died early yesterday found that a resident near the
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, a laid-off
er’s mother was Bruce Pardo’s and 10-year-old Edwin was pro- park had a video surveillance
aerospace worker, apparently
GENE BLEVINS | Associated Press ex-wife, De La Cerda said. Also nounced dead hours later. camera mounted in front of his
shot some of his nine victims ex-
ecution-style in a plot to destroy Investigators on Thursday removed from a California home a device injured was a woman who broke Police arrested 36-year-old Joe house. Police said it captured im-
his ex-wife’s family after a cost- they believe Bruce Jeffrey Pardo used to set the house ablaze. her ankle when jumping from a Sauceda Gallegos within hours ages of the boys walking toward
ly divorce that was finalized last Pardo shot several people before starting the fire on Wednesday. second-story window. of the attack and he made an ini- the park, followed a minute later
week. He had an airline ticket David Salgado, a neighbor, tial court appearance Wednes- by a man carrying what looked
for a Christmas morning flight brother discovered the body ear- inal record or history of vio- said he saw the 8-year-old victim day on two counts of child abuse like a bat.
to Canada and $17,000 in cash ly Thursday. lence, and neighbors and others being escorted to an ambulance and dangerous crimes against The resident said the man
on his body, some attached to Before the suicide, Pardo used knew him as a friendly man who by four SWAT officers as fire children. looked like his neighbor, Galle-
his legs with plastic wrap and remnants of the Santa suit to walked his dog and was a vol- devoured the house. He identi- Detectives added a first-de- gos.
some in a girdle, Covina police booby-trap his rental car to ex- unteer usher at his parish fied the owners of the home as gree murder charge after Jesse’s Gallegos told investigators
Chief Kim Raney said. He did plode, the chief said. church. Sylvia Pardo’s parents, Joseph death and a second was being who went to his house that he
not know the Canadian destina- Raney said Pardo wired the Authorities released 911 calls and Alicia Ortega. lodged yesterday afternoon, hadn’t seen anything unusual.
tion. suit so when it was lifted it filled with frantic appeals for “It was really ugly,” Salgado Thompson said. Gallegos was arrested for not
Armed with four guns, wearing “would pull a trip wire or a help: “My mom’s house is on said. “It was just a brutal, vicious showing up for a court date on an
the Santa suit and carrying a fuel- switch, ignite a flare inside the fire!” said a caller phoning from When the fire was extin- attack that didn’t need to hap- unrelated misdemeanor case. Po-
spraying device wrapped like a car that would then ignite black a neighbor’s house. “He’s still guished early Thursday, officers pen,” Thompson said. “This is lice said Gallegos had an odor of
present, Pardo showed up at the powder and he had several hun- shooting at them!” found three charred bodies in the type of deal that makes hard- chlorine on his hands and stains
home at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday dred rounds of handgun ammu- The fire was so intense that the living room area. Investiga- boiled cops cry inside.” that appeared to be blood on his
as a party of about 25 people was nition inside the car.” no bodies have been identified tors found five more bodies The boys were found by a shoes.
under way. The device went off as a bomb because of charring, but police amid the ashes later in the day. neighbor, lying in a small com- The suspect’s uncle told po-
Raney said Pardo, 45, fired a squad worked to disarm it Lt. Tim Doonan said all were Coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said a munity park early Tuesday af- lice that he believed Gallegos had
shot into the face of an 8-year-old Thursday, but no one was hurt. Pardo’s former relatives. He de- ninth body was found yesterday ternoon. Doctors told police they been diagnosed as a schizo-
girl who answered the door and Police said Pardo had no crim- clined to say whether his ex- morning. believe the boys were bludg- phrenic.
at first fired indiscriminately,
then apparently targeted rela-
tives of his ex-wife as other
guests fled.
“There’s some information that
he stood over them and shot
them execution-style,” Raney
said.
Pardo retreated to the front
door and retrieved a device that
mixed carbon dioxide or oxygen
with high-octane racing fuel, po-
lice said. Fleeing guests saw him
spraying the fuel inside the house
when the vapor was ignited, pos-
sibly by a pilot light or a candle,
and exploded.
“Mr. Pardo was severely in-
jured during that explosion,”
Raney said. “He suffered third-
degree burns on both arms and it
also appears that the Santa Claus
suit that he was wearing did melt
onto his body.”
Pardo was able to drive to his
brother’s home in the Sylmar
area of Los Angeles, broke in and
shot himself in the head. His