Shaelynn Alohalani Haleaka Lehano-Stone died at Hilo Medical Center on June 28, 2016, a few hours after she was found unconscious in a Kinoole Street apartment.

First responders were called to the apartment on a report of an unresponsive child. They found the 9-year-old girl lying on the floor and said she appeared severely malnourished.

Henrietta Stone, Lehano-­Stone’s grandmother, who had custody of her granddaughter, and Lehano-­Stone’s parents, Tiffany Stone and Kevin Lehano, are in custody awaiting trial in state court for murder.

Tina Marie Kasten, Lehano-­Stone’s maternal aunt, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in state court Tuesday against the state, Lehano, her sister and her mother on behalf of her dead niece’s estate and siblings. The lawsuit claims that the state’s Child Welfare Services failed to protect Lehano-Stone and that Lehano, Tiffany and Henrietta Stone failed in their legal obligation to provide her shelter, food and sustenance, medical care, a safe home and reasonable supervision.

CWS is a division of the state Department of Human Services. DHS spokeswoman Keopu Reelitz said the department has not yet reviewed the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation.

According to CWS documents the Honolulu Star-Advertiser obtained under federal disclosure requirements involving fatal or near-fatal abuse cases, the state had placed Lehano-Stone in foster care four times, including right after her birth, because of safety concerns.

The lawsuit says Lehano-­Stone was developmentally disabled when she was born on Sept. 5, 2006, and that the state removed her from her parents’ home within a year because of allegations of violence. It says the state put Lehano-Stone and her siblings in Henrietta Stone’s care, even though she lived in the same apartment complex as Lehano-­Stone’s parents, and took no action when it received additional reports of abuse and neglect while Lehano-Stone was in her grandmother’s care.

Seven months before Lehano-­Stone died, her grandmother took her out of elementary school after filing a one-page home-school request form, greatly reducing the likelihood of someone else seeing evidence of abuse or neglect and reporting it to authorities.

Private investigator Steve Lane, who has served as a court-­appointed special master in high-profile child abuse and neglect cases, including that of “Peter Boy” Kema, said there’s a severe lack of regulation of home-schooled kids. Lane said he assisted in the preparation of Tuesday’s lawsuit.

While there were only six students participating, the message was just as pressing for the few who staged a 12-minute “die-in” protest at noon Tuesday at the state Capitol rotunda.

At noon the half-dozen dropped to the ground near the steps of the Capitol and imitated dead bodies.

It was a gesture of solidarity with victims across the U.S. and and part of a national day of protests against what the demonstrators said is continued inaction by lawmakers in putting an end to gun violence. Tuesday also marked the second anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., which claimed 49 victims.

“So the 12 minutes symbolize 720 seconds, roughly the number of people killed in the past two years from gun violence since that shooting,” said Sarah Catino, a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Although the media is covering mass shootings in schools, nightclubs and elsewhere in the community, it’s important to remember that other forms of gun violence happen on a daily basis, especially with regards to minorities and in domestic violence situations.”

The students also were protesting against politicians who offer “thoughts and prayers” to victims and survivors while accepting donations from the National Rifle Association in exchange for preventing any meaningful reform from moving forward.

Catino, 27, said she also wanted to bring attention to how gun violence intersects with injustice and inequity among disenfranchised groups, and plays a role in hate crimes and the Black Lives Matter movement.

“In March and in April we said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and demanded better laws regarding guns,” said Taylor McKenzie, a recent Sacred Hearts Academy graduate. “It’s June, and there has been no significant movement on gun reform. This must change.”

She said she wanted an overhaul of gun control laws, including mandatory gun safety classes, background checks and what she said were simply “common-sense” laws.

“We’re not trying to take away your Second Amendment rights,” she said. “We are saving people’s lives, making sure you know the power you have when you have this thing that has a trigger.”

McKenzie, 17, said she also wanted to raise awareness of violence against the LGBTQ community because June is also Pride Month. When the Pulse nightclub shooting occurred two years ago, she was still in high school. She recently began identifying with the LGBTQ community.

The students are members of the #NeverAgainHI coalition, which advocated for two gun reform bills at the state Legislature this session, including a ban on bump stocks and other trigger modifications, as well as a bill shortening the mandatory gun recall period for those convicted of a violent crime or otherwise ordered to surrender their firearms.

Both bills passed through the Legislature but have not yet been signed by Gov. David Ige.

In addition to a 17-minute student and faculty walkout March 14 in solidarity with survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, the coalition organized the “March for Our Lives” rally on March 24. In August the coalition will hold a March to the Polls rally before Hawaii’s primary election in August.

Information on the coalition’s events is available at fb.com/MarchForOurLivesHI.

Hawaii Kai into town took a cool 20 minutes.

There was street parking in downtown Honolulu.

Impossible left turns were a breeze.

Monday traffic was shockingly excellent, colossally smooth, blessedly nonexistent and totally awesome. What’s the opposite of a traffic jam? It was Monday. And it was good.

The combination of no school, no University of Hawaii-Manoa classes and a state holiday that isn’t a big shopping holiday turned the usually gnarly Monday traffic into something actually pleasant, even fun. Remember happy Sunday drives out to the country long, long ago? Heading into town was like that. No joke.

It was like jumping into the DeLorean, hitting the flux capacitor and going back in time 30 years to when traffic wasn’t the soul-crushing, nerve-frying experience that it is every single day.

Traffic was so light, you could imagine days of jumping in the VW and cruising out to Magic Island in your Otaheite dress and Clark Chang slippers while singing along to a cassette of Brother Noland’s “Jaime Lee.”

Traffic was so light, you could recall driving out to check the surf before school, catching a couple of waves and making it back to campus to park your Camaro in the shade under the banyan and slide into your seat in Mr. Yamato’s homeroom before the tardy bell. No traffic, no worry.

Traffic was so light, you could actually remember way, way back to when you thought driving was fun; when steering a car seemed as slick as piloting a jet, and going somewhere, almost anywhere, made you feel free; when you would never think of driving with all the windows up because you’d miss out on that sweet summer breeze; when you’d stick your elbow out the window because you felt so at ease and because in that position you were ready for a friendly wave, and you would wave to people on the road because you saw people you knew, and they didn’t look furious or anxious or really, really beaten down. Now people in cars look really anxious or beaten down. People on the bus look like they’re holding their breaths and cultivating the 1,000-yard stare. Nobody cruises anymore. Some race, some weave in and out like maniacs, but they don’t cruise. On Monday you could cruise.

Traffic on Monday was how traffic used to be. How traffic should be. How traffic could be again if only … if only …

There are about a thousand “if onlys” there, and none of them very believable. Traffic like that means fewer people on the road, not fleets of bikes or trains. Less is not in our future.

Monday was the day for politicians to be sign-waving on the side of the roads. On a regular day there are thousands more drivers, but on Monday anyone out on the road was immeasurably happier and much more likely to smile back at a smiling face, forget all the empty promises and think, “Yeah. I would vote for you. Look at me! My car is moving, brah! I love everybody!”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.

Bradley Wood was on the field for one play of his senior year of high school football. It was the opening kickoff, and the opposing team scored a touchdown.

Then, as Wood left the field, the Kaiser fans who were at Campbell to see what turned out to be the Cougars’ only game of the season rose to their feet in appreciation.

“He was met with the most loving and understanding standing ovation I have ever seen,” wrote Kaiser teacher Paul Balazs in a letter of recommendation. “That was the type of impact (Wood) has had on our school and our lives.”

Wood couldn’t stay because he had to rush to catch a flight to attend the funeral of his great-grandfather, Martin Vermaas. Kaiser needed him for the opening kickoff because it would have forfeited if it did not have 22 players to start the game.

The final score was 71-0, but the Cougars got to play.

Kaiser — which faced an opponent with nearly four times as many players in that one game — forfeited other games due to the lack of numbers, and then the entire season was canceled after an altercation involving the head coach and a parent.

Through it all, Wood continued to take his role as a co-captain seriously. It was especially important to him that younger players not give up.

“That was a huge part of it,” he said. “Next year they’re going to have a lot better opportunities. We have a lot of new players coming out and a new coaching staff.”

Wood’s leadership amid chaos and disappointment is among the many reasons he was selected as one of 16 HMSA Kaimana Award scholarship winners from the 2017-18 school year. They were honored Saturday, along with nine schools from around the state that won overall awards for academics, athletics, community service, healthy activities and sportsmanship.

Wood also competed in basketball, baseball and track and field while maintaining a cumulative grade-point average well over 4.0.

“Bradley, like all of the honorees, showed not only that he was able to excel on his own, but that he truly cared about his team and his teammates,” said Hawaii News Now’s Steve Uyehara, who serves on the Kaimana Awards selection committee. “It blows you away when you think that someone can be so smart, well-rounded and empathetic.”

See scoreboard on page C6 for the complete list of honorees.

Also, on June 3, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Honor enshrined a new class of 12 elite athletes. They were featured in a special section of that day’s Star-Advertiser.

“While these scholarship programs differ slightly, both programs recognize Hawaii’s best student-athletes in terms of academics, athletics, community service, and sportsmanship, and align with HHSAA’s mission to perpetuate the significance of education-based athletics as part of the high school education program,” said HHSAA executive director Christopher Chun.

“We have a lot of potential and the sky’s the limit,” Bradley Wood said Saturday.

He was referring to next year’s Kaiser football team that he will watch from afar at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he will study criminal psychology.

But those same words apply to him and the other Kaimana and Hall of Honor award winners.

Vince Baldemor is out and Sam Moku is in as athletic director of Hawaii Pacific University.

An HPU spokesperson confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Baldemor, who was hired in January 2014, is leaving his post at the conclusion of his contract July 2. Moku, HPU’s vice president of university relations and a former defensive back for the University of Hawaii football team, will take over the Division II Sharks’ 14 athletics programs on an acting basis on July 3, according to a press release prepared by HPU.

Baldemor was previously an athletics administrator at the University of Hawaii — most notably the executive director of the Ahahui Koa Anuenue fundraising arm. At HPU, he oversaw the branding and nickname transition from “Sea Warriors” to “Sharks” shortly after his hire.

An internal memo was sent out notifying staff late Tuesday afternoon, and an official announcement is expected today.

“We are deeply grateful to Vince for his service to HPU,” said president John Y. Gotanda, who joined the university in July 2016. “We look forward to the leadership and continued success that Sam will bring to our Sharks athletic program.”

Baldemor said in the release: “I want to thank President Gotanda for allowing me to serve HPU and work with our amazing coaches, staff and student-athletes. We were able to accomplish great things during my tenure and I’ll always appreciate that we did it as a family. More success lies ahead for the department under acting AD Sam Moku and I look forward to cheering on our teams as they continue to represent HPU locally and nationally. Go Sharks!”

Moku is a former 14-year track and field coach at Kamehameha and has been with HPU since 2013. In addition to his new AD job, he will continue his government relations duties.

“Sports, education and community are three of the biggest influences in my life,” Moku said. “I’m excited to serve all these priorities in my new role and particularly to develop our recruitment strategy for local athletes.”

In the HPU website’s profile on Baldemor, the academic progress of some 250 student-athletes is touted, with the department’s combined grade-point average rising from 2.98 to 3.16 during his tenure. Athletic highlights included HPU men’s tennis winning the 2016 NCAA II national championship, and men’s (2017) and women’s (2015) basketball winning Pacific West Conference championships.

The former DePaul tennis player took over as HPU AD from Darren Vorderbruegge, who relinquished the job to focus on coaching the Sharks men’s basketball team.

A look — from “A” to “Z” — at the 2018 World Cup, which opens Thursday in Russia.

A — is for the Atlas Lions of Morocco, who, apart from their challenges on the pitch this month, are competing with North America to host the 2026 World Cup.

B — as in the Ballon d’Or — the sport’s most prestigious individual award. Can Lionel Messi (Argentina) or Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) lock it up by leading their country to the title? Or, if healthy, can Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah put himself in the thick of it?

C— is for chomping the competition, something Uruguay’s Luis Suárez, a la Mike Tyson, has demonstrated he isn’t above with a red card in the last World Cup.

D — is for Deutschland, defending champion Germany.

E — is for Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who at age 45 is the oldest player in the field.

F — is for FIFA, Federation Internationale de Football Association, the ruling body of soccer, a cabal so corrupt it makes the mafia look upstanding.

G — is for “Group of Death” the designation given what is generally acknowledged as the toughest group. This time it could well be Group “F,” which features Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.

H — as in the trademark “HOOOOOOOO!!!” chant and Viking thunder claps of the Iceland faithful.

I — as in Iran, whose team has one of the coolest nicknames in the tournament: The Lions of Persia.

J — is for Colombia’s James Rodriguez, who is back after six goals in five matches for Los Cafeteros earned him the Golden Boot award.

K— is for Kazan Stadium in Tartarstan, site of Friday’s Australia-France meeting, which had two swimming pools where the pitch now stands for the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.

L — is for “lozhkas” the Russian spoons that are this World Cup’s answer to the Brazilian caxiroh and the South African vuvuzelas as official noisemakers of the host country.

M — is for missing in action, which Italy is as a four-time champion that is out of the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

N — is for newbies to the World Cup, Iceland and Panama, who are making their first appearances.

O — is for odds, and Brazil, a 5-to-1 pick to win now that it is no longer burdened by being a host as it was in 2014, is the favorite.

P — is for Panama, the longest of the longshots at a 5,000-to-1 pick by oddsmakers to hoist the championship.

Q — is for Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup.

R — as in red, white and blue. Well, not the U. S., which didn’t qualify, but Iceland, which has the same colors and a team that did qualify.

S — is for sanctions, imposed by the U. S. that prompted Nike to pull its shoe deal from the Iranian team in the 11th hour.

T — is for the tiniest country by population to appear in a World Cup field — Iceland, with just 335,000 residents.

U — is for Uruguay’s “garra charrua” (Charruan Claws) spirit of tenacity.

V— is for Vladimir Putin, who will never be too far from the Fox cameras.

W — is for winner’s share, with the champions splitting $38 million, a $3 million bump over 2014.

X — is for the “X” factor, Belgium’s Eden Hazard.

Y — is for the youngest team in the field, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, with an average age of 25.3 years.

Z — is for Zlatan “I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am” Ibrahimovic, who has chosen to retire from World Cup competition, thereby depriving Sweden of scoring punch and reporters of great quotes.

A day after losing its best starting pitcher, the University of Hawaii baseball team secured a commitment from one of the state’s top hurlers.

Cade Halemanu, a right-hander from Pearl City High, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser he has accepted an offer to join the Rainbow Warriors in August.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to play with that coaching staff and play in front of the home crowd,” Halemanu said.

Halemanu’s commitment cushions the loss of Jackson Rees, who signed a free-agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

It appeared Rees would return to UH for his senior season after not being selected in last week’s 40-round Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. But Rees reached an agreement with the Blue Jays on Monday night. Rees told the Star-Advertiser he was set to report to the Blue Jays’ rookie-level team in the Gulf Coast League in Florida.

Rees, who earned a bachelor’s degree last month, was draft-eligible after playing one season at Saddleback Community College and two with the Rainbow Warriors. This past season, Rees was 5-3 with a 3.86 earned-run average.

Also, backup catcher David Noworyta has signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Tigers. Noworyta also will play in the Gulf Coast League. Noworyta hit .250 in eight games this season, but he was valued as a team leader and bullpen catcher. He made each of the ’Bows’ road trips.

“Their first goal was to graduate,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said of Rees and Noworyta. “It’s their turn to go after goal No. 2. We’re happy for them.”

Halemanu should provide a boost to the ’Bows’ pitching staff. He is 6 feet 4 and 215 pounds and his fastball has surpassed 90 mph. He also throws a change-up and curveball.

This past season, Halemanu was 5-1 with a 1.08 ERA. He averaged 9.87 strikeouts per nine innings, with a WHIP of 0.82.

Halemanu said he grew up as a fan of UH sports.

“I used to love watching (quarterback) Colt Brennan,” Halemanu said. “I went to the games.”

He said he discussed the UH offer with his family on Monday night. “I kind of slept on it,” said Halemanu, who announced his decision Tuesday morning.

Oahu Country Club can be many things.

Challenging. Unforgiving. Humbling.

Add the pressure of playing in the Manoa Cup — arguably the most prestigious amateur golf event in the state — and the 6,041-yard course can quickly go from friend to foe. It depends on the mind-set of the golfers, who after qualifying via stroke play on a Monday, have to adapt to match play on a Tuesday.

Some are better at it than others, including four-time champion Brandan Kop, who closed out his match on 14 in the 110th edition of the event. Seeded second after a birdie-dominated 5-under 66 on Monday, Kop relied on his wedge-and-putter game — and a surprisingly accurate driver — to defeat Larry Goeas 6 and 4.

“This tournament keeps me young,” said the 57-year-old Kop, whose last Cup victory came in 1998. “I like playing with the young guys, I enjoy the one-on-one.

“They say this favors the young guys (golfers don’t use carts), but there’s something about having experience and the mental game for this. You do have to be in shape. It’s the only tournament you have to train for. I’ve said I want to keep playing in it until I’m 60. There is a prestige to it.”

There were 11 upsets (based on seeding) among Tuesday’s 32 men’s opening-round matches, the biggest being seventh-seeded Jacob Torres eliminated by No. 58 Alex Kam (21 holes) and eighth-seeded Aj Teraoka eliminated by No. 57 Kelii Kamelamela-Dudoit (1 up).

All four previous champions — defending champion Andy Okita, Matthew Ma, Tyler Ota and Kop — advanced to today’s second round, as did last year’s runner-up, Evan Kawai.

On the women’s side, the only upset among the 16 matches was No. 4 Heather Carr losing to 13th-seeded Victoria Takai, 4 and 3. Top-seeded Brittany Fan won her match against Katrina Huang, 4 and 3.

Among the more intriguing matches on Tuesday was between first-timers Hunter Hughes and Caleb Ah Mow, won by Hughes 3 and 2. Hughes, a recent University of Hawaii graduate, was a scout team quarterback for the Rainbow Warriors the past two seasons and has been working in the OCC pro shop for the past three months. Ah Mow is a recent graduate of Hanalani Schools and will play for Chaminade this season.

Hughes led after a birdie on No. 2 but was challenged by Ah Mow the entire way. Hughes was 3 up twice, only to have Ah Mow pull to within 1 both times, the last after parring No. 14.

No. 15 proved to be the turning point when Ah Mow sliced his tee shot into the trees, a shot deemed out-of-bounds, giving him a one-shot penalty and having him play a second tee shot as his third stroke. Hughes countered with a perfect tee shot down the middle of the fairway, landing some 200 yards from the hole.

Hughes birdied the par-5, putting him 2 up, and then nailed his tee shot on the 145-yard No. 16, landing 3 feet from the pin. Hughes sprinted up the fairway “more because I was feeling the nerves in my hands and legs,” he said. “I wanted to get that out of my system. And to check how close? That, too.

“Today my thinking was trying to stay within myself. Out here, if you stay within yourself, stay right around even par, that is a good mark. (Nos.) 13 and 14 can be difficult, so my thinking was, OK, as long as I got to 15 it would be smooth sailing.”

Both agreed that they were well-matched, having the same playing pace, and would enjoy playing together again, as well as in this event.

“Today was pretty relaxing and one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played,” said Ah Mow, playing OCC for just the fourth time. “I’m looking forward to playing next year here and years to come.

“Hunter is an awesome guy. I want to play with him later.”

“Caleb was really impressive for an 18-year-old kid. I wasn’t there at that age,” Hughes said. “There was a home-course advantage, I’m playing Oahu Country Club almost every day, and that is a privilege.

“Those of us who play here talk about the mana of the valley, how you have to give this course a lot of respect. It’s hallowed grounds.”

Play continues today with the men’s second-round matches and women’s quarterfinals. The women’s 18-hole championship is Friday and the men’s 36-hole championship Saturday.

President Donald Trump arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Tuesday afternoon aboard Air Force One, and although no one disembarked to greet base residents, the summit with North Korea — if implemented — will have its own impact on Hawaii.

The Air Force called the stop a “gas and go” on the way back to the White House.

In addition to North Korea committing “to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” both countries vowed to recover POW/MIA remains — including the “immediate repatriation” of those already identified by the North.

Those remains likely would come to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPPA) identification lab at Hickam. The agency searches for, recovers and identifies American service members missing from past wars.

At a press conference in Singapore, the president said he had “countless calls and letters” asking about the return of Americans missing in North Korea from the 1950-53 war.

“They want the remains of their fathers and mothers and all of the people that got caught into that really brutal war,” he said.

Trump said he asked for the return of the missing Americans, “and we got it. That was a very last minute. The remains will be coming back. They’re going to start that process immediately.”

How that will be worked out remains to be seen. DPAA said 7,702 service members are unaccounted for from the war.

The forerunner of DPAA, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, conducted 33 field recoveries in North Korea from 1996 through 2005, when the missions were suspended.

In April and May 2005, the United States feared that North Korea was planning another nuclear test. Amid safety concerns, the Hawaii team members were pulled out.

The agency said at the time it had brought back the remains of at least 30 serv­ice members. Cpl. David T. Nordin Jr., a Schofield Barracks soldier with the 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, who died in 1951 in North Korea, was among that group.

DPAA could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday about the president’s recovery goals.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa, D-Hawaii, said in a statement there is no doubt the summit was a “historic moment in the relationship between the countries and the region.”

She noted the two leaders agreed to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, with the North pledging to work on denuclearization.

“For Hawaii, this should assuage fears of a possible nuclear attack from North Korea,” she said. “My belief has always been that our greatest adversary remains Russia.”

In the meantime the Defense Department is proceeding with a more than $750 million high-powered radar on Oahu to better track missiles from countries such as North Korea and Iran.

Fellow Hawaii Democrat and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said, “We must ensure that in the wake of this historic summit, the diplomatic path continues to achieve complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. This is not about blind trust.”

Trump also said he wants to stop war games with South Korea — which some Hawaii-based troops and ships participate in — to save a “tremendous amount of money” and reduce provocations aimed at North Korea.

Last summer’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian, a computer-simulated defensive exercise, involved 17,500 U.S. service members, with about 3,000 not stationed in South Korea.

Trump also was critical of flying bombers 6-1/2 hours from Guam to South Korea. “That’s a long time for those big massive planes to be flying to South Korea to practice and then drop bombs all over the place and then go back to Guam,” he said, adding that too is expensive.

Those bombers often fly through Hawaii. On June 1, a “minor” in-flight emergency caused a B-1 bomber to return to Hickam. Air Force Global Strike Command said it would not release details, but said “per safety checklists, the aircrew determined to return to Hickam AFB and successfully landed the aircraft.”

Trump said that at some point he’d like to bring home the 32,000 U.S. soldiers in South Korea.

PAHOA, Hawaii >> Dora Kamekona Wheatley’s left knee bounced nervously as she described abandoning her family home of 16 years in Leilani Estates with 15 minutes’ notice as lava from Kilauea Volcano threatened the rural subdivision.

Wheatley, 55, who suffers from depression and anxiety, hadn’t left her home in three years and was facing relocation to the American Red Cross emergency shelter at the Pahoa Community Center and District Park, along with scores of other residents displaced by the eruption that started May 3.

To avoid living in close quarters under stressful circumstances, Wheatley got permission to set up a tent near the baseball field above the main shelter at the Pahoa gym, where she has been living in a tent under a series of tarps with husband Clyde and their two dogs. The couple’s daughter, son-in-law and young grandson have their own living space in the adjacent dugout at the baseball field.

The Wheatleys were among the first to set up camp outdoors, but in the last six weeks they have been joined by 240 other people who are living outside the shelter in their cars, in tents and under tarps in parking lots and playing fields.

The couple and several other shelter residents living outside the gym told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday that a growing number of people who were homeless or living in unstable situations before the volcano disaster have joined the makeshift community and are responsible for an increase in thefts, domestic disturbances and other trouble that has required police intervention.

“It was real peaceful here but it’s gotten worse,” said Clyde Wheatley, 55, a disabled veteran. “In the past two weeks there’s been an influx of new people.”

The couple said they have not had anything stolen, but know others who have. To prevent being victimized, the Wheatleys never leave their belongings unattended and rely on their dogs to provide extra security.

Wheatley said he thinks the Red Cross should be screening shelter seekers and asking to see identification, mail or other proof of residency in areas affected by lava or volcanic fumes. He gets angry when talking about anyone who may be taking advantage of the situation to get free food, supplies and shelter.

“It ain’t my problem that you’re homeless. It wasn’t a choice for us,” he said.

A fellow camper, April Buxton, 44, bought a home in Leilani Estates last year after her husband died in 2016. Her house is still standing, but she evacuated because of lingering volcanic gases.

Soon after setting up a temporary shelter in the parking lot above the gym, Buxton started a community kitchen and pantry.

She too has seen a change in her new neighbors and is worried about crime.

“We’re up all night long protecting our stuff,” Buxton said. “Thefts, drugs and all the other problems have been getting worse over the last few weeks.”

The “outside” shelter where Buxton and the Wheatleys are living comprises a loose patchwork of encampments set up across a series of broad playing fields, with the greatest concentration in the parking lot above the gym.

“It’s good that they can pick their own spots so they won’t grumble as much,” said Glenn Kokubun, Puna/Kau District supervisor for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Kokubun said he has noticed that some homeless people and others “who don’t belong there” have taken up residence around the Red Cross shelter.

“There are some that are in the bushes — you know how they come, the hippies and whatnot who are not displaced, but are now getting free food,” he said.

Parks staff and county-contracted security services have been providing around-the-clock security for the Pahoa park, Kokubun said, and two to three parks workers are cleaning the area “all the time.” In addition, he said, eight to nine recreation staff are “maintaining the peace and order” and assisting wherever needed.

He said there haven’t been any instances of vandalism or damage to county park facilities, although officials have had to kick out some campers due to fighting, domestic conflicts and drinking.

The situation isn’t different from any other large campground in the parks system, according to Kokubun. “There are people who get out of hand. It’s just the common stuff that happens in any park that’s been going on for a long time,” he said.

American Red Cross officials said that in addition to the population at Pahoa, which includes 80 people housed inside the gym shelter, the agency is assisting 16 people living inside the adjacent senior center and 13 outside, and 32 people inside the Keaau shelter, which is at full capacity, and 35 outside.

Krislyn Yano, communications manager for the American Red Cross of Hawaii, said the Pahoa shelter is not at capacity, so anyone camping outdoors there is doing so by choice. She also said the agency has been accepting anyone seeking help, regardless of their circumstances.

“We haven’t heard anything yet (about the complaints). All the shelters tend to get a small population of homeless people, even when we opened the shelters on Oahu for flooding,” Yano said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that.”

Virginia Hart, American Red Cross public affairs spokeswoman on the Big Island, said the agency is able to address problem behavior by occupants of the gym shelter, but the county Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for managing those who have decided to live on park grounds.

The Kuamoo family set up their tents and tarps on the Pahoa park’s far playing field, close to the public restrooms and electrical outlets, where they have plugged in a generator to provide electricity for their medical needs.

Harlen Kuamoo, 70, suffers from sleep apnea, and her husband, Larry, 69, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Poor air quality and other public safety issues forced them to evacuate their home on Kamaili Road in Pahoa along with their daughter Roseline, 46, and her 16-year-old son.

Sitting under a tent enjoying an afternoon snack of hard-boiled eggs, the Kuamoos have been living outside the Pahoa shelter for about three weeks. Although not crime victims themselves, they did witness a fight and have heard from other campers about car break-ins.

They remarked that since the Red Cross shelter opened, the homeless people who normally sleep on the sidewalks in Pahoa town seemed to have disappeared.

“To me it don’t matter,” Larry Kuamoo shrugged. “They need help, too. It’s all good.”

Lighter winds toward the end of the week could send vog and sulfur dioxide from Kilauea’s eruption “over more populated areas,” including Hilo, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

“Eventually, Hilo’s going to get into this,” said Robert Ballard, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Explosions of steam and ash at Kilauea’s summit, and steam, toxic gases and lava fountains pouring from cracks that emerged in Puna’s Leilani Estates subdivision May 3 in an eastern part of Hawaii island have created hazardous conditions. Lava is erupting vigorously from one vent, fissure 8, and flowing in a channel to the ocean about 8 miles away in Kapoho.

An “unusual late June stretch of relatively weak trades” is expected to arrive Friday or Saturday and “may last well into next week,” Ballard said. “That’s a concern.”

Meanwhile the summit is expected to continue erupting. Including an explosion at 1:52 a.m. Tuesday, Kilauea had experienced 23 “larger explosions” just since May 17, said geologist Janet Babb.

But the most recent ones have been “ash poor,” and none of the material appears to have reached higher than 10,000 feet above sea level, Babb said.

Brian Shiro, supervisory geophysicist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said the “large, explosive” eruptions could be relieving pressure on Kilauea by “serving as a bit of a release valve.”

At Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said “everything” is coated “almost in a layer of white flour.”

Along Kilauea’s lower East Rift Zone, some 9.1 acres of Lower Puna now are covered in lava. About 600 homes have been destroyed, and about 400 of the displaced residents are living in shelters.

Today
GOLF
Manoa Cup: Open–Round of 32, 7 a.m.; Women–Quarterfinals, 9:24 a.m. at Oahu Country Club.

Thursday
GOLF
Manoa Cup: Open–Round of 16, 7 a.m.; Women–Semifinals, 8:12 a.m. at Oahu Country Club.

Awards
HMSA Kaimana Awards and Scholarships
School Awards
BIIF
Small School (fewer than 200
students)–Parker School.
Large School–Keaau High School.
ILH
Small School (fewer than 400
students)–Le Jardin Academy.
Large School–Hawaii Baptist Academy.
KIF
Waimea High School.
MIL
Small School (fewer than 350
students)–Maui Preparatory Academy.
OIA
Small School (fewer than 1,300
students)–Kalaheo High School.
Large School–Moanalua High School.
Student Scholarship Winners
BIIF
Maya Gee, Kealakehe; Hope Kudo,
Kealakehe.
ILH
Justin Abe, Punahou; Matthew Anzalone, ‘Iolani; Anna Kimata, Punahou; Natale Uhr, ‘Iolani.
KIF
Braeden Jensen, Kapaa; Sariah Mokuahi, Kapaa.
MIL
Makanahele Emmsley, King Kekaulike; Nainoa Kahale, Molokai.
OIA
Cayenne Gabaylo, Nanakuli; Daniel Huang, Kalani; Gerri-Co Jenks, Waianae; Kawai Kaneakua-Rauschenburg, Anuenue; Caitlin Kawaiaea, Nanakuli; Bradley Wood, Kaiser.
Baseball
Cal Ripken 10U
State Tournament
Tuesday
At Central Oahu Regional Park
Razorbackz 12, Ballahz 4
Kahala Warriors 9, Manoa 7
KRU Baseball 10’s 9, West Kauai 3
Prospects 12, Pirates 11
KRU Baseball 10’s 10, Razorbackz 0, 4 inn.
Kahala Warriors 11, Pirates 0, 4 inn.

110th manoa cup
Tuesday
At Oahu Country Club
Open Division
Round of 64
Andy Okita (1) def. Lance Migita (64), 6 and 4.
Nick Ushijima (32) def. Ryan Chang (33), 3 and 2.
Glenn Niitani (16) def. Adam Quandt (49), 2 and 1.
Noah Koshi (17) def. Isaac Jaffurs (48), 3 and 2.
Kelii Kamelamela-Dudoit (57) def. AJ Teraoka (8), 1 up.
Kolbe Irei (25) def. Isaiah Kanno (40), 2 up.
Joshua Sedeno (9) def. Justin Taparra (56), 4 and 3.
Joe Phengsavath (24) def. Travis Lau (41), 4 and 3.
Matthew Ma (4) def. Jake Sequin (61), 4 and 2.
Nickolaus Nelson (36) def. Jeffrey Weinstein (29), 21 holes.
Jun Ho Won (13) def. Ryuhei Sekino (52). 3 and 2.
Preston Ching (45) def. Tyler Isono (20), 3 and 1.
Hunter Hughes (5) def. Caleb Ah Mow (60), 3 and 2.
Thayne Costa (37) def. Aidan Oki (28), 4 and 2.
Nick Gerard (53) def. Jordan Holifield (12), 4 and 3.
Joshua Hayashida (21) def. Reynn Hoshide (44), 2 up.
Brandan Kop (2) def. Larry Goeas (63), 6 and 4.
Stephen Osborne (31) def. AJ Montalbo (34), 4 and 2.
Rilen Loo (50) def. Andrew Otani (15), 3 and 2.
Davis Lee (18) def. Joey Sakaue (47), 2 and 1.
Alex Kam (58) def. Jacob Torres (7), 21 holes.
Joshua Chung (39) def. Zeke Alamida (26), 3 and 2.
Trevor Hirata (55) def. Keegan Loo (10), 19 holes.
Blaze Akana (23) def. Torin Dezzani (42), 4 and 2.
Tyler Ota (3) def. Mark Uekawa (62), 3 and 2.
Mason Nakamura (35) def. Christian Yagi (30), 4 and 3.
Justin Ngan (14) def. Justin Forsythe (51), 5 and 3.
Robert Kim (19) def. Eric Takaki (46), 2 up.
Evan Kawai (6) def. Colby Gunderson (59),
2 up.
Peter Jung (27) def. Marshall Kim (38),
3 and 2.
Caleb Keohokapu (11) def. Shawn Sakoda (54), 1 up.
Adam Chiya (43) def. Trevor Nishiyama (22), 1 up.
Round of 32
Today
Andy Okita (1) vs. Nick Ushijima (32), 7 a.m., Hole 1.
Glenn Niitani (16) vs. Noah Koshi (17), 7:08 a.m., Hole 1.
Kelii Kamelamela-Dudoit (57) vs. Kolbe Irei (25), 7:16 a.m., Hole 1.
Joshua Sedeno (9) vs. Joe Phengsavath (24), 7:24 a.m., Hole 1.
Matthew Ma (4) vs. Nickolaus Nelson (36), 7:32 a.m., Hole 1.
Jun Ho Won (13) vs. Preston Ching (45), 7:40 a.m., Hole 1.
Hunter Hughes (5) vs. Thayne Costa (37), 7:48 a.m., Hole 1.
Nick Gerard (53) vs. Joshua Hayashida (21), 7:56 a.m., Hole 1.
Brandan Kop (2) vs. Stephen Osborne (31), 8:12 a.m., Hole 1.
Rilen Loo (50) vs. Davis Lee (18), 8:20 a.m., Hole 1.
Alex Kam (58) vs. Joshua Chung (39), 8:28 a.m., Hole 1.
Trevor Hirata (55) vs. Blaze Akana (23), 8:36 a.m., Hole 1.
Tyler Ota (3) vs. Mason Nakamura (35), 8:44 a.m., Hole 1.
Justin Ngan (14) vs. Robert Kim (19), 8:52 a.m., Hole 1.
Evan Kawai (6) vs. Peter Jung (27), 9 a.m., Hole 1.
Caleb Keohokapu (11) vs. Adam Chiya (43), 9:08 a.m., Hole 1.
Women’s Division
Tuesday
Round of 16
Brittany Fan (1) def. Katrina Huang (16), 4 and 3.
Anna Murata (8) def. Jennifer Seo (9), 3 and 1.
Victoria Takai (13) def. Heather Carr (4), 4 and 2.
Alanis Sakuma (5) def. Madison Takai (12), 3 and 2.
Kaylee Shimizu (2) def. Mari Nakamura (15), 4 and 3.
Kamie Hamada (7) def. Annika Espino (10), 2 up.
Allysha Mae Mateo (3) def. Avery Kageyama (14), 3 and 2.
Keila Baladad (6) def. Lorraine Char (11), 2 up.
Quarterfinals
Today
Brittany Fan (1) vs. Anna Murata (8), 9:24 a.m., Hole 1.
Victoria Takai (13) vs. Alanis Sakuma (5), 9:32 a.m., Hole 1.
Kaylee Shimizu (2) vs. Kamie Hamada (7), 9:40 a.m., Hole 1.
Allysha Mae Mateo (3) vs. Keila Baladad (6), 9:48 a.m., Hole 1.

LAS VEGAS >> Pimp Dennis Hof, the owner of half a dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker.

Hof defeated hospital executive James Oscarson. He’ll face Democrat Lesia Romanov in November, and will be the favored candidate in the Republican-leaning Assembly district.

Hof celebrated his win at a party in Pahrump with Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss at his side.

“It’s all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof told the Associated Press in a phone call. “He found the way and I jumped on it.”

Hof, who wrote a book titled “The Art of the Pimp,” has dubbed himself “The Trump of Pahrump,” and held a rally with longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. Hof was in the limelight in 2015, when former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious at Hof’s Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, after a four-day, $75,000 stay.

If Hof wins in November, he wouldn’t be the only brothel owner in elected office — Lance Gilman, the owner of the famous Mustang Ranch in northern Nevada, is a Storey County Commissioner.

Voters in November will be voting on closing down brothels at least one of the seven Nevada counties where they’re legally operating. The question will be on the ballot in Lyon County, where Hof owns four brothels. Activists are also gathering signatures to try to get to get measure on the ballot in Nye County, where Hof owns two more brothels in the desert outside the city of Pahrump.

He painted the anti-brothel efforts as political retribution that’s tied to his opponent, but Oscarson and the referendum backers deny any connection.

Most brothels operate in rural areas of Nevada. They’re banned in the counties that contain Las Vegas and Reno.

Hof said Tuesday he’s downsizing his business by selling off some brothels to focus more on politics.

Oscarson and Hof previously faced off in 2016 when Hof ran for the seat as a Libertarian. Oscarson won with 60 percent of the vote.

WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump declared today there was “no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea,” a dubious claim following his summit with leader Kim Jong Un that produced no guarantees on how or when Pyongyang would disarm.

Tempering Trump’s very upbeat assessment, his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, cautioned that the U.S. would resume “war games” with close ally South Korea if the North stops negotiating in good faith. The president had announced a halt in the drills after his meeting with Kim on Tuesday.

The summit in Singapore, which marked a major reduction in tensions, yielded a joint statement that contained a promise to work toward a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, but it lacked details. That didn’t stop the president from talking up the outcome of what was the first meeting between a U.S. and North Korean leader in six decades of hostility. The Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty, leaving the two sides in a technical state of war.

“Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office,” Trump tweeted early today. “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!”

Pompeo, who flew to Seoul to brief South Korean leaders on the summit, said the U.S. wants North Korea to take “major” nuclear disarmament steps within the next two years — before the end of Trump’s first term in 2021. He said the North Korean leader understands that “there will be in-depth verification” of nuclear commitments in any deal with the U.S.

While Trump was facing questions at home and among allies about whether he gave away too much in return for far too little at the summit, North Korean state media heralded claims of a victorious meeting with the U.S. president; photos of Kim standing side-by-side with Trump on the world stage were splashed across newspapers.

Trump’s own chest-thumping tweet seemed reminiscent of the “Mission Accomplished” banner flown behind President George W. Bush in 2003 when he spoke aboard a Navy ship following the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The words came back to haunt the administration, as the war dragged on throughout Bush’s presidency.

Trump’s claim that North Korea no longer poses a nuclear threat is questionable considering Pyongyang’s significant weapons arsenal.

Independent experts say the North could have enough fissile material for anywhere between about a dozen and 60 nuclear bombs. Last year it tested long-range missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland, although it remains unclear if it has mastered the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead that could re-enter the atmosphere and hit its target.

“Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea,” Trump tweeted. “President (Barack) Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer – sleep well tonight!”

When asked whether Trump was jumping the gun by declaring victory, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters: “This president wants North Korea to completely denuclearize so obviously that has to be complete, verifiable and irreversible.

Freezing the regular military exercises with South Korea is a major concession to North Korea that has long claimed the drills were invasion preparations. It appeared to catch the Pentagon and officials in Seoul off guard, and some South Koreans were alarmed. Trump cast the decision as a cost-saving measure, but also called the exercises “inappropriate” while talks continue.

Pompeo said he was there when Trump talked about it with Kim, and the president “made very clear” that the condition for the freeze was that good-faith talks be ongoing. He told reporters that if the U.S. concludes they no longer are, the freeze “will no longer be in effect.”

“He was unambiguous about that and how he communicated it, both at the press conference but certainly when he was with Chairman Kim as well,” Pompeo said.

In North Korea today, Pyongyang’s first reports on the summit stressed to the nation’s people that Trump had agreed at Kim’s demand to halt the military exercises and suggested that Trump also said he would lift sanctions as negations progressed.

“President Trump appreciated that an atmosphere of peace and stability was created on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, although distressed with the extreme danger of armed clash only a few months ago, thanks to the proactive peace-loving measures taken by the respected Supreme Leader from the outset of this year,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a summary of the meeting.

Pompeo, after landing in South Korea, met for nearly an hour with Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea. The secretary of state is to meet President Moon Jae-in on Thursday morning to discuss the summit. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is also heading to Seoul and is due to meet with Pompeo and his South Korean counterpart. Pompeo, the former CIA director, then plans to fly to Beijing to update the Chinese government on the talks.

In Japan, the prospect of canceled U.S.-South Korean drills was met with concern.

“The U.S.-South Korea joint exercises and U.S. forces in South Korea play significant roles for the security in East Asia,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters today. He said he planned to continue sharing the view with Washington and Seoul.

The U.S. has stationed combat troops in South Korea since the end of the Korean War and has used them in a variety of drills. The next scheduled major exercise, involving tens of thousands of troops, normally would be held in August.

MILFORD, Del. >> The saying goes that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but what if the road was paved with pizza?

News outlets report national delivery-based pizza chain Domino’s is aiming to make commutes around the country a little less hellish, by helping to repair potholes.

The company’s “Paving for Pizza” program has launched in four test cities: Athens, Georgia; Bartonville, Texas; Burbank, California and Milford, Delaware.

Milford’s public works director, Mark Whitfield, says an abnormally harsh winter left the city with more potholes than usual. Milford received a $5,000 grant, which covered the repair of 40 potholes.

The city used their own crews, who stenciled Domino’s logo and “Oh, yes we did” on the first few repairs.

Domino’s is soliciting nominations for more cities.

Emergency Medical Services transported two people to a hospital after they were involved in a head-on collision in Hauula.

The crash involving a vehicle and a fire truck occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday near 53-549 Kamehameha Highway.

Paramedics treated a 72-year-old woman and a 7-year-old girl at the scene and transported both of them to a trauma hospital in serious condition.

NEW YORK >> Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, is searching for a new legal team to represent him in an FBI investigation of his business dealings.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press today that Cohen’s current legal team plans to stop handling the case and that Cohen has begun a hunt for new attorneys.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the change or who would take over. The person, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, also noted that Cohen has not yet held any discussions with prosecutors about potentially cooperating in the investigation.

Cohen has been represented since 2017 by Stephen Ryan, a Washington lawyer initially hired to prepare him for congressional testimony about alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.

After FBI agents raided Cohen’s office in April, Ryan and his New York partner, Todd Harrison, went to court to try to keep investigators from seeing some of the confiscated files on the grounds that they were protected by attorney-client privilege. The pair, along with lawyers for Trump, has been working for weeks to identify documents that should be withheld from prosecutors.

The legal teams were facing a deadline of the end of this week to get much of that work complete.

Neither Cohen, Ryan nor Harrison immediately responded to messages today.

Federal prosecutors in New York have publicly said they are investigating alleged fraud in Cohen’s business dealings, but haven’t disclosed details.

When agents searched Cohen’s home, office and safety deposit box and seized his phones this spring, they sought a wide variety of information, including his involvement in arranging a secret $130,000 payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual tryst with Trump years ago.

Cohen has maintained that he’s innocent of wrongdoing, and Trump has called the raid on his lawyer an assault on attorney client privilege.

The news that Cohen was making a switch in his legal representation was first reported by ABC News.

It isn’t unusual for high-profile figures facing potential criminal charges to look for attorneys who have deep experience in the court where the case is expected to be tried, and a track record of negotiating with local prosecutors.

Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who is suing him in an attempt to get the actress released from a confidentiality agreement, gloated over the news in a tweet.

“Not a good look and a disaster for Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump,” he said.

Honolulu police are continuing to search for a male suspect in connection with a shooting in Kailua that left a 39-year-old man with serious injuries.

The shooting occurred at about 10:12 p.m. Monday outside of a Keolu Drive residence in Enchanted Lake. Police said the suspect and victim were involved in an argument over a woman when the suspect shot the victim in one of his legs.

The suspect also shot at the victim’s head, but the bullet grazed his scalp.

Police said the assailant and victim are acquaintances.

The victim was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition.

Police have initiated an attempted murder investigation.

DENVER >> An off-duty FBI agent who investigators say accidentally fired a weapon that fell while he was dancing at a Denver club and wounded another patron in the leg is allowed to travel while out on bond.

Chase Bishop appeared in court today, out of custody after turning himself in Tuesday on a second-degree assault charge. Jail records say Bishop posted bond and was released.

Attorney David Goddard asked that Bishop be allowed to travel because he lives and works in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors did not object.

Police have said Bishop was dancing at a bar on June 2 when a gun fell from his waistband holster. The firearm went off when he picked it up. The patron’s injury was described as serious but non-life-threatening.

Goddard declined further comment.