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County/In Brief

Prince Kuhio Day closings announced

Public schools along with state and county offices will be closed Monday in observance of the Prince Kuhio Day holiday.

Residential trash pickup will not be affected.

The Hana and Lanai landfills and the Molokai Landfill and Recycling will be closed.

Central Maui Landfill and EKO Compost Greenwaste will be open from 6 a.m. to noon. Olowalu Recycling will be open from 8 a.m. to noon.

All public libraries will be closed. In addition, the Kahului, Kihei and Lahaina libraries will also be closed on Tuesday.

The Maui News business offices will be open.

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Homeless man to get mental testing

A homeless man charged with biting off the tip of a security guard’s finger last month will be examined by three psychiatrists or psychologists to determine whether he is mentally fit to proceed with his case.

The examinations also will determine whether Alex Hand, 30, was able to understand the wrongfulness of his conduct and assess his dangerousness.

Second Circuit Judge Richard Bissen granted a defense request for the mental examinations Wednesday and suspended court proceedings for Hand pending the outcome of the examinations.

He is charged with first-degree assault of the 41-year-old security guard, who was trying to get Hand to leave Wendy’s at the Maui Mall when she was bitten at about 9 p.m. Feb. 20.

In seeking the mental examination for Hand, Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears said a police report on the incident says Hand “appeared to be talking to himself” that day.

She said Hand is expected to be transferred from the Maui Community Correctional Center to the Oahu Community Correctional Center’s psychiatric unit.

A June 21 return date was set for Hand.

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Fitness hearing set for murder suspect

With the prosecution objecting to a defense request to find murder suspect Stephen B. Schmidt mentally unfit to proceed, a court hearing on his fitness was set for next month.

Schmidt, 45, is charged with first-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife, 24-year-old Kehau Farias Schmidt, in the Foodland Kehalani store on April 19.

Schmidt also is charged with attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree terroristic threatening of bystanders who were injured when they tried to help Farias Schmidt.

During a hearing last month, Schmidt’s attorney said two of the three psychiatrists or psychologists who examined Schmidt concluded he was unfit for trial. The third examiner couldn’t come to a conclusion about Schmidt’s mental fitness because Schmidt urinated on himself to end the interview, his attorney said.

In court Wednesday, defense attorney Chris Dunn asked the judge to accept the doctors’ reports, find Schmidt unfit to proceed to trial and commit him to the Hawaii State Hospital.

Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Martin opposed the defense request, saying there wasn’t enough evidence in the reports to support that finding.

Martin asked for a four-week delay in the hearing to review about 600 pages of documents that were turned over to attorneys Tuesday afternoon. The documents had been provided to the three doctors who examined Schmidt.

Second Circuit Judge Richard Bissen set another hearing for April 19.

Schmidt is being held without bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

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Mayor to present his budget Friday

Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa will present his fiscal year 2018 budget to the Maui County Council at 9 a.m. Friday in Council Chambers.

The budget proposal runs from July 1 to June 30, 2018. Under the County Charter, the mayor had to submit his budget to the council by Saturday. The council will review and change the proposal and has a June 10 deadline to approve a budget. If it fails to meet the deadline, the mayor’s proposal takes effect.

The event is open to the public but space in the chambers, on the 8th floor of the Kalana O Maui building, is limited. Akaku Maui Community Media will broadcast the presentation on Channel 53.

For more information, call the mayor’s office at 270-7855.

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Summer Fun Guide deadline is coming

The Maui News will be publishing a Summer Fun Guide of activities for children and teens on April 9.

To have an activity included in the guide, submit the following information:

• Name of program and for what ages.

• Sponsoring organization or business.

• Program times and dates.

• Location of the program.

• Description of program.

• Cost of the program.

• Contact information.

The deadline to submit information is noon March 31. Year-round programs will not be accepted for the guide.

Information may be emailed to Leah Sherman at lsherman@mauinews.com, faxed to 242-9087 or mailed to Summer Fun Guide, The Maui News, 100 Mahalani St., Wailuku 96793.

Photos may be submitted for use on a space-available basis. Shots of people doing things are preferable; group shots are unlikely to be used. Photos may be emailed in tif, jpg or eps formats with a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Individuals in photos must by identified by first and last name.

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