Akaka well after dehydration
HONOLULU - A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii says he's doing well after being diagnosed with dehydration.
Spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke says Akaka is expected back at work today after his family took him to see a doctor on Saturday. He was diagnosed with dehydration and cleared to fly from Honolulu, where he had been for the past two weeks holding field hearings while the Senate was in recess. Akaka and his wife arrived in Washington, D.C ., on Tuesday.
The 87-year-old Democrat will be retiring when his term ends this year.
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Doctor indicted on drug charges
HONOLULU - A Honolulu psychiatrist is accused of improperly prescribing large quantities of powerful pain medication and other drugs to law enforcement officers.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. Shepard Ginandes. He's charged with 22 counts of distributing methadone, morphine, oxycodone and other drugs outside the course of professional medical practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
The Drug Enforcement Administration says he did not take officers' medical histories, did not require them to fill out any paperwork and did not conduct physical examinations.
The DEA says his office didn't even have an exam room or medical equipment and officers simply had to write down their names, addresses and drugs they were seeking.
His attorney declined to comment.
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State can't fly drone at harbor
HONOLULU - A $75,000 unmanned drone aircraft sits unused in a Honolulu state office.
That's because state Department of Transportation officials never checked to make sure the aircraft could be flown around Honolulu Harbor.
Hawaii News Now reports the state purchased the drone with a $1.4 million federal grant to install high-tech security measures at the harbor, where more than 90 percent of the state's merchandise arrives every year.
The drone was supposed to be used to transmit aerial video of harbor facilities. But state Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl says it turns out the harbor falls within restricted airspace. He says the state made an unfortunate mistake.
The state Harbors Division hopes to partner with another state or county agency that can use the drone for surveillance.
