FIRST HAWAIIAN BRANCH HELD UP

A man robbed the Chinatown branch of First Hawaiian Bank yesterday, police said.

The robber entered the bank at 2 N. King St. about 12:05 p.m. and handed a teller a note demanding money. After receiving an undisclosed sum, he left on foot heading mauka on Nu'uanu Avenue, police said.

He was described as 20 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. He had a black mustache and goatee. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a Lion King design, black jeans and a beige baseball cap.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or *CRIME on a cell phone. Free cell calls are provided by AT&T, Nextel Hawaii, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless Hawaii.

MAN FOUND DEAD IN KAUA'I STREAM

The body of a 51-year-old man with no permanent address was found in a stream next to 'Anini Beach Park on Kaua'i Sunday morning.

Passers-by found Floyd Pettus-Spradlin face-down in a stream and called police. Paramedics, police and fire personnel responded to the 7:30 a.m. call.

Foul play is not suspected. The cause of death is pending autopsy results.

FERRY TASK FORCE OFFERS NO VIEWS

A task force monitoring Hawaii Superferry, in its first report to the state Legislature, made no determination on whether the conditions imposed on ferry service to protect the environment are working.

The 13-member task force held its first meeting Dec. 14 to organize.

Members also watched a Superferry arrival at Honolulu Harbor and toured the Alakai.

At its January meeting, the task force is expected to hear from the port captain on harbor security issues and from Belt Collins, the firm hired by the state to perform an environmental impact statement and direct a rapid-risk assessment team for Superferry.

The task force is expected to monitor Superferry operations and file monthly reports to the Legislature. Lawmakers can use the reports to help decide whether the conditions are effective and whether to add more conditions.

The task force includes state and Superferry officials and environmental and cultural experts.

Hawaii Superferry reported that its lookouts spotted an average of 10 to 12 whales on each O'ahu-to-Maui roundtrip during the high-speed boat's first eight days of service last month.

Terry O'Halloran, the company's director of business development, said the ship was able to change course and avoid the whales each time.

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