The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • 1

Weather details, A4 LBSg) smrf Page A3 WORLD: LIVING: I ra. SPORTS: Ken Burns: from 'War' vJv to radio Page B1 VJ hp Ellerson rejoins NV Tomey Paged Yeltsin 'resting' again Page D1 TODAY'S OUTLOOK: Mostly sunny, some afternoon cloudiness NEWS SUMMARY ON PAGE A2 The Advertiser tionoiulu Aloha! Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1992 Final Edition On Oahu 35C Bush's 6OperMioii Domestic Storm Molokai 's one-man tanker truck State of the Union address will urge war on recession 9 life 0J I I President Bush's State of the Union address will be televised: 4 p.m. (live) onKITV-4, KGMB-9, CNN and C-Span. p.m.

(delayed) on KHON TV-2. Comedy Central Oceanic Cable channel 30 also plans to cover the address live. The comedy cable network, which threatened legal action to get pool coverage of the speech, will air commentary from a panel of comedians after the address. fl in By Tom Raum Associated Press WASHINGTON President Bush will use today's State of the Union address for an election-year appeal to Congress to wage the economic equivalent of the Persian Gulf War. Bush is expected to challenge the House and the Senate to approve by early March his program to fight the recession, congressional and administration sources said.

The 9 p.m. EST speech (4 p.m. Hawaii time), dubbed "Operation Domestic Storm" by some advisers, comes with Bush's approval ratings at the lowest point of his presidency. "It will have a great deal of meat in it," presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said. One Bush campaign memo calls the speech the "defining event" of his presidency.

But Democrats and GOP challenger Pat Buchanan already are attacking the president expected "growth package" for not going far enough. Bush is proposing a blend of tax breaks and spending programs to prod the economy and help the economically disadvantaged. The proposals range from tax credits for new home buyers and larger exemptions for families to more money for health and food programs for poor children. 4 More about White House plans for rescuing the economy will come with the release of the president's proposed $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal 1993. The budget was scheduled for release tomorrow, but the Office of Management and Budget said yesterday it would be i JkJfr if i V.

i i. if -4. Si problems." The Washington Post and The New York Times reported in today's editions that Budget Director Richard Darman was rewriting portions of the national health care section of the budget to address concerns of congressional Republicans. The Times said Rep. Bill Gradison, R-Ohio, and other See Bush, Page A2 Advertiser photo by Qrcgory Yamtmoto Molokai firefighter David Auld of the Kaunakakai station turns the tap on Tanker 4, the Island's newest tank truck.

The tanker, one of two in use on Molokai, can be operated by one person. The Kaunakakai and Hoolehua fire stations have two other fire engines. Judge acquits prisoner accused judge: Mehau must prove malice for punitive damages of escape via bogus documents Reed Mehau both were Shigetomi said. Mueller fought extradition when he and Hartsock were arrested in Chicago, and later escaped from authorities there. Shigetomi said someone claiming to be Mueller called him last July to claim responsibility for the forgery.

The caller claimed that Hartsock knew nothing about the documents. The forgery was extremely sophisticated, Shigetomi said, and included accurate faking of the signatures of a judge and a public defender. The forger also convinced a court clerk to validate the document as a "true and correct" copy of a court order that Hartsock be released on By Kevin Dayton Advertiser Capitol Bureau A Circuit Court judge yesterday acquitted a state prison inmate who was accused of escaping from prison in 1990 after someone submitted bogus documents ordering that the inmate be released. Roy Hartsock, 24, was released from the Oahu Commu- hity Correctional Center on Dec. 14, 1990, after skillfully forged documents were submitted to corrections officials announcing there had been a "reconsideration and reduction" of Hartsock's sentence.

Hartsock was later arrested in Chicago with his longtime friend Todd Mueller, who police say they believe faked the documents ordering Hart- Hartsock was brought back to Hawaii in January 1991 to finish a 10-year sentence for robbery and face a new escape charge. But after the prosecution finished its presentation at Hartsock's trial yesterday, Circuit Court Judge Frank Takao ruled there was not enough evidence that Hartsock "intentionally escaped," said Hartsock's attorney, Keith Shigetomi. "All (Hartsock) knew was that someone came and told him he was being released," Shigetomi said. Shigetomi did not have to present the defense in Hartsock's jury trial. Police have said they believe the release papers were fabricated by Mueller, who has known Hartsock since yer, said Watanabe clarified his ruling after yesterday's hearing by indicating he meant Mehau has to prove "regular" malice as required for some kinds of negligence claims, rather than the "actual malice" required under libel law.

The latter would require proving that a false statement was made with reckless disregard for its truth or falsity. Under the "regular" malice standard, Mehau's lawyers will have to prove Reed inflicted emotional distress "intentionally, or with callous disregard for the rights of others," Schutter said. "We have no problem at all in that," Schutter said. "That's something we've always anticipated." Reed disagreed with Schut-ter's remark that Watanabe clarified his decision to indicate that only "regular" standard of malice had to be met. "If so, I missed it," Reed said.

By Kevin Dayton Advertiser Capitol Bureau 'Businessman Larry Mehau must prove state Sen. Rick Reed acted with "actual mah ice" if Mehau wants to collect punitive damages for emotional distress in connection with Reed's 1985 speech alleging Mehau was the "godfather" of Organized crime in, Hawaii, a pircuit Court judge ruled yesterday. Mehau last week dropped his allegation that Reed libeled him, but is still seeking damages for intentional emotional distress and invasion of privacy in connection with the allegation. Mehau, an associate of many Island political and entertainment figures, is a former member of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. Attorney James Bickerton, who is helping Reed defend himself from Mehau's suit, said the ruling by Judge Wilfred Watanabe is important because the emotional distress claim is the last issue left for which Mehau could seek punitive damages.

Reed said the ruling means Mehau must prove Reed's "godfather" remark was that' Reed knew it was false. "I think they have some problems," he said. Reed said the chances that Mehau will win a huge award in the case are "very, very small." David Schutter, Mehau's law sock's release. What's Inside Court orders tuna embargo enforced Ban on 'laundering' of Mexico, Venezuela fish meant to save dolphins 4 sections, 30 pages Ann Landers B4 Classified ads D3-10 Comics C4 Editorials A10 Entertainment, films Global Briefs Dl Horoscope C4 Letters to the editor A11 Lou Boyd C4 Money A 6-9 National news Dl Obituaries D2 People column B2 Television B4 Sports Ci-3 since August 1990, bans U.S. tuna imports from Mexico and Venezuela, which exceed dolphin-kill rates pre scribed by U.S.

law. The dispute yesterday was over a provision of the law that forbids tuna imports from countries that buy tuna from Mexico and Venezuela. Environmental groups call the practice "tuna laundering." Henderson ordered the broader embargo Jan. 10, but agreed to the government's request for a stay to clarify its terms. The government and environmental increases of 5 to 10 cents a can of tuna in two months unless major exporting nations are exempted.

The embargo is required by a U.S. law aimed at protecting dolphins that swim above yellowfin tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Since passage of the law, the U.S. fleet has reduced its annual dolphin kills from 100,000 to 1,000 in two decades, and most other nations also have changed their practices. An order by Chief U.S.

District Judge Thelton Henderson, in effect groups had tried to reach an agreement that would have kept the new embargo from taking full effect until the end of February, giving most countries time to prepare documentation proving they don't buy tuna from Mexico or Venezuela. Henderson earlier had accepted a plan to exempt those 20 to 22 countries. But he rejected that plan yesterday in favor of the full embargo after the government and environmentalists failed to agree on which countries would be included in the smaller group. Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO After a compromise between the government and environmental groups collapsed, a judge yesterday ordered enforcement of a tuna embargo on nations that fail to ban imports from dolphin-killing fleets. The embargo, effective Thursday, would block 53 percent of U.S.

tuna imports, according to a government estimate. An industry group, using the government figures, has predicted price.