In brief: Songwriter’s son charged in killing

New York – An Oscar-winning songwriter’s son was having trouble accepting his breakup with his swimsuit designer girlfriend, prosecutors said Saturday as he was charged with trying to kill her at a swanky New York City hotel.

Nicholas Brooks, 24, was ordered held without bail during his initial court appearance where he was charged with attempted murder and strangulation in the investigation surrounding Sylvie Cachay’s death.

Cachay, 33, was discovered, half-clothed and face up, in a tub at the Soho House hotel around 3 a.m. Thursday, after water began leaking through to the floor below. Police say Cachay’s death has been ruled a homicide, and the medical examiner’s office is awaiting toxicology test results to determine the cause.

Brooks is the son of Joseph Brooks, who won an Academy Award for best original song for the 1977 ballad “You Light Up My Life.”

Symphony plans to seek liquidation

Honolulu – The 110-year-old Honolulu Symphony is preparing to sound its own death knell.

Lawyers are set to appear Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to ask a judge to convert the symphony’s Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

The symphony’s board of directors voted unanimously Thursday to convert the filing.

The Honolulu Symphony has been operating under Chapter 11 protection for about a year after canceling all of its concerts.