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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, March 9, 2002

Hawai'i briefs

Advertiser Staff

Sewage spill said largest in years

Repair work is expected to be completed tomorrow on a 36-inch sewer line that ruptured near Ke'ehi Lagoon and spilled an estimated 3 million gallons of sewage over 15 hours.

The spill was described as "significant" and one of the largest in years, said city Environmental Services director Tim Steinberger.

The break was reported at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in a pressurized concrete sewer line leading from the Kamehameha Highway pump station to the Sand Island Sewage Treatment Plant. Crews worked through the night and used 19 tanker trucks to pump the wastewater in an attempt to prevent it from entering the ocean.

The spill was stopped at 5:30 a.m. yesterday.


Bankruptcy fraud charges upheld

Federal Judge David Ezra yesterday rejected a bid by former Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey to have bankruptcy fraud and money laundering charges against her dismissed.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Lindsey's lawyers argued that the five-year statute of limitations on Lindsey's alleged illegal activities had expired and an indictment issued against her on Dec. 26, 2000, should be dismissed.

But Ezra ruled that the offenses cited in the indictment against Lindsey were alleged to have taken place for a final time between Dec. 27, 1995, and Feb. 13, 1996, and that the indictment was issued within the five-year period, if only by a day in some cases.

Lokelani Lindsey is scheduled to go on trial in Las Vegas on March 25. Her sister, Marlene Lindsey, has pleaded guilty to reduced charges and has agreed to testify against her sister. They are accused of conspiring to hide more than $100,000 from court officials when Marlene Lindsey filed for bankruptcy in 1995.


Harris' campaign seeks to join suit

Mayor Jeremy Harris' campaign committee is seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by Harris supporter Lex Smith to challenge certain campaign contribution limits for the November governor's race.

The campaign filed court papers to support Smith's request for an injunction to bar the state Campaign Spending Commission from counting contributions made to Harris' 2000 re-election campaign toward the $6,000 per-donor limit for gubernatorial campaigns.

Harris plans to step down from the mayor's office in July to run for governor as a Democrat, and Smith says the limits unfairly restrict free speech.