Hawai'i briefs

Advertiser Staff

3,300 without phone service

Verizon Hawaii said today that 3,300 customers statewide are without phone service because of rain-related problems.

Water from recent heavy showers got into underground cable lines, said Irving, Tex.-based Verizon spokesman Bill Kula. Technicians had to let lines dry out before doing repair work, Kula said.

Verizon expects to have service restored to most customers in the next 24 to 48 hours, said Kula. The majority of the customers affected are on O'ahu. The other problem areas are on Maui and the Big Island.

"We had an inordinate amount of water covering our equipment," Kula said. Fiber optics equipment needs time to dry out before repair work can begin, Kula added.

Man charged in sexual assault

Police yesterday charged a 30-year-old man with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on Nov. 25 at a Wahiawa residence. Bail for Randolph Trevino is $15,000.

Power outages affect 2,000

Separate outages early today left nearly 2,000 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers without power in Kailua and Kaka'ako.

HECO spokesman Jose Dizon said a problem with equipment on a utility pole caused a 4:46 a.m. outage along Keolu Drive in Kailua that affected 1,700 customers. Power was restored at 5:34 a.m.

An underground cable problem, meanwhile, caused a second outage that left 219 customers in the area of Kawaiaha'o, Waimanu and Kamake'e streets with power from 5:31 a.m. to 6:23 a.m., said Dizon.