A 16-year-old boy was arrested yesterday on suspicion of trying to detonate a pipe bomb at Farrington High School.

Witnesses reported seeing the student attempt to light a fuse at 11:11 a.m. The boy was arrested as a juvenile for first-degree terroristic threatening, questioned and then released pending further investigation.

Police recovered the pipe bomb and said it was powerful enough to cause death or serious injury.

Waikiki assault suspect charged

Police yesterday charged 38-year-old William Jackson Barnes with first-degree assault and unauthorized control of a vehicle stemming from the ramming of a police car Jan. 4 in Waikiki.

Prosecutors are seeking $125,000 bail for the two felony counts and $25,000 bail for an additional charge of second-degree possession of a dangerous drug related to Barnes' arrest Wednesday in Pauoa. A felon with 16 prior convictions, Barnes is being held on warrants for parole violation and contempt of court.

On Jan. 4, a patrol officer stopped Barnes in Waikiki for driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street. As the officer approached Barnes' car, the suspect allegedly backed the vehicle at a high speed into a second police car and fled the scene. At the time, Barnes was driving a stolen car, police said.

Canal dredging slowed by wind

Dredging of the Ala Wai Canal was slowed this week when high winds caused choppy conditions on the ocean, preventing barges filled with sediment from being towed to the dumping site 3.8 miles offshore.

Neil Williams, project manager for contractor American Marine Corp., said it was just too windy to operate them without losing material out of the scow, so the company halted operations Wednesday.

"We decided it was just too rough and decided to stand down," Williams said.

Williams said the dump scows resumed work yesterday, but then a pipe broke on the barge-mounted crane and hydraulic clam bucket that scoops materials and dumps them into a scow. Operations are stalled until it can be fixed, but that was expected to be completed quickly, he said.

American Marine Corp. was awarded the contract last year to remove 170,000 cubic yards of sediment and to dredge the canal to a depth of 6 to 12 feet. Work along the two-mile canal is expected to be completed within a year.