Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
EAST HONOLULU
Hillside work set to resume
The second phase of work to shore up the slide-prone mountainside above the Lalea condominiums in Hawai'i Kai will begin this month, according to landowner Kamehameha Schools.
The work is expected to cost $2 million to $3 million and will include installing a multi-layer cable netting system on about five acres of hillside above the central portion of the housing project, which is off Hawai'i Kai Drive.
The project should be complete in about six months.
Installation of the netting should begin in August or September — nine months after two boulders tumbled off the mountain and struck two parked cars and one condominium's second-floor window on Thanksgiving Day.
Kamehameha Schools and the developer, Castle & Cooke Hawai'i Inc., have joined forces to shore up the hillside and pay to house 26 families evacuated from the two Lalea buildings considered most at risk until the work is completed.
The first phase of the rockfall project began on April 3. That work is on schedule and expected to be completed by July 1.
The work entails widening and deepening a 1,000-foot drainage ditch that runs between the Kaluanui hillside and the Lalea property.
CENTRAL O'AHU
Wahiawa nurse talks break off
Negotiations between the union representing 65 nurses and Wahiawa General Hospital broke off last night after more than 13 hours of talks.
The Hawai'i Nurses Association presented management with a "bottom-line" proposal at about 9:30, but the proposal was rejected a half-hour later, according to the nurses union. No new talks have been scheduled.
The nurses last month voted overwhelming to authorize a strike as early as Monday if no settlement is reached. Yesterday's negotiations before a federal mediator were the first since talks broke off April 15.
The nurses said they are seeking a contract that is competitive with other area hospitals. They argued that the pay increases offered by the hospital would be negligible in light of healthcare premium increases.
The 162-bed hospital is the only 24-hour primary and emergency care medical facility between 'Ewa and Kahuku.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Burned body found on Kaua'i
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Kaua'i police are investigating the discovery of a badly burned body in Lawa'i yesterday
The body was found after firefighters extinguished a brush fire at 12:47 p.m. Police said the body was burned beyond recognition. They would not say if the victim was a man or woman, or if foul play is suspected. An autopsy will be performed.
Call Lt. Regina Ventura at 241-1680 or Detective Samuel Sheldon at 241-1688.
Blaze guts Maui food business
WAILUKU, Maui — A fire yesterday gutted a structure at 1234 Lower Main St. in Wailuku, where Tiki Take-Out foods was operating. Maui police estimated damages from the 12:40 a.m. fire at $100,000 to the structure and $50,000 to contents.
Arrest made in highway death
HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island police on Tuesday arrested a 47-year-old Hamakua man on suspicion of drunken driving after his vehicle allegedly struck and killed a man walking on Mamalahoa Highway near Tex Drive-In and Restaurant in Honoka'a at 2:30 a.m. The victim was identified by police as Johnelle William Alfonso, 55.
Woman booked in alleged attack
HILO, Hawai'i — Police said they arrested a 32-year-old North Kohala woman Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter for allegedly driving an SUV at a man, causing him to fall and strike his head on the ground. The man later died.
Two tikis stolen from warehouse
KAILUA, KONA, Hawai'i — Police are seeking the public's help in locating two large tikis stolen from a lumber warehouse in Kainaliu, North Kona.
One 7-foot tiki and a 6-foot tiki were removed from a Shojin Lumber Company warehouse, police said. The thefts were reported Sunday afternoon.
The unfinished, hand-carved tikis were reported to be heavy, and carrying them away might have required several people, police said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call officer Marjorieann Santos of at (808) 326-4208, police non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 329-8181 in Kona or (808) 961-8300 in Hilo.
Program open to students
HILO, Hawai'i — Kamehameha Schools' new summer boarding program for Big Island youngsters who are completing the sixth grade is accepting applications until tomorrow.
The program, open to students who do not attend Kamehameha Schools, features field trips and hands-on activities as well as visits to culture and research centers.
Weeklong sessions run from June 15 to July 26. The fee is $125 per session. Aid is available. Call (808) 322-5400 in West Hawai'i, (808) 935-0889 in East Hawai'i or 842-8761 on O'ahu.
