Main break shuts 2 lanes of road
Advertiser staff
Both westbound lanes of Farrington Highway are expected to be closed until noon today because of a water main break, officials said.
The break in the 16-inch main at Nanakuli Avenue was reported about 2:30 p.m.
Traffic last night was being contraflowed in the makai lanes, with one lane carrying people toward Makaha and the other toward Honolulu.
ROADS PROJECT TO RESTRICT PARKING
The state is banning parking on the 'Ewa side of Pu'uloa Road between Salt Lake Boulevard and Nimitz Highway beginning Thursday because of the Pu'uloa Road improvement project.
Pu'uloa Road from Nimitz Highway to Salt Lake Boulevard will be widened, and for the first time will have proper drainage and lighting, bicycle lanes and sidewalks. A center-divider lane will allow drivers to turn outside the flow of traffic, and designated left turn lanes will be added at busy intersections.
The $18.4 million project is expected to take 22 months to complete.
VOLUNTEERS JOIN SEARCH FOR MAN
More than 100 volunteers joined county and state authorities yesterday in a search on Lana'i for a 77-year-old man suffering from dementia who has not been seen since Friday.
"The island has been blanketed as thoroughly as possible," police Lt. Donald Kanemitsu said yesterday after a nearly 13-hour search effort proved unsuccessful. Yesterday's effort involved Maui police and firefighters and a dog and handlers from the Honolulu Police Department.
The Hawai'i Air National Guard contributed a helicopter and crew to the search.
"Lana'i is a unique community, but it's not unusual for people to come together for something like this," Kanemitsu said of the volunteer support, which included horseback riders, all-terrain vehicles and off-road trucks. "We've double- and triple-checked some areas."
Volunteers assisting the Amaral family plan to resume searching today, Kanemitsu said.
FIRE DAMAGES TWO-STORY HOUSE
A cigarette left burning in the living room probably caused a fire that damaged a two-story house yesterday, a fire official said.
The fire at 99-121 Pamoho Place was reported at 3:55 p.m., and firefighters had it under control at 4:14 p.m., Capt. Kenison Tejada said.
Most of the damage was to the living room, although some downstairs bedrooms suffered smoke damage, Tejada said. Damage was estimated at $20,000 to the building and $20,000 to its contents. No one was hurt, although a resident of the upstairs unit was home and reported the fire.
ROOSEVELT PROJECT FUNDRAISER SLATED
Friends of Roosevelt Project Graduation will hold a Krispy Kreme fundraiser Thursday at two locations — by the Roosevelt High School gym off Mott-Smith Drive and at the Beretania Street Times Supermarket.
Proceeds will go to the school's 2006 Project Graduation, an all-night party that provides students with a safe and drug- and alcohol-free graduation celebration.
Doughnuts will be flown in fresh from Maui at 4 a.m. the day of the sale and sold for $10 a dozen.
For more information, contact Val Yoshikane at rhs grad06@yahoo.com.
BRIDGE REPAIRS TO CLOSE ROAD
HA'IKU — Routine repair work on the Peahi Road bridge in Ha'iku will begin Aug. 8, closing the road for about a month.
In order to replace the wooden columns, the county Department of Public Works and Environmental Management must take the bridge apart and rebuild it. Officials said the structure will not be altered, except for new lumber.
The road will be barricaded on both sides and impassable when the bridge, in a remote area, is taken down. While the road is closed, motorists can access areas up to the bridge from either the Hana Highway entrance to Peahi Road on the Wailuku side, or by way of Ulumalu Road on the Hana side.
POLICE SEEKING ESCAPEE, 19
Police yesterday were looking for a 19-year-old ward of the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility who escaped Saturday. The man was last seen walking to his bedroom after dinner. A guard checking the cells at 7:48 p.m. Saturday noticed the man was gone.
NEIGHBORHOODS GROUP TO MEET
A group opposed to the proliferation of vacation rentals in neighborhoods will hold an organizational meeting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Kailua District Park multipurpose room, 21 S. Kainalu Drive.
Members of Save O'ahu Neighborhoods Hawai'i want to organize and keep hotel-type operations out of residential neighborhoods, said Larry Bartley, a Kailua resident.
For more information, call Bartley at 261-0598 or write him at barteng@hawaii.rr.com.
CAN, BOTTLE DRIVE WILL HELP SCHOOL
Kailua High School's Project Graduation 2007 will have a HI 5¢ can and bottle fundraising drive Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the school's parking lot.
Additional can and bottle drives are scheduled at the school Sept. 3 and Oct. 1.
For more information, write kailua2007@hotmail.com or call 261-1361.
MARINE RESOURCES WILL BE DISCUSSED
A series of public meetings to discuss Hawai'i's marine resources and steps needed to ensure their sustainability is being conducted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources with the state Legislature.Meetings will be held at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Hale'iwa Surf Center, on Wednesday at Wai'anae Library and Thursday at the Kawananakoa Middle School cafeteria.
A meeting in East Maui will be held Aug. 23 at Hana School cafeteria and two on the Big Island — one on Aug. 30 at Hilo High School and the other on Aug. 31 at Kealakehe High School. For more information, call Deborah Ward at 587-0302.
