One man was arrested yesterday in connection with the stabbing death of a 24-year-old man Sunday in downtown Honolulu.

The man, 23, of Lanakila Avenue, was arrested at 11:10 a.m. and booked on one count of second-degree attempted murder. He was being held in the police cellblock at the main police station last night pending charges.

Police believe the man is one of four men who got into an argument with the victim at about 1:30 a.m. at the corner of Pauahi and Bethel streets. A 32-year-old man told police that he attempted to intervene and stop the argument when three of the men began to punch and kick the victim.

One of the men began to drag the victim on the pavement when, police said, another man ran up to the victim and stabbed him. The suspects left before police arrived.

Police last night would not say whether the 23-year-old man was the person who stabbed the victim. He was identified by the witness as one of the four men involved in the fracas, police said.

Police continued to search for the three other suspects, described as in their 20s.

BIG ISLAND

HELCO TURNS TO PU'U'EO FOR POWER

HILO, Hawai'i — Hawaii Electric Light Co. has restarted its oldest power generating facility, the Pu'u'eo Hydroelectric Plant on the Wailuku River north of downtown Hilo.

On Monday HELCO held a blessing for the $3.5 million effort to boost power production at the plant, which historically has produced nearly enough electricity to power 1,000 homes

The Pu'u'eo plant was originally built in 1910, and had two hydro generating units. They were a 750-kilowatt unit installed in 1919, and a 1,500-kilowatt generator put into service in 1941.

Both used the force of 58 million gallons of water flowing down Wailuku River each day to generate electricity.

New equipment will give the plant the capacity to generate almost 2.5 megawatts, or enough electricity to power 2,500 homes, but actual production depends on whether the river is flowing full-force, HELCO said.

$1.34M FOR PHASE 1 OF HIGHWAY WORK

Gov. Linda Lingle has released almost $1.34 million for the first phase of the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway widening project in Kona.

The project will widen a 7.5-mile stretch of the highway from two lanes to four lanes and make various intersection improvements.

The first phase of the project will widen the highway from Henry Street to Kealakehe Parkway. The second phase will widen the highway from Kealakehe Parkway to Keahole Airport.

HONOLULU

KONAN APPROVED BY UH REGENTS

Denise Konan was approved by the Board of Regents yesterday as the interim chancellor of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus. Konan, who has been at the university since 1993, is the first woman to assume the head post at the university's flagship campus.

The regents voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Konan, who garnered strong support from faculty and students.

"One of the things I want to do is work with students on the student experience," said Konan.

Konan is not new to administrative duties, having served for several years as interim assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.

SEWER LINE TO BE CONSTRUCTED

The Queen's Medical Center plans to contract some construction work at the Kapi'olani Boulevard-South King Street and South Beretania-Lauhala Street intersections.

A notification about noise and night work has been filed with the state Department of Health by Nordic Construction.

The work is needed to construct a 6-inch sewer line for a renovation of the Queen\'s Physicians Office Building III (formerly the Honolulu Medical Group Building).

Nordic officials said that the construction would go from 7:30 p.m. to 2 or 3 a.m., but timetable dates have not yet been established for the work.

For questions, call Nordic Construction at 521-6260 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information will be posted online at www.queens.org.

STATEWIDE

LEGAL AID SOCIETY LAUNCHES PROJECT

The Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i launched its Kids Social Security Disability Project to help more families receive benefits for special needs children.

Families with special needs children and low- to moderate-incomes could receive as much as $579 per month in additional income support through the project. The additional income will allow parents to provide their child with quality nutritional and medical care.

For more information, call Legal Aid Society of Hawai\'i at 536-4302, or toll free at (800) 499-4302 on Neighbor Islands.