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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, March 21, 2009

HAWAII BRIEFS
Woman critical after Maui crash

Advertiser Staff

KAHULUI, Maui — An 89-year-old Kahului woman was in critical condition following a two-car crash yesterday at the intersection of Hina and Kamehameha avenues in Kahului.

Police said the collision occurred shortly after 8:30 a.m. and involved a 1999 Hyundai sedan and a 1993 Ford Explorer.

The woman, a passenger in the Explorer, suffered serious injuries when she was partially thrown from the vehicle, police said. She was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

The 55-year-old Kula woman who was driving the Explorer suffered minor injuries, and the 59-year-old Kahului man who was behind the wheel of the Hyundai was not hurt.



STATE WORKING ON FERRY-RELATED EIS

The state Department of Transportation said it could take an extra four to six months to complete an environmental impact statement on Hawaii Superferry-related harbor improvements under the state's primary environmental review law.

The state will attempt to use as much of the data as possible from a $1.5 million environmental review that was part of the law struck down as unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court on Monday.

Belt Collins, a state contractor, had finished the draft of the review and was expected to complete the work by this summer, when the law was scheduled to expire.

Brennon Morioka, director of the state Department of Transportation, has said the new document could be used by Superferry or another ferry company interested in providing ferry service in the Islands.

Hawaii Superferry announced Thursday that it was seeking new commercial or military options for the Alakai after ceasing operations in Hawai'i because of the court ruling.

The state has invested $40 million in harbor improvements for the project.



SOPHOMORES WIN IN SONG CONTEST

The sophomores won the combined class award and the junior girls won three of the six categories last night at the 89th Kamehameha Schools Song Contest at the Blaisdell Arena.

The sophomore girls and boys together sang "Ku'u Ipo Pua Rose" and won the Charles E. King Cup for best combined class performance.

The senior boys, who sang "Iesu Me Ke Kanaka Waiwai," won the Helen Desha Beamer Award for best musical performance and the George Alanson Andrus Cup for best boys performance.

The junior girls, who sang "Lovely Sunrise Haleakala," won the New England Mothers' Cup for best girls performance, the Richard Lyman Jr. Trophy for best use of the Hawaiian language in a song, and song director C. Kacai'ohelo McAfee-Torco won the Louise Aoe McGregor Award for outstanding student director.

All of the competition songs were by the late musician and composer John Kameaaloha Almeida, and the event was dedicated to his work.



BOX JELLYFISH CLOSE HANAUMA BAY

Hanauma Bay was closed yesterday because of a high influx of box jellyfish, the city said.

In less than an hour, lifeguards spotted more than 40 box jellyfish on the beach and countless more in nearshore waters.

Bryan Cheplic, city emergency services spokesman, said only small numbers of box jellyfish were reported in Waikiki and Ala Moana, and those beaches remained open.

Officials will reassess the situation at Hanauma Bay this morning to determine if it will be reopened to the public.



WASTEWATER FLOWS INTO DRAIN

About 13,000 gallons of untreated wastewater overflowed from the Aliamanu Pump Station No. 1 on Salt Lake Boulevard into a storm drain Thursday night, the city said.

The overflow was caused by a broken flow cable.

The city said the storm drain where the wastewater overflowed empties into the Navy-Marine Golf Course Driving Range.

The overflow happened about 6:43 p.m., and pumps at the station were manually turned off about 7:40 p.m. The cable was then repaired.