HANALEI, Kaua'i — Kaua'i Ocean Safety Bureau officials yesterday announced that Hanalei Bay is closed until further notice due to a shark sighting.

Several sharks between 6 and 8 feet long were seen by lifeguards yesterday morning.

The beach will be reopened when it is deemed safe for the public, officials said.

WHALE CARCASS TO BE CUT UP, BURIED

A sperm whale carcass that has been decomposing on a rocky ledge in Kahuku for nearly two weeks is scheduled to be removed today and buried at a site donated by a private landowner mauka of Kamehameha Highway.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service, state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hawai'i Pacific University will oversee the removal and burial operation.

A backhoe and front-end loader will be used to remove the carcass from the ledge. Once that's done, it will be cut into smaller pieces, with some bones to be harvested for research and educational purposes.

SEARCH IS ON FOR ASSAULT SUSPECT

A grand jury warrant has been issued for the arrest of a 28-year-old Big Island man indicted July 10 on multiple counts of sexual assault involving a minor.

Mauro Martin Ortiz is accused of seven counts of first-degree sexual assault, five counts of third-degree sexual assault, and kidnapping. The alleged assaults occurred June 22 in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision of lower Puna.

Police said they believe Ortiz may be in the Kona or South Kohala area. He is 5 feet 6 and about 180 pounds.

Anyone with information can call Detective Alston Kimura at 808-961-2278; the Police Department's nonemergency number at 808-935-3311; or Big Island CrimeStoppers at 808-961-8300 in Hilo or 808-329-8181 in Kona.

MONEY RELEASED FOR HARBOR WORK

Gov. Linda Lingle has released $15 million for improvements to the Ma'alaea Small Boat Harbor and Hana boat ramp on Maui.

"Ongoing investment in the repair and modernization of our small boat harbor infrastructure will ensure the facilities are safe for boaters and commuters and that our fragile marine environment is protected," Lingle said in a news release.

The bulk of the money — $10.2 million — will be spent at Ma'alaea. The money will be used for sewage pump-out and electrical upgrades, and reconstruction of a terminal for the Lana'i and Moloka'i ferries and other harbor infrastructure.

The work is expected to be finished by January 2011.

The rebuilding of the Hana boat ramp and wharf will cost $4.1 million. That work should begin in July and be completed by December 2010.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER INJURED

A construction worker was injured yesterday on a Kapi'olani Boulevard high-rise condo job site.

The man was working on the 10th floor of the Moana Vista condominium tower when he suffered undisclosed injuries about 9:47 a.m. The man was attended to by firefighters and lowered by a crane to the ground. City Emergency Medical Services personnel took him to a hospital in stable condition.

On June 2, a construction worker on the Moana Vista site was killed in an industrial accident.