A 54-year-old Waipahu man was extradited yesterday to Orange County, Calif., to stand trial for the 1987 murder for hire and rape of a 20-year-old woman.

Richard Curtis Morris Jr. was arrested Monday at O'ahu Circuit Court on a California warrant. Authorities said he was tracked down in Hawai'i with the help of a national cold-case database.

Morris' criminal record in Hawai'i includes a felony conviction for repeatedly operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and four petty misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence.

SINGLE-CAR CRASH VICTIM IDENTIFIED

The Honolulu medical examiner's office identified the man killed Tuesday in a single-car crash in Pacific Palisades as Yoshio Tamashiro, 82.

Tamashiro died of chest injuries suffered in the accident, the medical examiner said.

Tamashiro was alone in a 1994 Mercury Sable which apparently rolled downhill from the driveway of his Pacific Palisades home without power, making it difficult for him to steer or brake. The car hit a utility pole at 'Auhuhu Street near Komo Mai Drive.

HEE ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION BID

State Sen. Clayton Hee announced yesterday that he is running for re-election in Senate District 23, which extends from Kane'ohe to Kahuku.

Hee, who was elected in 2004, is a teacher and former state representative, state senator and trustee with the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs. He is chairman of the Senate Water and Land Committee.

"It's been a privilege to represent and promote the issues of importance to residents of Windward O'ahu, where I was raised and have lived most of my life," Hee said in a statement. "Concerns such as traffic management, quality education and protection of our windward way of life need constant vigilance and I would be honored to continue to do my best in providing that on a state level."

5 TO STAND TRIAL IN SURFER'S DEATH

A San Diego judge has ordered five men to stand trial in the beating death of Emery Kauanui Jr., a professional surfer from Kaua'i.

Prosecutors say the men followed Kauanui home after a disagreement over a spilled drink at a nearby bar. Kauanui, 24, died on May 28, 2007, five days after he was found beaten in front of his mother's La Jolla home.

Seth Cravens, Eric House, Orlando Osuna, Matthew Yanke and Henri Hendricks are facing murder and assault charges.

KOLEKOLE PASS REMAINS CLOSED

Kolekole Pass, a military-only access road, will remain closed through today while crews secure a rockslide area on the Lualualei side of the passage.

Navy official Grace Hew Len said the rockfalls have created waterfalls in some areas on the Navy side of the pass. Workers have removed basketball-sized rocks.

The pass, which links Schofield Barracks in central O'ahu to the Lualualei Naval Reservation on the Wai'anae Coast, was closed Wednesday because of the rockslide. No one was hurt.

MAN CHARGED WITH 37 SEX ASSAULTS

A Wai'anae man was charged with 37 counts of sexual assault in an indictment returned this week by an O'ahu grand jury.

John Daniel Kenn, 54, is accused of 10 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 15 counts of second-degree sexual assault, nine counts of third-degree sexual assault and three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.

Authorities say Kenn committed the assaults against a female over a 10-year period. Kenn's bail was set at $200,000.