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HILO >> No sublease payments will be made for a proposed giant telescope on Mauna Kea while the agreement goes to a contested case hearing.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory and University of Hawaii at Hilo agreed to defer payments under a $1.1 million sublease for the land.
Spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the two sides agreed to defer payments after a judge decided in December that the Board of Land and Natural Resources should have granted a request for a contested case hearing.
Hilo resident Kalani Flores had asked for a hearing in 2014 before the board gave its consent to the sublease.
Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said the state will appeal the judge’s decision.
Another contested case hearing deals with permitting for the $1.4 billion project.
Woman crashes car into store
An employee at an appliance store on Maui suffered broken fingers and bruised legs Saturday when a Toyota sedan crashed through the glass front door.
The saleswoman was alone in the Kahului showroom, working at a desk, when she saw the vehicle smash in, the Maui News reported.
“She jumped out of her seat and moved to the side,” said Clyde Hamai, store owner and president.
Still, the Kahului woman was hurt when she was pinned among the desks, he said.
Hamai, his wife and other employees were in the building but not in the showroom, he said.
Normally, there would be five people at desks in the office area, he said. And just 15 minutes earlier the showroom was full of customers.
Hamai said he wasn’t sure why the driver, an elderly woman and faithful customer, crashed into the store.
“Maybe she thought she was hitting the brakes and hit the gas,” he said.
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