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Man is indicted on child porn charges
A federal grand jury indicted a Pearl City man Thursday on child pornography charges.
Ray K. Yokoyama, 52, is accused of producing child pornography twice in 2009, distributing child pornography through an Internet file-sharing network in July 2012 and possessing child pornography in January, U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni said in a news release.
The FBI began an investigation after an undercover agent in Dallas downloaded pornography from a computer in Hawaii.
Agents traced the Internet protocol address to Yokoyama’s Pearl City home, where they recovered computer storage media, including a disk with images of a boy engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The grand jury indicted Yokoyama on two charges of producing child pornography, one charge of distributing child pornography and one charge of possession of pornographic images, including those of a child younger than 12, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Yokoyama has been in federal custody since his Jan. 18 arrest.
He was convicted in 1984 of impersonating a peace officer and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His parole was revoked in 1993 for parole violation.
Kona wind to bring weekend vog, humidity
Expect warm, voggy Kona weather to return this weekend, National Weather Service forecasters say.
But there is only a small chance of rain for the Punahou Carnival, which runs today and Saturday.
"It’s going to be a lot drier than last weekend," said Maureen Ballard, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
Forecasters predict a 20 percent chance of rain today and Saturday, when the winds will shift from the usual northeast trades to humid Kona winds from the southeast.
The southerly winds could bring some humidity and vog from Kilauea volcano Saturday into Sunday and cause isolated afternoon showers in leeward areas.
"On Saturday the winds will start to get lighter, but you’ll notice it (vog) more on Sunday than Saturday," Ballard said. "It will be short lived."
Tradewinds should return Sunday night.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Travel company to pay $77,500 to settle lawsuit
Kintetsu International Express Inc. has agreed to pay $77,500 to settle a disability lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission announced Wednesday.
The agency had charged the travel services company with harassment and discrimination against Yuko Lesher, a Maui tour coordinator with rheumatoid arthritis. Lesher worked for Kintetsu in 2005 and 2006.
The EEOC said a supervisor made disparaging remarks because Lesher walked with a limp and that the supervisor would not schedule her to work after she had had surgery until human resources intervened. The agency also accuses the company of retaliating against one of Lesher’s co-workers.
Kintetsu has agreed to monitoring of its compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Hearing to focus on 200K acres for habitats
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public hearing Feb. 21 on a proposal to designate or amend designation of more than 200,000 acres in Maui County as critical habitats for 135 animal and plant species.
Habitat would be designated on all islands in the county: Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.
The meeting will be held at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center on Mokulele Highway in Kihei. An informational meeting will be held from 3 to 5 p.m., with the public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m.
Copies of the proposed rule and the analysis can be downloaded from www.fws.gov/pacificislands. For more information, call Loyal Mehrhoff of the Fish and Wildlife Service at 792-9400.
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