Human-trafficking suspect released

The chief executive of a company accused in a human trafficking case in Hawaii will be released on bond but must stay at a halfway house in Honolulu, U.S. District Judge Susan Mollway decided yesterday.

Mordechai Orian of Global Horizons Manpower Inc. had been in federal custody since last month after he was indicted along with five associates in an alleged forced-labor scheme that victimized 900 Thai workers at farms in Hawaii and the mainland.

For his release, Orian was allowed to post a reduced bond of $250,000, down from $1 million initially proposed.

Federal prosecutors wanted him to be held without bail, as they considered him a flight risk. Orian will be monitored by federal agents. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 23.

Safe disposal of drugs

Residents will have a chance to turn in unused or expired prescription drugs for anonymous disposal when the Hawaii Drug Take-Back Program sets up at Longs Drugs in the Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. To date, the program has collected more than 190 pounds of drugs. Information is available at hawaii.gov/ag or 837-8470.

Kaaawa school closure is scrapped

Kaaawa Elementary School will remain open.

The Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to scrap a consolidation plan for the 150-student campus.

Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and a consolidation task force also opposed closing the school.

"We’re delighted," said Brian Walsh, Kaaawa’s School Community Council chairman. "This is the end of a long process. It’s been going on for over a year and a half."

Kaaawa was one of a number of schools the Department of Education was eyeing for closure as a way to save money.

But so far, only two schools studied for consolidation have been closed.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Councilman fuming over leaky roof

HILO » Hawaii County Councilman Dominic Yagong says he can’t believe the roof of the county building is leaking after a $27 million renovation.

The building on Aupuni Street in Hilo was reopened last October.

Yagong says the county needs stronger control over its contracts to ensure work is done properly and that costs do not escalate. He said, "It’s imperative that the county get its money’s worth."

County Public Works Director Warren Lee told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that the new roof will not be accepted as "complete" until the leak issue is resolved. Only then will the 10-year warranty begin.