Fire aftermath keeps 9 businesses closed

Five Makai Market Food Court eateries and four retail shops remained closed Friday, a day after a wok fire at the Panda Express restaurant shut down nearly the entire Ewa-makai section of Ala Moana Center.

Still closed were Hibachi-San, Yummy Korean BBQ, Soba-ya, Sbarro and Panda Express.

Papyrus, Bag ‘n Baggage, American Eagle Outfitters and Aeropostale were the second- and third-floor merchants still closed.

The fire broke out at about 10:20 a.m. Thursday when an unattended wok ignited a fire in the kitchen of Panda Express at the Ewa end of the food court, which houses 30 restaurants. A woman working in the kitchen sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized. Water and smoke damage spread to second- and third-floor shops when smoke and heat from the initial fire spread into an exhaust duct.

Nearly 50 restaurants and shops were closed, but most were reopened by late afternoon.

No damage estimates have been given.

Lihue Airport odor source unexplained

The cause of an odor that sickened 11 airport security workers Thursday and forced the temporary closure of Lihue Airport remains a mystery, a state Department of Transportation spokesman said Friday.

A hazardous materials crew from the Kauai County Fire Department investigated but could not find the odor’s cause, said Transportation Department spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.

He said the odor was noticed near the central security checkpoint at Lihue Airport at about 6 p.m. Eleven workers with the Transportation Security Administration felt sickened by the noxious odor, but they were all cleared by paramedics at the scene, he said.

As a precaution, 10 of them were also checked out at a hospital and released.

Roads leading to the airport were closed briefly while emergency crews investigated. Two flights were slightly delayed.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Water board gives OK to 11.2% rate hike

The Kauai Board of Water Supply approved Friday a proposed 11.2 percent annual rate increase for about 20,000 customers through 2014.

The proposal will now go to the Small Business Regulatory Review Board for consideration. After the review, a public hearing will held before a final decision is made.

The new rates would fund the operation and maintenance of aging waterlines, the agency said.

"There are in excess of $500 million of projects yet to be completed," county Department of Water Deputy Manager William Eddy said in a news release. The proposed increase would generate $4 million to $7 million a year over the next five years to fund projects, he said.

The board also approved a proposal to change the department’s billing cycle from bimonthly to monthly, starting next year.

Motorcyclist dies in crash with minivan

A 25-year-old Lahaina man died Thursday night after the motorcycle he was driving crashed into a minivan in Kaanapali.

Maui police said Jesse Grafft was fatally injured at 10:51 p.m. when his motorcycle collided with a minivan that was turning left from Honoapiilani Highway onto Kaanapali Parkway. Grafft was not wearing a helmet.

Two passengers in the minivan suffered minor injuries and were treated at the crash scene.

It was Maui County’s 18th traffic fatality of 2011, compared with 11 at the same time last year.