Items from protesters sweep fill city storage site

The city’s Halawa base yard storage facility now houses 58 large sealed recycling bins, including 16 picked up at Thomas Square on Thursday, containing personal property from homeless campers and Occupy Hono­lulu protesters under a new city ordinance forbidding storage of personal items on government property.

The first batch of 20 bins was gathered Jan. 10 from the South King Street site fronting Old Stadium Park, Isenberg Street near Moiliili Field and Pawaa Park area. The city is required to store these impounded personal items for 30 days. The confiscated items cannot be relocated to another area, and if unclaimed will be auctioned off or destroyed.

Louise Kim McCoy, city spokes­woman, said there is no rush to dispose of the first batch of impounded items.

She said officials from the Department of Facility Maintenance are working with the Department of Environmental Services on how the items will be disposed of after 30 days.

So far, two people have gone to Halawa to claim their confiscated items.

The base yard also stores 12 bins holding personal property from homeless camps cleared from Iwilei Road and Kuwili Street on Jan. 19. Twenty-eight green recycling bins were filled with confiscated items during Thursday’s sweep of Thomas Square, Young Street, Nuuanu Stream, Aala and Beretania streets and Young Street in McCully and taken to Halawa.

Meanwhile, 10 Occupy Honolulu protesters returned Thursday night to Thomas Square after city officials cleared away four tents and other items belong to protesters.

They spent the night camping along South Beretania Street, defying city officials who warned them against rebuilding the campsite they established in November.

Madori Rumpungworn, who has been living at Thomas Square for the past three months, said she and several others are waiting to see what city officials do next.

"They want to tango," said the Ewa Beach resident and former Leeward Community College student, "two can tango."

At 7 a.m. Friday she and two other protesters sat on the South Beretania Street sidewalk where they had spent the night. Nearby other protesters slept in three tents. By midmorning the protesters had voluntarily taken down their tents.

City officials have told the protesters that they could continue to hold signs and pass out literature, but that tents or other items left on the sidewalk would be confiscated.

On Thursday police arrested protester Lucas Miller, 29, of Makiki and cited him with obstruction of a government operation — a misdemeanor. Miller, a teacher, was arrested after sitting in his tent, holding it while dancing in the park and the street and finally blocking the city workers from loading up their backhoe.

"He was given several commands, instructions and orders to leave the park, relinquish his tent, which he failed to do," Sgt. Lawrence Santos said. "Unfortunately, one person was arrested. If he simply complied, there would have been no arrest."

Miller was also one of the eight Occupy Hono­lulu protesters arrested Nov. 5 for being in the park after 10 p.m. Those protesters go before a District Court judge Wednesday.

HawaiiNewsNow » Occupy Honolulu protesters return after eviction