Downed pole briefly cuts power
Hawaiian Electric Co. crews restored power to 2,300 customers after a car hit a utility pole in Palolo early Thursday morning, a HECO spokesman said.
The accident happened on Kiwila Street near 10th Avenue at about 3:45 a.m., closing the street for several hours while crews replaced the downed utility pole.
Police said the driver of the vehicle fled the scene. However, police have a license plate number that they are investigating.
Power was restored to all customers by 7:20 a.m., the spokesman said.
Balcony fall injures toddler
An 18-month-old girl was critically hurt today after she fell off a balcony in Makiki.
Police said the incident happened in the 1300 block of Dominis Street.
An Emergency Medical Services supervisor said the girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition at about 5:20 p.m. Radio communications said she fell about 30 feet.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Neighbor isles get bus funds
The neighbor islands will receive $3.44 million to buy new county buses, Hawaii’s congressional delegation announced Thursday.
The money comes from the fiscal year 2012 State of Good Repair Program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Kauai County will get $1.24 million; Hawaii County, $1.2 million; and Maui County, $1 million, the lawmakers said. Honolulu will get $5 million.
"The county bus systems provide our residents and visitors with a safe and reliable form of transportation that improves access to work and leisure activities, especially on the neighbor islands, and we must maintain and refurbish our fleet whenever possible," U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said in a statement.
"This money could not come at a better time," Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said in a separate statement. "Our Maui bus system has become so popular that buses have to leave people behind because we don’t have enough room for everyone."
County Building open for tours
Kauai County and the Kaua‘i Historical Society are offering free guided walking tours of the County Building in commemoration of the building’s centennial.
Tours will be at 10 a.m. on the first Friday of every month for the rest of the year.
The tour begins on the front steps and will take visitors on a walk through time, beginning when the property was acquired in 1912. The building reopened last fall after a 16-month, $4.8 million renovation.
Tours are free and take about an hour. For more information, call 241-4188.
