Date of Pflueger trial to be decided today

A state judge is scheduled today to set the date for retired auto dealer James Pflueger’s trial on seven counts of manslaughter for each of the seven people swept to their deaths when the Ka Loko dam breached on Kauai seven years ago.

Kauai Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano’s hearing was initially for a plea agreement between state prosecutors and Pflueger, but the court file said this week the hearing is now for the setting of a trial date.

The trial had been taken off the calendar pending the outcome of plea negotiations, which apparently did not result in a deal.

Pflueger, 87, is accused of filling the dam’s safety valve spillway and disregarding the risk that the dam might break and kill people. The dam breached in March 2006 and sent hundreds of millions of gallons of water from the Ka Loko reservoir downstream to Kauai’s North Shore.

Water outage set in Hanalei

Kauai officials say a water outage is scheduled in Hanalei on April 25 for system improvements.

The outage will take place from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Contractors of MEI Corp. will connect a new waterline to the existing system as part of the Department of Water’s long-term plan to repair or replace the aging infrastructure.

Hanalei and Waipa customers from Ohiki Road to Waikoko will be affected. The department will provide portable water tanks at Waioli Park and near the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant during the outage. Customers will need to bring their own water containers.