Kamehameha lane in Pearl City to close
Starting Monday, road crews will shut the right westbound lane on Kamehameha Highway near Acacia Road, fronting Pearl Highlands, for a full week, 24 hours a day.
The closure is needed for rail-related road expansion and concrete bus pad work, according to Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials. For the safety of the workers, the closure will also prohibit drivers heading east on Kamehameha from making U-turns at Acacia.
The lane closure will start Monday morning and end the evening of May 5, HART officials say.
Hilo man accused in robbery of store
A 19-year-old Hilo man was charged Wednesday in a department store robbery.
Police arrested Obed Kuahiwinui Jr. after he and a 15-year-old girl turned themselves in at the Hilo police station Tuesday. Police had issued an alert for two people captured in surveillance images in the robbery.
Kuahiwinui was charged Wednesday with second-degree robbery and fourth-degree theft. His bail was set at $5,250. The girl was arrested and released to her parents without charges.
At 12:09 p.m. April 18, police said, a female patron at a Puainako Street mall was seen leaving a store without paying for an item. After store workers confronted her, a male companion tried to escort them inside the store, then pushed an employee to the ground. The pair then ran away.
Kauai rescue costs $3,560 in overtime, fuel
One of the largest rescue operations recently cost Kauai County $3,560.68 for overtime pay and fuel.
Rescue crews and the Fire Department helicopter evacuated 121 hikers stranded by rising stream waters near Hanakapiai on Kauai’s Na Pali Coast earlier this month.
Firefighters worked over two days, starting April 6, to airlift the hikers across a fast-flowing Hanakapiai Stream.
The amount spent included $2,175.81 in overtime pay for Kauai firefighters and $278.46 for police officers.
The fuel to keep the county’s helicopter in the air was $1,106.41.
The county did not calculate the regular pay of the police and firefighters involved in the rescue.
Sarah Blane, Kauai County spokeswoman, said, "Regular pay was not included in the calculation as on-duty personnel would have been paid regardless of the rescue. Also, costs for pilot time and maintenance of the county’s Air 1 rescue helicopter is included in the current contract with Airborne Aviation."
The Fire Department’s Air 1 helicopter and rescue crews helped 23 hikers across the stream on the afternoon of April 6, before darkness set in. Several children were among those rescued, including an 18-month-old boy and a 12-year-old boy who was swept into swift waters. The boy was able to climb onto rocks from the water and remained there for over four hours until rescuers arrived.
Two rescue specialists stayed overnight with the remaining 98 hikers until first light April 7, when all were flown to safety.
