Fallen tree leads to Kalanianaole closure
Police reopened the town-bound lanes of Kalanianaole Highway near Kapaa Quarry Road following a 61⁄2-hour closure Friday due to a fallen tree.
The massive banyan tree, estimated at 40 to 50 feet tall, fell at 12:48 p.m, prompting police to divert all town-bound traffic onto Kapaa Quarry Road. Kailua-bound traffic was initially limited to one shoulder lane.
Department of Transportation Highways Division maintenance crews spent the afternoon removing the tree and associated debris from the roadway.
The town-bound lanes were finally reopened at about 7:30 p.m.
Hee might run for lieutenant governor
State Sen. Clayton Hee has scheduled an announcement for Sunday at Iolani Palace on a bid for office.
Sources say the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee will challenge Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui in the Democratic primary.
Hee has served in the state Senate since 2004. He previously served in the Senate in the 1980s. He also served as trustee for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and in the state House.
Hee made unsuccessful bids for lieutenant governor in 2002 and for Congress in 2006.
Tsutsui, a former state Senate president, became lieutenant governor in 2012 after Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed then-Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz to the U.S. Senate to replace the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.
Hanauma Bay lectures will resume
The Hanauma Bay Educational Lecture Series will resume at 3 p.m. Sunday, city officials said.
The featured speaker will be Amarisa Marie, a biologist with the Oahu Offshore Island State Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Free and open to the public, the lecture series is held at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve classroom at 100 Hanauma Bay Road.
The lectures previously took place Thursday nights but were halted about a month ago by city officials after participants raised safety concerns about dim lighting in the parking lot during evening hours.
Many of the lights, which were installed in 2002, have corroded and stopped working. But because the original manufacturer is no longer making replacement parts, the lights cannot be easily fixed, city officials said.
For additional information about the lecture series, contact the Hanauma Bay Education office at 397-5840 or the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve office at 395-2211.
