Woman indicted in death of pedestrian
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging a 71-year-old Kailua woman with negligent homicide for allegedly driving into and killing a pedestrian in Makiki.
Julianne Nowell was charged with second-degree negligent homicide in connection with the death of 68-year-old Makiki resident Edna Funayama.
On Jan. 3 Nowell was making a left turn from Makiki Street onto Wilder Avenue in a Ford Explorer when she hit Funayama, who was in a crosswalk, police said.
Funayama sustained head and internal injuries and died three days later in the hospital.
Bill creating new property tax class tabled
LIHUE » The Kauai County Council has deferred a bill aimed at creating a separate property tax category for crop research and development land.
The move kills any chance of the measure going into effect in the fiscal year starting July 2015, The Garden Island newspaper reported Thursday.
Councilman Tim Bynam, who introduced the bill, and Councilman Gary Hooser recommended a two-week deferral. But the Finance and Economic Development Committee voted 3-1 to push the bill back to Aug. 20 — 11 days after the primary election.
Hooser said the bill itself wouldn’t raise taxes, but merely create another category of agricultural use. But he acknowledged that taxes could rise for the new category in the future.
The Council’s discussion and public testimony were reminiscent of debate over a county law regulating the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops, scheduled to take effect in August.
If it passes, the agronomics rate classification would include parcels "used for no other purpose than science, research and development of crops" and which "do not directly gain monetary profit from the ultimate consumer."
Associated Press
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Kalaheo man dies in crash
A 55-year-old Kalaheo resident and Kauai County worker died Thursday and two other employees were injured in a crash involving a semitrailer near Eleele.
Police said the men were apparently repairing a tire on a parked trailer on the shoulder of Kaumualii Highway when a semitrailer heading west struck the trailer at 9:30 a.m. The truck driver attempted to stop abruptly due to traffic when the truck veered off the roadway and struck the trailer, injuring the three men, police said.
The two other men were taken to Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The highway was closed for four hours in both directions while police traffic safety investigators conducted an investigation.
Construction materials burn
Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that damaged 3,000 square feet of construction material at the old Maui Land & Pineapple cannery Thursday in Kahului.
A construction worker was injured fighting the blaze at 120 Kane St. before firefighters arrived. He was treated for shortness of breath due to smoke inhalation.
Copper thieves mar Hilo park
Thieves stealing copper at a Hawaii island park may have caused as much as $2,000 in damage, which was discovered Wednesday.
Hawaii County Parks and Recreation spokesman Jason Armstrong told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that the thieves cut pipes and stole spigots at Onekahakaha Beach Park in Hilo.
