Ex-Marine’s life term for murder upheld
The U.S. Marine Corps has confirmed the sentence of life in prison for Nathaniel Cosby in the murder of Ivanice "Ivy" Harris.
Cosby was court-martialed, convicted and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole and dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps on April 26 for murder and obstruction of justice.
The case was reviewed and the sentence approved by U.S. Marine Corp Pacific Commander Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling on Thursday, the Marines said in a news release.
The former Marine admitted killing Harris, a prostitute, in his Waikiki hotel room on May 16. Cosby, 39, was in Hawaii on a temporary assignment from Iwakuni, Japan, when he put Harris, 29, in a chokehold during a fight in his room.
He is confined at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., the only maximum-security correctional facility in the Department of Defense.
Lowell draws Karina away from isles
Tropical storms Lowell and Karina are dancing in the eastern Pacific, with Lowell leading Karina on a slow turn to the northeast, away from Hawaii.
Lowell, which formed Monday, is a larger storm and is pulling Karina back toward the northeast, where it eventually will weaken, forecasters said.
Karina, located about 1,325 miles east of Hilo, was still moving west at about 5 mph Tuesday morning, with sustained winds of 50 mph.
Forecasters expect Karina to stall by Wednesday night and be pulled back to the northeast on Thursday as it interacts with Lowell.
Lowell also had 50 mph winds and was about 755 miles west-southwest of Baja California in Mexico Tuesday morning. The storm was moving northwest at 7 mph and was expected to turn to the north-northwest Wednesday.
The storms are not expected to affect Hawaii’s weather over the next week.
300 customers regain power after Iselle
Hawaii Electric Light Co. restored power to about 300 Hawaii island customers on Monday in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Iselle.
An estimated 1,200 customers remain without power.
Iselle, which made landfall on the island on Aug. 8 with winds of up to 60 mph, left about 8,100 customers without power. Most of those affected were in the Puna area.
A news release issued by Hawaiian Electric Co. on Tuesday noted that recent restoration progress has been made in Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Paradise Park. However, pockets of customers within the areas may still be without power. Those customers are asked to report by calling 969-6666.
Electrical crews are now working on Nanawale Estates, Lanipuna Gardens, Leilani Estates, Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots.
Repaired volcano facility resumes monitoring duty
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has resumed monitoring volcanoes and earthquakes following power problems that plagued the Hawaii island facility after Tropical Storm Iselle, officials said Tuesday.
Although the instrument networks and computer systems weathered the Aug. 8 storm with relatively little damage, data from the U.S. Geological Survey outpost remained offline to the public for several days while replacement parts were ordered.
During that time, earthquake-monitoring duties were delegated to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., while scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory took over scanning satellite imagery to monitor Hawaii volcanoes.
