State transportation chief takes city Enterprise Services post
Acting state Transportation Director Ford Fuchigami will step down to lead the city Department of Enterprise Services, Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s office announced Tuesday.
The switch is effective Nov. 1. Fuchigami replaces current Enterprise Services Director Gerald Saito, who announced several weeks ago that he is retiring.
Fuchigami, state airports administrator since December 2010, became interim DOT director in May when Glenn Okimoto returned to employment at the University of Hawaii.
Before joining DOT, Fuchigami spent 34 years in the private sector, primarily with the hospitality industry.
The Enterprise Services Department oversees most moneymaking ventures of the city, including the Honolulu Zoo, Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Waikiki Shell and all city golf courses. It also manages vending contracts at city facilities.
"Ford brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the private sector and state government to the Department of Enterprise Services," Caldwell said in a release.
Fuchigami’s nomination needs confirmation from the City Council.
DOT spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter said Fuchigami’s last day at DOT is Oct. 31. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has not chosen a replacement, she said.
Motorist gets prison term for fatal crash
HILO » A Hawaii island driver will serve 10 years in prison for striking and killing a bicyclist.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports 28-year-old Siaiku Lucky Aholelei was sentenced Monday by Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
In July, Aholelei pleaded no contest to negligent homicide. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop a manslaughter charge in the Sept. 27, 2013, death of 66-year-old Cenon Visaya on Route 11 near the Kamehameha Schools campus.
Two eyewitnesses said they saw Aholelei’s pickup truck cross the median and two lanes of oncoming traffic and then hit Visaya, who was riding his bike on the highway shoulder.
Opinions sought on removal of munitions
WAILUKU » The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on a plan to remove unexploded ordnance from a World War II bombing range on Molokai’s Kalaupapa Peninsula.
The Maui News reports the Army Corps of Engineers is finalizing a proposed munitions cleanup plan for the 937-acre site. Officials say the military used the area for aerial bombing, rockets and gunnery practice from 1942 to 1945.
The public will have 30 days to comment.
Kalaupapa is home to a handful of Hansen’s disease patients and some threatened or endangered species.
Officials say the cleanup would likely be completed within five years. It’s not clear when the cleanup would begin.
