Free parking at Diamond Head to end

There will no longer be free parking in Diamond Head Crater after the state Department of Land and Natural Resources found a company to collect the fees.

Pro Park Inc. is collecting parking fees at the Diamond Head State Monument starting Wednesday. Pro Park had previously managed the parking lot at Diamond Head until unmanned parking fee stations were installed.

Parking had been free since Friday in the crater, at the zoo in Waikiki and at other state parks, when the company that operated the solar-powered parking pay stations went bankrupt.

The state hopes to reach similar agreements to collect parking fees at the Nuuanu Pali and Akaka Falls State Park soon.

It’s not clear yet when the city will be able to find a vendor for the Honolulu Zoo parking lot, which had been using the pay stations since 2010.

Driver faces extradition over abuse claims

An extradition hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Circuit Court for a 42-year-old city bus driver wanted in Las Vegas for alleged child sex crimes.

Police and U.S. marshals arrested Rodney Hosino at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Oahu Transit Service’s Middle Street facility before he started driving his Waikiki bus route. Hosino has been a bus operator for 15 years.

An arrest warrant was issued March 30 for Hosino, a Waikiki resident, in Las Vegas on seven counts of sexual assault against a child and four counts of lewdness with a child.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department sought the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Hawaii to track down Hosino and return him to Nevada.

Hosino is being held in the police cell block pending his court appearance.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Opponents of dairy will commission study

LIHUE » A group fighting a proposed grass-fed Kauai dairy will hire experts to study the project’s environmental impacts.

Community group Friends of Mahaulepu raised more than $200,000 to fight Hawaii Dairy Farms’ plans for the south side dairy on 578 acres.

The farm is backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Ulupono Initiative, with the hopes of reducing Hawaii’s dependency on milk from the mainland.

But opponents raise concerns over odor and other environmental issues.

The Garden Island newspaper reported Wednesday the opponents got an infusion of financial support from a retired builder and developer from Seattle who is matching donations up to $100,000.

Hawaii Dairy Farms says it is already conducting a voluntary environmental review. Spokeswoman Amy Hennessey says a draft should be available this summer.