Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
Coast Guard crews came to the aid of a sailboat that caught fire Thursday morning about a mile off Sand Island.
Visitors to Aloha Tower reported the fire Thursday morning
The Coast Guard responded within 15 minutes to the 9 a.m. call and launched a 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Honolulu.
The Coast Guard crew found five people aboard the sailboat, which is operated as a commercial fishing boat. The boat’s crew had already doused the fire with an extinguisher.
No injuries or pollution were reported, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard, after ensuring the fire was out, towed the vessel with the five people aboard to Pier 38.
Police raid Puna pot operation
A Puna man has been charged in connection with a suspected marijuana- growing operation.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that officers served search warrants Tuesday on a Hawaiian Acres home on Pulelehua Street and two adjacent, vacant properties. Officers found that six medical marijuana permits were associated with the first property and none with the other two.
Police recovered 309 marijuana plants, 68.12 pounds of dried, proc- essed marijuana and $19,500 in cash. On Thursday the property owner, John Perreira, 59, was charged with six counts of promotion of marijuana. His bail was set at $90,000.