Newswatch
The proposal calls for demolishing two "structurally unsound" buildings at the Kalihi high-rise complex, eliminating about 105 units to make way for commercial outlets and building an affordable hotel designed to accommodate neighbor islanders and others who don't want to pay Waikiki prices. Existing units would also be renovated, and educational, employment training and counseling programs would be added.
Bob Hall of the Hawaii Housing Authority told about 150 Kuhio Park Terrace residents last night that the plan will dovetail with reform of the welfare system, creating jobs and promoting self-sufficiency.
George Iranon, director of the state Department of Public Safety, yesterday said he was "disappointed, but not discouraged" by the action.
"We knew from the beginning that the community was against us," Iranon said.
He had wanted either to covert four or five of the naval barracks for prison use or to build a new facility.
City Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, who succeeds Iranon in January and lobbied for a Barbers Point prison, also said he was disappointed with the commission's decision because he believes the state missed "a golden opportunity to obtain prison space at low costs."
A letter signed by National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and White House Science Adviser John Gibbons opposes the proposal based on worries about the environment and nuclear proliferation.
"The letter from the president's advisers is a clear message to the new owners of Palmyra and their financial backers that the Pacific islands are off limits to nuclear waste, said Sen. Daniel Akaka. "The White House letter has driven a stake through the heart of this crazy idea."
He is in guarded condition, hospital officials said.
Police were told that more than 30 people were drinking at the park when a fight broke out.
Officers were called to the park at 2:18 a.m. A 21-year-old Nanakuli man was arrested in connection with another assault there.
Police said a security officer had stopped a woman outside the store at 5:45 p.m. on suspicion of shoplifting, and a man brandishing a knife forced him to release her.
The couple fled in a car driven by another man. Police traced the driver through a license plate number provided by witnesses. He was stopped on Hotel Street just before midnight yesterday and arrested.
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