HANALEI, Kauai -- A thunderstorm dumped over seven inches of rain on Kauai's northwest shore early today, causing rivers to flood and landslides to close two sections of Kuhio Highway. Rainstorm drenches,
floods parts of KauaiRoad crews were out before dawn clearing slides that completely covered both lanes of the road at Lumahai and Wainiha, said Kauai Civil Defense Administrator Sonny Gerardo.
He said the road, which is completely impassable in those areas, wasn't likely to be reopened before noon.
No one was evacuated or injured and no homes were damaged, Gerardo said.
Hanalei School was closed for the day, but Hanalei Bridge reopened before 5 a.m., police said. It had closed around 1 a.m. because the road approaching the span was flooded on the Hanalei side, near the taro patches.
A thunderstorm developed near Hanalei around midnight and dumped 7.14 inches there in a six-hour period that ended at 5 a.m., said National Weather Service forecaster Robert Koney.
The storm then moved to Wainiha, which received 7.19 inches of rainfall in the same period. Thunder and lightning was reported all along the north and east sides of the island.
Calling the Senate's budget plan irresponsible and devastating to government services, Gov. Ben Cayetano says he has a modified financial plan that would cause much less pain and should be adopted by the Legislature. Cayetano: Senate plan
irresponsibleBut Senate Ways and Means Co-Chairwoman Carol Fukunaga (D-Makiki) countered that her chamber is taking a fiscally responsible position into conference negotiations with the House, which could begin Thursday.
The Senate is on solid ground because the Council on Revenues is projecting a revenue shortfall of $257 million in the fiscal biennium, which begins in 21/2 months, and because the governor, in a March 31 memo, asked his departments to cut spending, Fukunaga said.
Cayetano said yesterday his revisions to the administration's original budget proposal mean the state will only have to make $20 million to $40 million in cuts to the budget for the next two fiscal years.
Additional savings totaling about $229 million were made by:
Jettisoning six of the seven tax break proposals he unveiled in his State of the State address, and holding on to only providing tax help for hotel renovations.
Two men aboard a twin-engine airplane that went down off the Big Island reported oil was seeping from one of the engines just before takeoff. Oil leak noted before
plane took offSteve Dahlen, airworthiness supervisor for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the airplane had some mechanical difficulty, including oil seepage in the left engine. "They tightened some lines and ... apparently, it was OK," said Dahlen.
Dahlen said that according to pilot Kenneth Landau of California, and James I. Branch of Australia, working for Brents International of Hayward, Calif., the right engine slowed down and they tried to start it three times before it froze.
The FAA today continued an investigation into the cause of the Piper Navajo Chieftain ditching northeast of Hilo yesterday.
Dahlen said investigators were also looking at whether the pilot had followed federal regulations.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPolice are seeking one of four males in a car who dragged a 69-year-old visitor from Japan nearly 70 feet in a drive-by purse snatching at Ala Moana Center Wednesday. Police hunt suspect
in Ala Moana theftThe visitor suffered scrapes on his shoulder, elbow and hands.
Officers later recovered the car the suspects fled in on nearby Kona Street. It apparently had been stolen but hadn't been reported yet, police said.
The man and his wife were walking near the J.C. Penney store around 1:35 p.m. when a car pulled up alongside them. The right rear passenger allegedly reached out and grabbed the man's bag, which was attached by a wrist strap at his waist, police said.
Unable to release the bag because of the secured strap, the man was dragged until the strap broke and the suspects fled.
HILO -- Police have released a sketch of the man responsible for the robbery of the First Hawaiian Bank branch at the Hilo Shopping Center Wednesday. Hilo police searching
for robbery suspectThe man, who is described as having a tan complexion and being about 5 feet 8 inches tall and stocky, was last seen wearing a bandanna on his head when he escaped on foot.
Charges are being sought against an 18-year-old Salt Lake man suspected in at least two robberies in the same week. 18-year-old arrested
as robbery suspectHe was arrested at noon yesterday.
On March 2, two 16-year-old boys were making a phone call outside Safeway at the Salt Lake Shopping Center when a male called them over asking for cigarettes.
When they complied, he asked them if they were interested in buying guns and marijuana. When the youths refused, he allegedly showed them the butt of a handgun, threatened them and demanded they hand over the gold chains and pendants both were wearing, police said.
Just two days earlier on Feb. 28, a couple were standing outside their car at the Tantalus lookout on Round Top Drive when two males approached them.
One pointed a handgun in their faces and demanded their wallets. They were given the wallets and car keys. The other suspect also reached into the car and removed the woman's backpack.
Other Police/Fire headlines
in today’s Star-Bulletin:
- Inmate captured, charged in escape
- Probationer arrested in McCully burglary
- Cockfight raided; Hilo man charged
- Police seek break in church burglary
- Ordnance team handles pipe bomb on Maui
