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By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Workers wait outside downtown buildings that were
evacuated during yesterday's bomb scare.

State workers
leave early
in response to
bomb threat

The move leaves many
downtown streets in gridlock

By Harold Morse
and Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

A bomb threat at the Hawaii Paroling Authority office on Beretania Street gridlocked traffic for some three hours yesterday afternoon after police closed sections of Beretania, Alakea and Alapai streets in response to the threat.

Although Public Safety Director Ted Sakai later said police dogs searched the Paroling Authority office and found nothing, all buildings in the block bounded by Beretania, Richards, Hotel and Alakea Streets had already been evacuated.

By 3 p.m., hundreds of employees were heading home, although the buildings and streets were reopened at 3:30 p.m.

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
A police officer orders a woman away from buildings
that were cleared while the threat was investigated.

Gridlock on Beretania was so complete, police closed Alapai Street to prevent drivers from adding to congestion. Parents trying to pick up children from the Early Education site on Alapai complained they couldn't park in the municipal parking lot and were directed to park across the street at the police station.

Police set up traffic posts to get motorists off Beretania at Punahou, Pensacola, Piikoi, Alapai and Punchbowl streets and Ward Avenue. Traffic was slowed and backed up some blocks in various directions. But all traffic posts ceased operations about 3:30.

Nanci Kriedman, director of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse & Legal Hotline, entering the state Capitol building after 3 p.m., said traffic had been bumper to bumper on Queen Street for two hours. "It's pretty bad," she said.

Parole supervisor Kathy Shimeta said her office was evacuated about 1 p.m. because a caller told an operator at the telephone company there was a bomb in the Paroling Authority chairman's office set to go off at 1:30 p.m.

Shimeta said people who showed up for appointments will be asked to reschedule.

Fred Edralin, who caught the bus for his appointment at the Paroling Authority, said traffic was no problem.

Various state people made estimates that totaled up to perhaps 1,200 state employees leaving early.

Kathleen Racuya-Markrich, the governor's press secretary who emphasized figures were only rough estimates, said 211 employees may have left early from the Capitol Center and 481 may have evacuated from the state Office Tower.

Employees estimated 140 from the Hemmeter Building and several hundred from the state District Court building left early.