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Sierra Club sues over Mauna Kea telescopes

HILO » The Sierra Club and several Hawaiian organizations have filed suit against the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to block approval for "outrigger" telescopes on Mauna Kea.

The suit in Big Island Circuit Court seeks to overturn a decision by the land board in October to permit up to six of the relatively small telescopes around the two giant Keck telescopes on the mountain.

The telescopes, a project of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, get their name from their similarity to the small outrigger board that runs along the side of a larger canoe.

The suit was also brought by the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, and one individual. The suit asks the court to require the land board to approve a comprehensive management plan to the summit before approving any further projects.

New HPD firing range planned for Waipahu

The Honolulu Police Department will be getting a new $5.9 million firing range in Waipahu, the first to be used exclusively by police.

"Having our own firing range, especially an indoor range, is important because it means our officers will have more opportunities to train, Police Chief Boisse Correa said.

The firing range is being built on the grounds of the Police Training Academy at 93-093 Waipahu Depot St.

The new 22,325-square-foot concrete structure will have a 30-lane firing range, an ordnance storage vault, weapons cleaning room, weapons storage room, target storage room and office space. The new range is expected to be completed by mid-April 2006.

The indoor range can be used at night, unlike the Koko Head Shooting Complex police share with the public.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Driver injured in crash

BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Police officer John Ah Sue and Hawaiian Electric Co. workers examined a rental vehicle that went through a utility pole yesterday in front of the Kahuku Military Training Area. The driver was medevaced to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, according to Kahuku police.

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HONOLULU

Man accused of killing fellow crewmember

Police were seeking second-degree murder charges against a 30-year-old man from the Republic of Kiribati who allegedly stabbed a fellow crewman to death aboard a fishing boat in Honolulu Harbor early yesterday.

Police said the suspect and the victim, a 20-year-old man also from Kiribati, were drinking aboard the Katherine II when they got into a fight.

The suspect pulled out a fishing knife and stabbed the victim in the abdomen, police said.

Police said the boat was headed to Pier 17 at Honolulu Harbor when the stabbing occurred about 12:30 a.m. Detectives were called about 1 a.m.

Police said the suspect left the boat on foot and was later arrested nearby at Smith Street and Nimitz Highway.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Big Isle blaze causes $50,000 in damage

Big Island firefighters put out a blaze at a low-income housing complex in Kailua-Kona yesterday afternoon.

The fire started at 1:47 p.m. in a second-story unit at Kealakehe Housing, located at 74-991 Manawalea St. Fire officials evacuated the building and reported no injuries at the scene. Damage was estimated at $50,000 and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

CENTRAL OAHU

Suspect sought in Mililani store robbery

Police are looking for a man who robbed a sandwich shop clerk at gunpoint at the Mililani Town Center on Monday night.

Police said the suspect, a man in his early 20s wearing sunglasses, entered Subway about 8 p.m.

The suspect allegedly pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the clerk.

The clerk complied, and the suspect fled in an unknown direction with an undisclosed amount of cash.

He is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds and wore a gray, hooded sweatshirt.