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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Comments sought on transit plan
Meetings are set for Wednesday and Thursday to obtain public comment as part of the environmental impact statement process for the city's planned fixed-guideway mass transit system.
Meetings will be held Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Kapolei Hale and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at McKinley High School's cafeteria.
The city is asking for comment on:
» Project purpose and needs.
» Alternatives including technologies that will be evaluated.
» Routes and termination points.
Those who are unable to attend can submit written comments to the Department of Transportation Services, City and County of Honolulu, 650 S. King St., 3rd Floor, Honolulu 96813, Attention: Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project; or by e-mail to www.honolulutransit.org. Comments must be submitted by April 13.
Former student athlete sentenced
KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii » Former Konawaena High School basketball player Kainoa Abril, who allegedly attacked an opposing basketball player in 2005 and then attacked a referee, has been given a suspended sentence of six months by Kona Circuit Judge Elizabeth Strance.
Strance granted a deferred acceptance of guilty, meaning Abril will have a clean record if he does not get into further trouble during a five-year probation period.
During a game between Konawaena and Waiakea High School on Feb. 9, 2005, Abril, then 18, shoved a Waiakea player twice, a videotape showed. Both players were ejected from the game, but Abril came back and tried to tackle referee Mason Souza, the tape showed.
Abril was banned from the team and not allowed to play other sports at Konawaena.
Last Oct. 19, Abril pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree terroristic threatening, a felony.
He also pleaded guilty to second-degree terroristic threatening in an unrelated case. Three other charges of abuse of a family or household member in that case were dropped. His guilty plea was deferred by Strance, and he received a three-month jail sentence, which was suspended.
Enhanced 911 network complete
All wireless carriers on Oahu are now part of the Enhanced 911 system as of March 16.
The E911 system allows 911 dispatchers to instantly pinpoint the location and phone number of any incoming cellular calls on Oahu. On March 16, Sprint joined the other five wireless service providers.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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HONOLULU
Police seek man involved in shooting
Police are looking for a 29-year-old felon who allegedly fired three shots at his girlfriend and her male friend, hitting his truck in Kalihi yesterday, police said.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots and a woman screaming at 2:40 a.m. yesterday at 3265 Kalihi St.
Police said the 23-year-old woman had gone out with the 27-year-old man. He was dropping her off a block away from her Kalihi Street house when the friend saw her boyfriend running toward them.
The friend began driving away when the suspect allegedly shot at them three times, striking the truck, police said.
NORTH SHORE
Bottle explodes in parking lot
A small homemade device exploded at about 7:40 p.m. yesterday in the parking lot of the Mililani Stadium 14 theaters at Mililani Town Center.
Firefighters said a plastic soda bottle containing a caustic liquid went off near a car. No one was injured.
A 17-year-old girl said the device caused slight damage to her car.
Fire Department spokesman Capt. Frank Johnson said the hazardous materials team neutralized the acidic liquid with baking soda.
A police sergeant said it appeared to be a copycat of the incident March 12 where University of Hawaii security officers found two bottles of a potentially explosive mix.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Firefighters worked last night near a car at the Mililani Town Center where a suspicious device was found, shutting down a section of the parking lot.
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Family escapes fire caused by candle
WAIMEA » An early-morning fire started by an unattended candle destroyed a Menehune Road home, county officials said yesterday. No one was injured.
Allan and Roberta Bactad and their grandson were asleep inside when the blaze began at about 6:50 a.m., Kauai officials said. They were awakened by the fire and escaped unharmed.
Firefighters ran out of water in the trucks and used a flotation pump on the Waimea River to put out the blaze.
Damage to the 800-square-foot wooden home and its contents is estimated at $80,000, officials said.
Driver flees after hitchhiker hurt
Kona police are seeking help in finding the driver of a pickup truck who allegedly fled the scene of a traffic accident last Saturday.
Police said the man picked up four men hitchhiking in front of the rodeo grounds in Honaunau at about 9:50 p.m. last Saturday.
The man was driving up Painted Church Road in Kealakekua when one of the hitchhikers seated on the closed tailgate fell out of the truck at about 10 p.m., police said. The other hitchhikers got out to help their friend, but the driver allegedly fled the scene, police said.
The injured hitchhiker, a 23-year-old Kealakekua man, was taken to Kona Community Hospital in critical condition and was later transferred to the Queen's Medical Center, police said.
The driver is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds, with dark graying hair and a large gray beard. The pickup truck is described as small and dark-colored.
Anyone with information about the driver or the accident is asked to call officer Joseph Stender at 326-4646, ext. 245, or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311.