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Leeward Coast residents can give their opinions about the planned Leeward hub-and-spoke bus system at four workshops next month. Speak out on
Leeward transit planThe city project, scheduled to begin by the end of the year, will set up transit centers, or "hubs," in Kapolei, Waianae and Waipahu. Routes leading to and from the transit centers, "spokes," will connect hubs, neighborhoods and communities to each other and other parts of the island.
CountryExpress! -- similar to CityExpress! -- will reduce travel time from the Waianae Coast to downtown Honolulu, the city says.
Community workshops will address these changes. Call 543-3068 for more information or to leave questions or comments, or visit http://www.OahuTrans2K.com on the Internet.
The workshops will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on:
Thursday at Waianae District Park multipurpose room;
Hokule'a due to arrive at Molokai tomorrow
The Hokule'a is scheduled to arrive on home shores tomorrow, completing a historic voyage that took it to the faraway island of Rapa Nui.
The traditional canoe is expected to land at Kaunakakai on Molokai, said Elisa Yadao of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
It is sailing from Tahiti on the last leg of a voyage that completes what historians call the Polynesian Triangle -- the migration routes followed by ancient Polynesian navigators who settled every inhabitable island in the Pacific Ocean.
The Hokule'a left Hilo on June 15. It arrived on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, on Oct. 9.
The Hokule'a will stay at Molokai until its departure for a homecoming ceremony March 12 at Kualoa Park on Oahu.
The celebration will also mark the 25th anniversary of the canoe's first launching.
A formal program in the morning will be followed by entertainment, educational activities, food and other programs. The alcohol-free event will last from noon to 5 p.m.
Traffic monitoring system adds cameras
The city yesterday added 20 new traffic cameras to the existing system of 68.The new cameras allow monitoring of Kamehameha, Pali and Likelike highways, the H-1 freeway in Aiea, Moanalua Freeway in Halawa and Moanalua Road, according to Mayor Jeremy Harris.
"Major traffic views include Moanalua Freeway in the Halawa/Red Hill area, H-1 eastbound at Aiea Heights Road and the H-1 viaduct," he said in a news release.
The second phase of the camera project cost $1.5 million in federal transit funds.
The first phase, from Middle Street to Hawaii Kai, cost $3 million to install. A third phase of 47 cameras, which will stretch through Waipahu to Kunia, is expected to be done by the end of the year.
Engineers at the city's Traffic Control Center near the Ward Avenue overpass monitor the cameras and adjust traffic signals as needed.
Commuters can also benefit by monitoring the cameras on TV or the Internet and adjusting their routes accordingly.
About 30 different cameras are rotated and shown on Olelo cable Channel 52 from 6 to 8:30 a.m., and from 5 to 6 p.m. Photographs from all 88 cameras can be found at www.eng.hawaii.edu/Trafficam/
Assault case witness is himself indicted
A 38-year-old man who earlier was a witness in a sex-assault case has been indicted for sexually assaulting a minor under 14 over a two-year period.Hoyt Fortin was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on Wednesday on four counts each of first-degree, second-degree and third-degree sexual assault.
The incidents allegedly occurred between Jan. 4, 1993, and Jan. 3, 1995.
Fortin testified at two trials for former prison guard James Thompson, charged with preying on five teen-age girls in Mililani in 1997, abducting and sexually assaulting three of them.
Thompson goes on trial a third time March 6 after mistrials were declared in the first two.
Deputy Prosecutor Paul Wong confirmed yesterday that Fortin was the same man who testified, but said the indictment should not have an impact on Thompson's next trial.
Fortin testified at the two earlier trials that he was with Thompson -- a Mililani High School classmate -- at the Waipio Zippy's and at Wal-Mart in Mililani on the day one of the alleged incidents took place.
Correction
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Boys, both 12, allegedly threatened schools, lives
Two 12-year-old boys were arrested yesterday in unrelated cases for reported threats to shoot and kill people at their schools.A boy was arrested at Kaimuki Intermediate School for allegedly shouting out in class, "I have a gun in my bag, and I going shoot everybody," according to a police.
The second boy was arrested five minutes later at Wheeler Intermediate School in Wahiawa, police said. He was arrested for reportedly telling a school counselor that he would blow up the school and shoot a female teacher.
No weapons or explosive devices were recovered in either case, police said. Both boys were booked for first-degree terroristic threatening.
Nanakuli man arrested in 3 armed robbery cases
A 39-year-old Nanakuli man was arrested yesterday in connection with three armed robberies on Oahu last month.The suspect was apprehended in Kalihi at 11:30 a.m., according to arrest records.
He is accused of barging into a Kaneohe home on Jan. 7, threatening the resident with a baseball bat and letter opener, and stealing a video game console, compact discs and other items, police said.
He also allegedly robbed two liquor stores: one on Colburn Street in Kalihi on Jan. 27, and another the next day on South King Street, police said.
2-truck wreck on Big Isle kills two, injures one
HILO -- Two people died and one remains in guarded condition following a two-truck accident last night on Hawaii Belt Road at the northern edge of Hilo, officials said.Police said a pickup truck driven by Henley Rengulbai, 34, of Hilo crossed the center line at about 9 p.m. and hit a pickup driven by Teodorico Agustin, 63, of Pepeekeo.
Rengulbai died at the scene, Fire Department paramedics said.
Agustin's wife, Benita, 65, was taken to Hilo Hospital, where she died at 10:37 p.m. Agustin remains in guarded condition at the hospital.
The deaths were the fifth and sixth traffic fatalities of the year on the Big Island, compared to one at the same time last year.
Firefighters contain Mauna Kea brush fire
HILO -- Firefighters declared a 2-square-mile fire zone on the east face of Mauna Kea contained yesterday afternoon.Seven firefighters remained on the mountain to monitor the zone during the night.
The fire burned a patchwork of about 600 acres of gorse bush-infested former pasture land within the 2-mile zone, officials said. The cause of the fire, reported at about 6 p.m. Thursday, is unknown.
The fire began at the 8,000-foot elevation and burned its way downhill to the Keanakolu-Mana ranching road Thursday night. Winds shifted yesterday and blew the fire back uphill.
Kauai boy seriously hurt when hit by visitor's car
POIPU, Kauai -- A 10-year-old Koloa boy was flown to Queen's Hospital last night after being seriously injured when he was hit by a car on Poipu Road.The driver was identified only as a 52-year-old tourist from Washington state. Police said alcohol and speed were not involved in the 7:40 p.m. incident, and it appeared the boy ran out in front of the car.
Firefighters said the boy was unconscious and having difficulty breathing when they arrived.
Hiker in 'pretty good shape' after 75-foot fall
WAILUKU -- A 34-year-old hiker was rescued in Lanai yesterday after falling more than 75 feet.Wesley Moore, an engineer at the Manele Bay Hotel, was hiking at Koloiki Ridge when he fell onto a narrow ridge at about 9:53 a.m., a fire official said.
Windward Helicopter helped to get Moore off the ledge in a little less than two hours. The officials described Moore as in "pretty good shape."
