Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

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Waimea Falls Park lease to Audubon Society gets OK

The city can go ahead with leasing Waimea Falls Park to the National Audubon Society, Circuit Court Judge Sabrina McKenna decided yesterday as she lifted a temporary restraining order against the city.

City Corporation Counsel David Arakawa said the city proved it has a "substantial interest" in awarding the lease to care for "rare and endangered plants and other valuable botanical collections" at the park without interruptions.

Waimea Management Corp. may pursue its complaints about how the city awarded the lease to Audubon with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Arakawa said in a written statement.

Waimea Management, which has a lease to operate the 1,800-acre park on the North Shore until June 25, was the loser in a competition between it and Audubon for the long-term operation of park.

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Corrections and clarifications The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

HONOLULU

Pedestrian dies after being hit by pickup

A 77-year-old Waipahu man died this morning after he was hit by a pickup truck on Puuloa Road in Mapunapuna.

Police said the man was crossing the road near the intersection of Salt Lake Boulevard and Pukoloa Street about 5:25 a.m. when a truck hit him.

Police said the man was not in a crosswalk. He was taken in critical condition to Tripler Army Medical Center where he died.

The driver, a 39-year-old Ewa Beach man, was not injured.

Police closed Puuloa Road for several hours to investigate.

Motorcycle rammed on Moanalua freeway

Police are looking for the driver of a sedan who rammed a motorcycle from behind on Moanalua freeway last night.

The motorcyclist, a 31-year-old man, told police he was town-bound with a 29-year-old woman passenger about 10:45 p.m. when a sedan struck them from behind. He said the impact pushed the motorcycle into a concrete median but he managed to maintain control.

He told police that he caught up with the sedan and tried to get the driver to pull over, but the driver swerved into him twice, striking the motorcycle both times.

The motorcyclist said he followed the sedan into the Salt Lake area where the driver stopped and got out of the car. The two men argued before the motorcyclist left to tell police.

LEEWARD OAHU

2 of 4 robbery suspects caught in Waipahu

A carload of robbery suspects and their accomplices rammed a police car to avoid capture early today, police said.

Police said two men approached a group of men gambling in the garage of a home on Miula Street in Ewa about 1:30 a.m. and demanded money. They didn't get money but took cigarettes and a set of keys, and fled in a stolen car with another man and a woman.

The victims flagged down a police officer who then cornered a car at the intersection of Fort Weaver and Renton roads, police said.

The driver rammed the police car, and the four of them ran away, police said.

Police later found two suspects, believed to be the driver and a back-seat passenger, on Pupuole Street in Waipahu. The suspects, a 24-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were being held for investigation of robbery, auto theft, resisting arrest, refusing to stop and criminal property damage.

Fire shuts 2 lanes of H-1 near Kunia

Two town-bound lanes of H-1 about a mile before the Kunia offramp were closed yesterday because of a brush fire.

The fire was reported at 3:24 p.m. It burned a 100-yard stretch of brush along the freeway, officials said. No businesses or homes were threatened.

The lanes were reopened by 5:20 p.m.

Suspect is arrested for alleged rape of girl

Police arrested a 44-year-old Ewa Beach man for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl last year.

The girl allegedly was raped before June 1, 2002, while visiting her aunt, who is the wife of the suspect.

The suspect was arrested for investigation of first-degree sexual assault.