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Isle GOP chair quits to take new state role

Brennon Morioka is stepping down as Hawaii Republican Party chairman next month to take a position in Gov. Linda Lingle's administration.

Lingle said yesterday Morioka will become state Department of Transportation deputy director for highways.

Morioka said he is excited about his new job since transportation issues are very important in Hawaii. He earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering at the University of Hawaii and previously worked as a senior geotechnical engineer in the Honolulu office of URS Corp., one of the largest architecture and engineering firms in the world.

Morioka became GOP chairman in January 2003 when Lingle named previous chairman Micah Kane to head the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Morioka's term was to end next year. He said the party will name an interim chairman until a new one is elected at the state GOP convention in May.

High court rejects Hokulia case request

The state Supreme Court has rejected a request to speed up consideration of the appeal of developer 1250 Oceanside Partners, which wants to complete its 1,550-acre Hokulia residential community in Kona.

At the normal court rate of hearing cases, an appeal may take six years, said attorney Robert Kim, who represents plaintiff Jack Kelly and others.

Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra ordered work stopped last year and renewed his order in August, ruling that the project is an urban development being improperly constructed on agricultural land.

The Supreme Court issued an order denying the speed-up on Thursday. It also denied a motion by Kelly and others to dismiss Oceanside's appeal.

Hokulia president John De Fries said he remains hopeful that the high court will decide the case "promptly." The company has about $300 million invested in the project.

Park to close early for New Year's Eve

Pu'u 'Ualaka'a (Round Top) State Park will close at 4 p.m. on Friday for New Year's Eve.

The early closure by the Department of Land and Natural Resources is "to discourage use of fireworks, which is prohibited in state parks, and to protect the public and natural resources of the area," said DLNR Director Peter Young.

The park will resume normal hours on Saturday: 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Maui woman injured in Sunday crash dies

WAILUKU » A Maui woman died yesterday at Maui Memorial Medical Center from injuries she sustained after she was thrown from a pickup truck in Haliimaile.

Elise Vida, 19, of Waikapu was riding as a front-seat passenger in the pickup truck heading toward in a Haiku direction on Haliimaile Road, when it went off the shoulder, struck an embankment and overturned at 11:18 p.m. Sunday.

Vida was among some 13 people riding in the truck, including eight who were initially confined to the hospital after injuries.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

CENTRAL OAHU

3 stranded hikers rescued from ridge

Fire rescue personnel rescued three Oahu men from a Wahiawa ridge last night.

The men got lost and disoriented while hiking along the Wahiawa Hills trail, which starts at the top of California Avenue, said Capt. Albert Fernandez of the Honolulu Fire Department's Rescue 2.

The men called the fire department using a cell phone shortly before nightfall at about 6 p.m. and were brought out by 7:15 p.m.

They had a global positioning system unit and provided rescue personnel with their coordinates. The fire helicopter located them, and a fireman rappelled down and placed the hikers in a basket. They were flown out one by one to Iliahi Elementary School.

The hikers, approximately in their 30s, were in good condition, Fernandez said. He said hikers are often lost on the Wahiawa Hills trail, which he described as tricky.

LEEWARD OAHU

Man charged in girl's alleged repeated rape

Honolulu police have charged a 42-year-old man with repeatedly raping a girl, 12, during the past five years.

The suspect, Peter A. Vierra Sr., was charged with 12 counts of first-degree sexual assault, nine counts of third-degree sexual assault, and one count of promoting drugs. He was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

According to police, the victim told family members that she was sexually assaulted by the suspect, who is a family acquaintance, over the past five years.

Police arrested Vierra Sunday at his Hana Street home in Makaha.