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Break spills sewage along Kalanianaole

A break in a sewer main along Kalanianaole Highway at Niu Valley yesterday afternoon caused a spill of untreated sewage and snarled rush-hour traffic. Repairs were expected to take all day today.

Morning traffic will be routed onto two town-bound lanes and one eastbound lane.

Police diverted eastbound traffic yesterday onto the westbound lanes of Kalanianaole Highway between West Halemaumau and East Halemaumau drives. Town-bound traffic was detoured through Niu Valley.

Crews from the city Department of Environmental Services were at the scene of the spill, which was reported about 3 p.m. near the Niu Valley Wastewater Pumping Station, 5712 Kalanianaole Highway. An unknown amount of untreated waste water entered a nearby storm drain that leads to the ocean.

City officials said the break was in a 16-inch force main near the spot where another spill occurred Feb. 2. Officials said the pipe will be replaced or repaired with a plastic liner.

City crews used tanker trucks to haul the waste water to Wailupe, where it is being emptied into a sewer main.

City officials hoped to finish the repairs before tomorrow morning's rush hour.

The state Department of Health has been notified, and pollution warning signs will be posted.

Isle candidate among judicial nominations

WASHINGTON » President Bush sent the Senate 20 judicial nominees yesterday, including several who were blocked in his first term and a nominee to the Hawaii U.S. District Court, signaling a new fight with Democrats.

"Every judicial nominee deserves a prompt hearing and an up-or-down vote on the floor of the United States Senate," Bush said at the swearing-in of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In November, J. Michael Seabright, supervisor of the white-collar and organized-crime unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Honolulu, received a hearing on his nomination to the U.S. District Court bench, but no action was taken.

The Democrats' ability to stall White House picks for the federal bench was one of the most contentious issues of Bush's first term. With a Senate made up of 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and a Democratic-leaning independent, Democrats still have the 40 votes necessary to uphold a filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has threatened to try to change Senate rules to force confirmation votes if Democrats carry out their filibuster threats.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called Bush's renominations regrettable.

"The president looks like he is still more interested in picking fights than picking judges," he said.

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» Irene and Carl Takeshita of Pearl City, retired educators, were honored by the American Diabetes Association for creating and implementing "Diabetes and You," a diabetes and obesity prevention program for fourth-graders.

They received the ADA's National Youth Initiative Award for 2004 for the innovative course, which teaches students the importance of a healthy diet and exercise to prevent Type 2 diabetes and manage it if it occurs.

The program has been presented to more than 1,700 students and parents.

» Ho'okako'o Corp., a nonprofit conversion charter school board, has been awarded $10,000 from the McInerny Foundation to support Waimea Middle School on the Big Island.

The grant will be used to develop a model of collective leadership, which can be adapted for use at other Ho'okako'o schools.

» Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu has received a $15,000 grant from the George P. & Ida Tenney Castle Trust. The funds will be used to further develop the organization's site-based mentoring programs at Jarrett Intermediate School in Palolo Valley, where high school students can volunteer as friends and mentors.

» KCAA Pre-Schools of Hawaii has received grants totaling $61,500 to help provide tuition assistance at its seven Oahu preschools. Donations included $40,000 from the McInerny Foundation, $10,000 from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, $6,500 from the G.N. Wilcox Trust and $5,000 from the Frear Eleemosynary Trust.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

EAST OAHU

Woman's body found near Hanauma Bay

The body of a woman was spotted yesterday afternoon about 50 yards offshore of Lanai Lookout.

City lifeguards brought the body in at Hanauma Bay. The woman was described by police as a local Asian in her 30s.

Police said yesterday there did not appear to be any evidence of foul play.

HONOLULU

2 men caught after woman sees stolen car

An 18-year-old woman helped police catch two men suspected of breaking into her father's vehicle and later stealing her car from her Kailua home over the weekend.

Police said that the victim parked her father's vehicle on Ward Avenue to go to a nightclub on Friday night. When she came out at about 1 a.m. Saturday, she found the car had been broken into and that her purse was missing, police said.

In her purse was the key to her Volkswagen Jetta, which was parked at her Ulukanu Street home in Olomana in Kailua. As she was driving home in her father's car, she saw two men driving her Jetta, police said.

The woman followed her own car as it traveled Honolulu-bound on Pali Highway and called 911. A patrol unit spotted the stolen Jetta near Wyllie Street in Nuuanu and followed it.

The stolen car turned down a dead-end street, and officers converged on it, police said. The occupants jumped out and ran but were caught a short distance away.

Police arrested both men for investigation of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and burglary. One of the men, 26, was also arrested under suspicion of auto theft, while the other, 29, was also arrested under suspicion of criminal trespassing.

Assault on bus driver leads to man's arrest

Police arrested a 67-year-old man after he allegedly punched a city bus driver Sunday morning.

Police said that about 8:30 a.m. the bus driver, a 51-year-old man, picked up the suspect at a bus stop but that the suspect could not pay or show a bus pass. The suspect searched for his pass as the bus driver continued to drive but became upset and started arguing, police said.

The suspect punched the driver in the ribs, police said. The driver then pulled over near Makalapa along Kamehameha Highway. Police arrested the suspect for interfering with the operation of a public transportation vehicle.

NORTH SHORE

Attacks and robbery accompany cockfight

Police were looking for a man who allegedly attacked and robbed two other men Sunday at a Waialua chicken fight.

At around 1:15 p.m. the suspect allegedly assaulted a 63-year-old man and took his money, then assaulted a 42-year-old man, police said. The suspect then fled, police said.

WAIKIKI

Suspect is sought in sex assault at hotel

Police were looking for a man who allegedly raped a 26-year-old woman in his Waikiki hotel room early Sunday.

The victim told police she met the suspect, 25, at a Waikiki nightclub.

Between 1 and 4 a.m. the suspect and victim went back to the suspect's hotel room, police said. But once there, the victim said she felt uncomfortable and tried to leave, police said. The suspect then sexually assaulted her, police said.

The victim left the room and reported the incident a short time later, police said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Big Island district records 8 car thefts

Since Jan. 22 there have been eight vehicle thefts and two attempted vehicle thefts in the South Kohala District, Big Island police said.

Two thefts occurred in Waimea. The remainder occurred in Waikoloa Village and at Kohala Coast resort areas.

Police reminded residents to lock their vehicle and take their keys with them.