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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff
and wire service
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Salt Lake Boulevard sewer main breaks
An 8-inch sewer main under Salt Lake Boulevard ruptured early yesterday, but crews were not immediately clear on how much untreated waste water was spilled.
The break happened sometime before 4 a.m. under the boulevard's Ewa-bound lanes near the Aliamanu Wastewater Pumping Station near Pakini Street. Spilled waste water entered a storm drain believed to lead to Hickam Harbor.
Pollution warning signs were posted at the water's edge, and the state Department of Health was notified, according to a news release.
The pressurized line, installed in 1953, serves the Aliamanu area. City pumper trucks removed waste water from the line yesterday as crews worked to find the rupture.
Two town-bound lanes on Salt Lake Boulevard and one Ewa-bound lane were kept open during the work, which was expected to continue through this afternoon.
City spokesman Mark Matsunaga said work was slowed because the sewer line adjoins other underground utilities, including a fuel pipeline.
Grant help aids school with anti-tobacco plans
The American Lung Association of Hawaii has received $5,000 to help the Moanalua High School Peer Education Program put on tobacco-free advocacy activities.
The high school group has several ongoing projects planned, including getting feedback from elected officials on their views about tobacco. The grant came from the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
Seventeen percent of Hawaii residents smoke, compared with 21 percent nationally. Smoking is still the biggest preventable cause of death and disease in the nation.
For more information on the program, call the American Lung Association of Hawaii at 537-5966 or visit www.ala-hawaii.org.
Kaneohe man indicted in boys' fondling case
A Kaneohe man suspected of fondling three boys since July 2003 has been indicted by an Oahu grand jury.
Michael M. DeMello was indicted Wednesday with four counts of third-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree sexual assault involving three boys, ages 7, 9 and 13.
The mother of the youngest boy apparently reported to the Sex Abuse Treatment Center on Jan. 6 that the man, who is known to the alleged victims, had fondled the boys, with the latest incident just before Christmas, according to the indictment.
DeMello was arrested Jan. 6 at Windward Mall where he worked. He was served with the grand jury bench warrant Thursday and is expected to make his first appearance in Circuit Court today.
Bail has been set at $150,000. Prosecutors said the boys' family is concerned should he be released.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Artifacts and plants safe after brush fire
Thirteen firefighters responded to a brush fire Saturday that burned about 10 acres near Kamakaeha Street in Kailua-Kona.
Capt. Charles Cope of the Hawaii County Fire Department said in a news release that the brush fire occurred along the roadside of Kamakaeha Street at about 2:46 p.m. and spread due to northerly winds.
Two fire helicopters conducted water drops while two bulldozers created a fire break on the mauka side of the street.
Capt. Albert Kaaihili of the Kailua Fire Station said historical rock artifacts and endangered plants in the area were not threatened.
Firefighters had the fire under control at 5 p.m. A cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Kaaihili said.
Interisland ferry hits Lahaina break wall
A passenger ferry heading to Lahaina from Lanai struck a break wall yesterday, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson said 42 passengers, captain and crew members were aboard the ferry when the incident occurred as the ferry was leaving a harbor in Lanai about 11:45 a.m. There were no injuries, Johnson said.
LEEWARD OAHU
Man held in alleged attack with knife
Police arrested a 23-year-old man after he allegedly assaulted another man with a knife in Waipahu.
At about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, police said, the suspect was involved in an argument with the victim, 26. The victim then confronted the suspect at his home on Kumukula Street, and a fight occurred.
Police said the suspect brandished a knife, and the victim sustained injuries to his arm. Police arrested the 23-year-old man on suspicion of second-degree assault.
Girl accuses mom's former live-in friend
A 12-year-old girl told police she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a 47-year-old man who lived with her and her mother for nearly a year.
The assaults took place between Aug. 2, 2001, and June 7, 2002, when the suspect lived with the two in their Waipahu home, the girl told police.
The suspect was arrested Thursday on one count of first-degree sex assault and four counts of third-degree sexual assault, police said.
