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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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State fines recycler of tires
The state Department of Health has cited Unitek Solent Services Inc., a major tire recycler, for running its facility in Kapolei without a solid-waste management permit.
Unitek's permit for its site on Kaomi Loop expired on Jan. 25, 2007, according to the Health Department.
Despite a warning from the state, the company has not applied for a new permit, leading to yesterday's "finding of violation."
By March about 60,000 waste tires had piled up at the facility, according to the Department of Health, which levied a $9,900 fine on the company.
Operating the facility without a permit is a major deviation from state law and could pose harm to human health or the environment, officials said.
Heavenly sights to line up
Sky watchers will be treated to a planetary lineup this holiday weekend as Mars and Saturn hover above the western horizon after sunset.
Tonight the planets will be above and to the left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo.
Tomorrow the crescent moon will join the lineup, which should be visible as skies darken after sunset at about 7:18 p.m.
The best spots for planetary perusal will have an unobstructed view of the western horizon.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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COURTESY PHOTO
U.S. marshals arrest a suspect during Operation FALCON, which was conducted from June 24-27.
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61 arrested in drug-related raids
A task force led by U.S. marshals arrested 61 people statewide in four days, including one person wanted for vehicular manslaughter, officials said.
Justin Amorin, 22, indicted on June 19 on a manslaughter charge, was among those arrested on Oahu during Operation FALCON June 24-27.
Amorin was allegedly racing a car when it crashed in Mililani on Feb. 27, 2007, killing passenger Gillian Badua, 17, and severely injuring another passenger, Gavin Watson, 19, officials said.
Warrants were also executed for other fugitives for alleged felonies, including promoting dangerous drugs and methamphetamine trafficking.
During the statewide operation, officers seized about four grams of methamphetamine, 46 prescription drug pills and two marijuana plants.
U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Jay Bieher said 51 of the 61 persons were arrested on Maui and that the arrests generated 14 new cases for various narcotics violations.
Bieher said the federally funded task force targets fugitives with a history of violence or drugs.
Operation FALCON included some 30 law enforcement officers from nine different agencies.
The task force includes federal marshals, state deputy sheriffs, Oahu and neighbor island police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Bieher said at least two other similar operations have occurred in the past.
Construction worker killed by fall
A man died yesterday after he fell through a roof during construction work in Halawa Business Park.
At about 9:40 a.m. on the 99-1200 block of Waiua Place, the man fell 40 feet through a roof, said Emergency Services Department spokesman Bryan Cheplic. The man was in his late 50s to early 60s, Cheplic said.
He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died of his injuries. The man was part of a construction crew working on a warehouse in the area.
DEA search targets fire station
Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration executed a search warrant at the Waikiki Fire Station on June 25, a Fire Department spokesman confirmed yesterday.
"We don't know what the results of it were, and we're not going to speculate about it," said fire Capt. Terry Seelig.
Seelig said no city property was taken, and the search did not interfere with firefighters' ability to respond to an emergency.
Seelig said he did not know what the investigators were looking for or what was taken.
The Fire Department is looking into the matter, Seelig said. "But at this point we don't have any reason to change the status of any firefighter involved," he said.
LEEWARD OAHU
Fake girl online leads to arrest
Police arrested a 29-year-old man Wednesday who allegedly tried to meet with an underage girl he met over the Internet for the purposes of having sex.
At 10:20 p.m. Wednesday the suspect showed up at 806 Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City to meet a 14-year-old girl.
The man had been communicating with a law enforcement official posing as the girl, police said. When the suspect arrived, police were waiting for him and arrested him on suspicion of electronic enticement of a child. Police said charges are pending.
CENTRAL OAHU
Brush fire burns ravine in Wahiawa
A brush fire scorched five acres in an unpopulated ravine at the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master station in Wahiawa on Wednesday.
The Navy said that no buildings were affected by the fire, which was reported at 2 p.m.
As a precaution, two buildings at the facility -- the child development center and the administration building -- were evacuated and the employees sent home early, the Navy said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
House destroyed in fire on Big Isle
A stove that was left on and unattended caused a fire yesterday that destroyed a house in the Paradise Park subdivision of the Big Island's Puna district, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department.
Fire crews were called to a home on 11th Avenue between Paradise and Kaloli drives at about 2:45 a.m. yesterday. The house was fully engulfed in flames and collapsed as firefighters arrived, the Fire Department said in a news release. The house had been built as a rental less than a year ago, the release said. Two vehicles in the garage were also burned. The tenant told firefighters that he accidentally left the stove on before he left the house, the release said.
Damage was estimated at $166,000.