Magnitude-5 earthquake hits Big Isle

A magnitude-5 earthquake that rattled the Big Island briefly yesterday was the largest reported since August 2007.

David Wilson, seismic network manager at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said the 2007 earthquake was magnitude 5.4. Yesterday's quake, which occurred at 12:45 p.m., was located eight miles southeast of the Kilauea summit.

Wilson said it occurred 6.2 miles below the earth's surface. Over the past 25 years, there have been 12 earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 in the same area.

He said there have been no changes observed in the eruption of the volcano.

Big Island fire and Civil Defense authorities had no reports of damage, although the quake was felt in Hilo. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami was generated by the quake.

Man gets 20 years in jail for stabbing

A 59-year-old man who stabbed his 63-year-old brother-in-law as they argued in the yard of their Ewa Beach home last July was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for manslaughter.

A state judge handed down the sentence for Jose Tubera Jr., who was charged with second-degree murder in the July 29 stabbing death of Adolpho Alonzo Jr. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in February.

Prosecutors said Tubera stabbed Adolpho eight times — twice in the heart — during an argument over Tubera's possible drug use and Adolpho's request that Tubera leave the residence.

First flight for Astronaut

Hawaii-born astronaut K. Megan McArthur will be on the space shuttle Atlantis when it launches in May on the fifth and last mission to make improvements to the Hubble Space Telescope, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reports.

It will be the first trip into space for McArthur, 37, who grew up in California. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in aerospace engineering and from UC-San Diego, where she earned a doctorate degree in oceanography in 2002.

She was named a NASA mission specialist in July 2000.

NEIGHBOR ISLAND WATCH

Kauai

Lihue » Kauai police will close several roads in Lihue Saturday morning to accommodate two charity events, the 2009 Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run and the Multiple Sclerosis Walk. Both start at 7 a.m. Rice and Hoolako streets will be closed from 6:45 to 7:30 a.m.; Kalepa Street and Ulu Maika and Nuhou roads, from 6:45 to 8 a.m.

Maui

Lahaina » Esther Ross, a lecturer for the Kaunoa Senior Center, will conduct an informational program tomorrow at the Lahaina Public Library about man-made satellites that circle Earth. She will speak on “;Understanding the Secrets of Satellites”; at 10 a.m. as part of National Library Week 2009.

Big Island

Hawaii County » The public is invited to open houses this month to view and comment on updated flood maps for Hawaii County. Open houses are 3 to 8 p.m. next Wednesday at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Hotel and 3 to 8 p.m. April 23 at the Kress Building, 174 Kamehameha Ave. in Hilo. The Hawaii County Preliminary Digital Flood Hazards Maps are available at county public works offices in Hilo and Kona and at gis.hawaiinfip.org/fhat.