Detainee is found dead in OCCC cell

A pretrial detainee died after officials found him hanging from an air vent yesterday at Oahu Community Correctional Center, police said.

The man was found unresponsive in his cell while breakfast was being brought to his cell at about 4:30 a.m., said Tommy Johnson, deputy director for the state Department of Public Safety.

The staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man and called paramedics, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The Medical Examiner's Office, police and the Department of Public Safety's Internal Affairs are each conducting investigations into the death, which appears to be a suicide, Johnson said.

He would not release further details of the death, pending investigation.

Johnson said the man was brought to the prison on April 29. He was in custody for multiple charges, including drug charges, burglary and kidnapping. Johnson said the man also was being held for U.S. marshals, but did not know the reason.

The Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy would be done today.

3 airport viaduct lanes will be closed

Three westbound lanes on the H-1 freeway airport viaduct will be closed between the Middle Street tunnels and the Arizona Memorial-Stadium offramp from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Two center eastbound lanes also will be closed on the viaduct between the airport offramp and the Middle Street-Dillingham Boulevard offramp during that time.

Lane striping and viaduct deck surveys will be conducted by state workers during the closure.

On- and offramps will remain open.

Law officer dies suddenly at base

A civilian who worked as a police officer for the military police department at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay collapsed and died Tuesday during routine physical training.

Kaneohe Bay officials identified the victim as Tauveve Vivao, 42, of Waipahu. Born in American Samoa, Vivao had served for 24 years in the Army before he retired.

He was taken to Castle Medical Center where he died.

State fines city landfill $424,000

The state has cited the city and the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill's operator for allegedly violating rules that protect the environment during the construction of an artificial ridge.

In a release, the Department of Health said the city and Waste Management of Hawaii failed to:

» Follow design requirements when constructing a berm buttress.

» Notify the state about a design change for the berm.

» Turn in final construction reports on time.

Besides the citation, the Health Department ordered the berm to be constructed according to standards and fined Waste Management of Hawaii $424,000.

The company and the city can contest the allegations.

State campaign board fines Carroll $100 for violations

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Carroll has been fined $100 by the state Campaign Spending Commission for violating campaign finance laws.

Commission Executive Director Barbara Wong says the panel decided Carroll should have filed an organizational report for his campaign committee in November 2008.

It also determined Carroll should have opened a bank account in April 2009, in which contributions could be deposited.

The violations drew fines of $50 each. The maximum was $1,000 each.

The commission approved the fines Wednesday, and Wong said Carroll has paid the fines. Wong says the fines grew from a complaint filed by Eric Ryan alleging 19 violations. The panel dismissed 17 of those.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

New pipes give Lihue cleaner water

The taps are running clean and clear again in Lihue.

Kauai County has finished replacing aging water pipes under eight streets — improvements that are expected to last 50 years.

The $1.9 million project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was completed ahead of schedule with contractor Cushnie Construction Co., project engineer Dustin Moises said in a news release Wednesday.

“;Most importantly, the degraded infrastructure was replaced with new waterlines that allow the Department of Water to better serve our customers in the area,”; Moises said.

The money, from the Environmental Protection Agency, was administered by the state Department of Health Safe Drinking Water Branch.