HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Supreme Court justice at UH
Advertiser Staff
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will be in Hawai'i to give talks and participate in classes for the University of Hawai'i law school Jurists-in-Residence program on Feb. 6-10.
Kennedy, a past participant in the program, will also be talking to students at Farrington High School, according to UH law school dean Aviam Soifer.
Also participating is Myron Bright, senior judge for the U.S. 8th Circuit of Appeals and one of the founders of the law school program.
The law school program features distinguished national jurists meeting with students, faculty, the judiciary and lawyers.
PEARL CITY
H-1 TO BE CLOSED FOR ROAD WORK
The H-1 Freeway in both directions between Halawa and Pearl City will be closed during the late-night hours for construction beginning tonight, the state announced.
The freeway will be shut down from 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. today, tomorrow, Thursday and Monday.
The closure is needed for concrete work to connect the new portion of the freeway as part of the H-1 widening project.
The $55 million project will expand the freeway to six 'Ewa-bound lanes all the way to the Pearl City off-ramp in hopes of alleviating a major bottleneck.
The contractor is pushing to open up the new lane in April.
Motorists are asked to use alternate routes such as Kamehameha Highway or Moanalua Road through 'Aiea and Pearl City, and to allow for extra travel time.
For information on construction schedules and lane closures for the H-1 widening work, contact the state Department of Transportation at 587-6316 or www.h1widening.com.
STATE
HIGH SURF TO HIT NORTH SHORES
The National Weather Service issued a high-surf warning for today as a northwest swell was expected to bring 20- to 25-foot surf to north-facing shores of Kaua'i, Ni'ihau, O'ahu, Maui and Moloka'i.
The high surf was expected to last until early tomorrow.
Surf along west-facing shores was expected to be 8 to 12 feet.
BIG ISLAND
FIRE SCORCHES LAND NEAR SOUTH POINT
Fire crews planned to monitor a smoldering brushfire overnight after it burned 25 to 30 acres near South Point village Sunday and yesterday, but fire officials said the remnants of the fire posed no threat to any homes.
Big Island Battalion Chief Darren Rosario said the blaze was almost entirely contained within a fire break north of the village except for one area firefighters could not bulldoze because of an archeological site there.
The fire was reported at 6:11 p.m. Sunday on state land, and gusty winds quickly spread it south and west toward the village.
A bulldozer cut a fire break by 4 a.m. yesterday to contain it, fire officials said.
KAIMUKI
HELPERS WANTED FOR CLEANUP
Students of Saint Louis School will hold a community cleanup Jan. 26 and are seeking volunteers and supplies to help with the project.
About 760 students in grades 4 to 12 plan to paint over graffiti and clean up Ala Moana Park as well as pick up litter near the University of Hawai'i.
Scotty Gonsalves, director of campus life at Saint Louis, said school officials are looking for Kaimuki-area building owners who want graffiti painted over and who will allow students on their property.
Also, school officials could use donations of painting supplies and bottled water, Gonsalves said.
For more information, call Gonsalves at 551-4321.
WAIKIKI
1 HELD, 2 SOUGHT IN BEATING OF MAN
Police arrested one suspect yesterday morning and were looking for two others who allegedly beat a man who did not have a cigarette to give to one of his three assailants.
The victim told police he was walking along Kalakaua Avenue about 1:10 a.m. when a man in a red shirt asked him for a cigarette.
The victim said he told the man he did not have any cigarettes, at which point the stranger became combative.
The victim told police he tried to walk away but the stranger followed him and called two other men on his cell phone.
The other men appeared and were holding sticks, the victim said.
He said all three of the men beat him to the ground and ran away.
The victim was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he was reported to be in good condition.
About 2:40 a.m., one of three suspected assailants was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault.
SOLDIERS HELD IN ALLEGED ASSAULT
Two Schofield Barracks soldiers were arrested Sunday morning after a woman said she was sexually assaulted in a Waikiki hotel.
The woman told police she had been drinking with the men and went back to their Kuhio Avenue hotel.
Police said the woman fell asleep and woke up to find one man holding her down and the other assaulting her.
Police were called and the men, ages 22 and 26, were arrested about 7 a.m. Sunday.
KALIHI VALLEY
MAN ARRESTED AFTER STANDOFF
A Kalihi Valley man was arrested Sunday after he allegedly kept eight family members from opening the doors of their home to let police officers in, then threatened five police officers with a large kitchen knife after they managed to get inside the home on Laumaile Street.
Police were sent to the home in response to a complaint about a domestic dispute involving a husband and wife. Police had been at the home earlier in the day in connection with a domestic abuse case.
When they arrived the second time, the husband refused to let them in, instructed family members not to admit them and threatened to harm them if they did, police said.
Someone inside the home eventually let officers in, police said, and five of the officers confronted the husband in the kitchen.
The husband grabbed a large kitchen knife and pointed it at the approaching officers.
They overpowered him and took the knife away, police said.
The husband was arrested on suspicion of five counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, eight counts of kidnapping and two counts of abuse of a family or household member.
