Guam near finalizing deal for port cranes
Guam near finalizing deal for port cranes
HAGATNA, Guam — Guam is about to finalize a deal to buy three refurbished cranes for $12 million.
The Pacific Daily News says Matson Navigation and Horizon Lines are selling the cranes jointly, which have been in use at Guam’s only seaport for civilian cargo since they were transported on barges to Guam in 2009.
Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz says he’s renewing his criticism of the $12 million purchase. Cruz says it would be better for the government to buy two new cranes rather than three used ones that an expert found would need $9 million more to last another five to 20 years.
Guam police charged in sex trafficking case
HAGATNA, Guam — Three Guam police officers allegedly involved in a brothel where Micronesian women and a 16-year-old girl were forced into prostitution are facing additional charges.
According to the Pacific Daily News, the three officers now are facing kidnapping charges.
The new indictment in the Blue House case adds seven new charges, including some with as many as a dozen counts, the paper reports. One officer is charged with rape. All five suspects in the case are set to go to trial during the first week in January. They face more than 60 counts on 26 separate charges.
The brothel was run out of six rooms in a bar called the Blue House Lounge, which was open from 2004 to 2008. The bar’s 70-year-old owner, Song Ja Cha, was sentenced to life in prison in September for the sex trafficking scheme.
Two witnesses testified that officers visited the Blue House three times a week.
Prosecutors presented their case to a grand jury in secret on Friday. The new indictment was circulated later to attorneys in the case during a Superior Court of Guam hearing.
Defense attorneys have argued the government had a three-year window to prosecute the officers for their alleged crimes, but Assistant Attorney Nelson Werner said this window remains open as long as the suspects are still officers.
Werner pointed to a section of Guam law that affects government employees. The section states that, if the alleged crime is “based upon misconduct in office,” the statute of limitations doesn’t expire as long as the employee still has the same job.
The defendants’ lawyers are trying to get the case dismissed. They argue that the government took too long to indict the officers for their alleged crimes and that the officers were brought to court too slowly after their arrest.
Judge Anita Sukola has not yet made a decision on any of the motions to dismiss.
Kauai smart meter installations halfway done
The Associated Press
LIHUE, Kauai — Kauai’s electric utility is more than halfway finished with a project to replace older mechanical meters with “smart meters” that allow utilities and consumers use energy more efficiently.
The Garden Island newspaper reported Monday the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has installed 17,500 meters so far.
The new meters will help the utility accommodate more renewable energy in the grid.
The cooperative aims for Kauai to get half of its energy from renewable sources by 2023 such as biomass, hydro power and solar.
The smart meters allow a utility to remotely read customers’ meters, connect and disconnect service. They’ll provide customers with information on their energy use that can guide them to use energy more efficiently.
“We don’t have to go out and read meters,” said Jim Kelley, KIUC communications manager. This in turn protects KIUC employees from a number of situations, including dealing with dogs or other potentially hazardous conditions, he said.
Around 450 customers have signed up to receive an in-home display that tells them in real time exactly how much energy is being used. The unit also can be set to show the cost of energy being used at current rates.
The cooperative is spending $11 million on the project, with a U.S. Department of Energy grant covering half the cost.
Some on Kauai oppose smart meters, citing fears they may threaten human health and violate privacy. To date, 2,297 residents have asked for deferrals on installations.
“If you don’t want one, you don’t have to have one,” Kelley said.
The utility is considering charging residents who don’t have the newest meters in order to offset the expense of having a technician make the rounds to make monthly usage reports.
KIUC plans to install smart meters at 33,000 homes and businesses.
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., which supplies power to the rest of the state through its subsidiaries, has conducted pilot projects with smart meters on Oahu and is testing a “smart grid” project on Maui. It says advanced metering is a key component of its plan to make its electricity systems more efficient and reliable and increase the use of renewable energy.
Kula boy killed in Maui accident
WAILUKU, Maui — A boy was killed on Maui when the vehicle he was riding in overturned.
Police say the 12-year-old Kula boy was killed late Sunday afternoon.
According to The Maui News, Connor Ellis died at the scene of the crash. Police say the 44-year-old Kula resident who was driving the vehicle was treated and released from Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Police say the accident occurred when the driver swerved to avoid a tire on Pauwela lighthouse road and the vehicle overturned.
Man snorkeling at resort dies
HONOLULU — A man who was snorkeling at Honolulu’s Hilton Hawaiian Village lagoon has died.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser says the man, believed to be in his 50s, was taken by ambulance Sunday in critical condition to Straub Medical Center, where he died.
An autopsy was to be done Monday afternoon to determine the cause of death.
UH scientists study dumped chemical weapons
HONOLULU — University of Hawaii scientists are studying chemical weapons the Army dumped in deep water off Oahu decades ago.
The Army-funded researchers said Friday they’re sending submersibles to collect samples near munitions at depths of 600 feet or more.
The submersibles will gather sediment, water and biological samples near weapons and at control sites. They’ll analyze the samples for explosives and chemical agents.
The military used the ocean as a dumping ground for munitions between 1919 and 1970. Records show the Army dumped 16,000 bombs five miles south of Pearl Harbor after World War II.
The Army plans to publicly release a report on the data, but doesn’t expect the report will be ready before January 2015.
The study expands on research done in the same area a few years ago.