Man drowns while swimming off Kauai
LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities say a 65-year-old New York man has drowned in waters off Kauai.
The Kauai Fire Department says he was swimming at Lydgate Beach Saturday when he apparently got swept away.
Lifeguards and firefighters responded and the man was located floating 75 feet off shore.
Medics worked to revive him but he was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.
The department says the man’s name is being until relatives are notified.
It was the third drowning on Kauai this year.
Settlement in school sex abuse lawsuit
HONOLULU (AP) — The state has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a sex assault lawsuit at the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind.
Hawaii News Now reports (http://bit.ly/11vQeUn ) the settlement means the Kapahulu school will remain open. Attorney Michael Green tells the paper the class-action lawsuit that claimed students were raped and assaulted for more than a decade by other students was brought so the children could get the treatment they needed.
Green filed the lawsuit in 2011 claiming the school’s administrator was told in 2007 about the assaults, but did nothing to stop it.
The settlement filed on Friday requires legislative approval.
Honolulu woman killed by reversing garbage truck
HONOLULU (AP) — A garbage truck backing out of a Honolulu cul-de-sac has struck and killed an 83-year-old woman near her home.
Police Lt. Robert Towne says the woman was run over Friday morning and she died later at a hospital.
Police say they believe the woman, a retired registered nurse, was crossing at a street corner at the time of the crash.
Honolulu environmental services department spokesman Markus Owens told the Star-Advertiser (http://bit.ly/VFIheH ) that it is common for garbage trucks to back out of short, dead-end streets because those areas are too narrow for trucks to go in and turn around.
Resident Deeter William says he has never seen garbage trucks back up on his street. The crash occurred in front of his house while he was at work.
Gabbard reports having $320K in bank
HONOLULU (AP) — Campaign finance disclosures show freshman U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ended 2012 with more than $320,000 on hand.
Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who won a second term in November, reported having just under $55,000 on hand.
Gabbard, in a filing with the Federal Election Commission, reported raising more than $33,000 between Nov. 27 and Dec. 31. Hanabusa raised $1,250 during the period.
Both women are Democrats and applied to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Daniel Inouye in December. Inouye had said his last wish was for Hanabusa to succeed him. Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed Brian Schatz.
Fire breaks out at Waikiki restaurant
WAIKIKI, Hawaii (AP) — Firefighters have been called to a fire at a restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki.
KITV-TV (http://is.gd/foAGzO) says the fire broke out around 3:23 a.m. Friday inside the Cheesecake Factory on Kalakaua Avenue. The fire is believed to have begun in the kitchen when grease ignited.
Police shut down Kalakaua Avenue to accommodate fire crews called to the scene.
Honolulu police said the street was reopened by 7 a.m.
