Prosecutors want 1 Honolulu police corruption trial
HONOLULU — U.S. prosecutors want one trial for a corruption case against former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, his deputy prosecutor wife and current and former officers.
Prosecutors filed a response Tuesday to various motions by the defendants asking for separate trials. Prosecutors say four trials would bog down the court’s schedule, require recruiting multiple juries and force witnesses to testify repeatedly about the same facts.
The Kealohas want one trial for allegations they framed a relative for a mailbox theft and another trial for bank fraud allegations. Other co-defendants asked for trials separate from the Kealohas.
A hearing on the issue is scheduled for April 10.
Man dies after rescuing daughter
HONOLULU — A Montana man died after saving his 15-year-old daughter who was washed into the ocean off the coast of Maui.
A large wave washed the girl into the ocean Tuesday at the Olivine Pools. The 45-year-old Whitefish, Mont., man jumped into the ocean and got his daughter back to a cliff, where other people used towels to pull her up the ledge.
But when the people on shore looked back to the man, he was floating face down.
Firefighters in a helicopter and lifeguards on rescue watercraft pulled the man from the water. He was airlifted and firefighters began CPR, but the man died at the scene.
It was the 16th ocean-related death on Maui this year.
Entrepreneur proposes hibiscus farm at ranch
HONOLULU — An energy entrepreneur proposed purchasing the Molokai Ranch and turning part of it into a farm for hibiscus that would be used for biofuel. Andres De Rosa, CEO of renewable energy company Lamplighter Energy, shared his vision during a community meeting earlier this month.
Whoever purchases Molokai Ranch will become the state’s seventh-largest landowner. The 85-square-mile property includes two closed hotels, golf courses, cattle pastures and 20 miles of coastline.
De Rosa said 31 square miles would be used to grow hibiscus. Another 8 square miles would be leased to local farmers.
Ex-UH football player helps rescue woman
HONOLULU — A former University of Hawaii football player helped rescue a woman whose car plunged into the ocean.
Aaron Kia, who was an offensive lineman for the Rainbow Warriors from 2005-09, said he and his wife were inside their home Monday night when they saw a vehicle fly into the air off Kamehameha Highway and crash right side up into the ocean.
Kia said he and a neighbor ran across the street to pull the 43-year-old woman out of her car while his wife called 911. The two kept her talking until paramedics arrived. She was taken to the hospital in serious condition.