Judge evicts Oahu nudists from rental house
HONOLULU — A judge ordered the eviction of the tenants of an Oahu rental home that advertised naked parties and gained the ire of neighbors.
The judge sided with the property manager, citing lease violations, multiple disturbances and running a business out of the Nuuanu home.
Neighbors have complained of the so-called Freedom House’s loud parties, like naked yoga, and a fire that consumed a car. Neighbor David Brown said he frequently reported the parties to police.
An attorney for property manager Sakuma Realty said the home operated as an illegal business, which advertised online. The renters have denied that allegation.
“It’s just a website that I decided that I could have to have people come together,” tenant Brent Thomas said.
Tenant Amy Highmoor said the property manager and neighbors are retaliating because of their alternative lifestyle and her complaints about the home’s condition.
“I’m a naturalist. This is my religion and I have a right to be nude,” Highmoor said. “I am not offensive.”
Lawyers for both sides will work out a moving date for the tenants.
PUC signs off on Molokai renewable energy project
HONOLULU — The state Public Utilities Commission has cleared the way for a large-scare renewable energy project on Molokai.
The commission approved a power purchase agreement Monday for the island’s first grid-scale solar and battery energy storage project, which aims to lower electric costs for customers and make up nearly half of Molokai’s renewable energy production.
Molokai New Energy Partners will own and operate the facility that will be built on vacant industrial land leased from Molokai Ranch. The facility will sell electricity to the Maui Electric Company, which has 3,200 customers on the island.
The project will include 4.88 megawatts of solar panels. Its battery system will store energy and discharge up to 2.6 megawatts during peak hours.
“Molokai New Energy Partners is very pleased with the recent decision by the PUC regarding our solar and battery storage project,” said Charles Magolske, the company’s executive vice president of corporate development. “We look forward to progressing the construction of this project and bringing lower cost clean solar power to Molokai.”
The Maui Electric Company expects the project to be up and running by the end of 2019. The power purchase agreement is for 22 years.
“As this solar and battery project moves forward, we recognize there is still much to be done in our efforts to reach 100 percent renewable energy on Molokai,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric.
She added: “We’ll be seeking more affordable renewables to power the island and look forward to continue working with the Molokai community, policy makers and renewable energy developers to achieve this ambitious goal.”
Honolulu unveils King Kamehameha III statue to mark holiday
HONOLULU — Honolulu has dedicated a statue of King Kamehameha III to mark the 175th anniversary of Sovereignty Restoration Day.
The city celebrated Hawaiian culture and history on Tuesday as it unveiled the 12-foot (3.7-meter) bronze statue in Thomas Square, the site where rule was restored to Kamehameha on July 31, 1843.
The ceremony was timed to the exact hour when five months of British occupation was ended by British Royal Navy Rear Adm. Richard Thomas, Puakea Nogelmeier, a retired University of Hawaii professor, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The $250,000 statute was outfitted with lei during the ceremony and guarded by Honolulu firefighters dressed in 19th century uniforms. Kamehameha founded Hawaii’s fire department and shared power with three branches of government during his 29-year rule.
“This is Kamehameha III’s place at Thomas Square, and it’s fitting that it have a statue of Kamehameha III, not Adm. Thomas,” Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. “He gets the name but he doesn’t get the statue.”
The city celebrated the restoration of power Tuesday by lowering the British flag and raising the Hawaiian flag. The statue by artist Thomas Jay Warren depicts Kamehameha’s arm raised to the Hawaiian flag, with one foot planted in the past and the other lifted to the future, Caldwell said.
Caldwell told those gathered that the ceremony represented “our ongoing story of our people — all of our people, whether you’ve got the koko of the Hawaiian blood or whether you showed up last week, or you’re one of the immigrant groups that came to work the plantations. We’re all part of that story today.”
Burglars hit Oahu elementary school 4 times last month
HONOLULU — An elementary school on the western side of Oahu was burglarized four times last month, losing thousands of dollars in equipment and supplies, officials said.
Makaha Elementary School is struggling to stop the crime spree before the new school year begins next week.
“It’s disheartening. It’s one of those things that makes your heart sink,” Vice Principal Elson Barba said.
Three classrooms were burglarized Monday. The thieves took computer equipment and classroom supplies, which were purchased by fifth-grade teacher April Okamoto for students in need.
“I feel heartbroken for the kids and for us who work here at the school because we come to work to be safe, not to have to come and lock everything up all the time,” Okamoto said.
Burglars targeted the school again early Tuesday, taking a desktop computer and projector, Barba said. They entered the classroom through a window, cutting through a metal security screen. Two other break-ins occurred earlier in July.
The classrooms are equipped with alarms and motion sensors, but the thieves were able to escape before police arrive, Barba said.
“I’d hate it if a student had to come in to the first week of school to a classroom that’s been broken into or trashed,” Barba. “How would that make them feel?”
With the school’s limited resources shrinking, Barba said the thieves are stealing learning opportunities from students.