Honolulu authorities investigate arsons at 3 Waikiki hotels
HONOLULU — Authorities in Honolulu are investigating three fires that were intentionally set in different high-rise resort hotels near Waikiki Beach during the past few days, officials said Wednesday.
A blaze Monday caused $1.8 million in damage at the 25-story Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger. The fire was near a storage room on the 14th floor.
Each fire began at night in a hallway on a floor with guest rooms, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Scot Seguirant.
Firefighters referred the case to police for investigation. No one was injured in the fires. Two of the hotels were partially evacuated.
Police declined to comment. They have not released any information about possible suspects, methods or motive.
The first fire caused $4,000 in damage Sunday at the Alohilani Resort.
A fire Tuesday night broke out on the 28th floor of the 38-story Hilton Hawaiian Grand Waikikian.
Hotel security put out the flames with a fire extinguisher after it caused $10,000 in damage, police said.
Oahu illegal rentals drop after short-term rental law OK’d
HONOLULU — The number of illegal rentals on Oahu has dropped sharply since Honolulu passed a law targeting short-term vacation rentals, officials said.
Honolulu officials say the number of unpermitted vacation rentals listed online has dropped from about 5,000 to 3,000.
The law that went into effect Aug. 1 bans renting or advertising unpermitted short-term rental units outside a resort district. The law also increases fines for renting or advertising the units from $1,000 per day to a maximum of $10,000 per day.
The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting first began notifying owners of unpermitted rentals in July, officials said.
The first violation notices could be issued as early as this week, said department acting director Kathy Sokugawa.
The department is “investigating a couple hundred violations right now,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Tuesday.
Utah man pleads guilty in killings of ex-girlfriend, her son
AMERICAN FORK, Utah — A 30-year-old Utah man faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to the 2015 killings of his former girlfriend and her young son.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office said Christopher Poulson pleaded guilty Tuesday in state District Court in American Fork to murder and other charges in the killings of 23-year-old Emily Almiron and her 3-year-old son, Gabriel.
Their bodies haven’t been recovered but the county attorney’s office said in a statement that Poulson is cooperating with the search for their bodies.
Relatives of the victims reported them missing Sept. 12, 2015.
Poulson was extradited to Utah from Hawaii in 2017 after he was charged with the killings.
He is expected to be sentenced on Sept. 26.
