According to a letter from the Federal Transit Administration, the city was overly optimistic that federal funding would be approved for an environmental impact statement in order to begin final design work in early 2010. But approval was only obtained
Matson raises fuel surcharge
HONOLULU (AP) — The largest shipping company that carries goods to Hawaii from the U.S mainland is raising its fuel surcharge after recently decreasing it three times.
Matson Navigation Company announced Friday the surcharge will increase by five percentage points.
Citing rising bunker fuel prices and other energy costs, Matson is increasing the surcharge from 40.5 percent to 45.5 percent for Hawaii service starting Feb. 26.
The company made downward adjustments in August through October because of declines in bunker fuel prices.
Matson officials vow to monitor prices and adjust the surcharge accordingly.
No contest pleaded in molestation case
HONOLULU (AP) — Cecilio Rodriguez, one-half of a popular and longtime Hawaii musical duo, pleaded no contest to molesting two young California girls in the 1990s and was sentenced Friday to a year in jail, prosecutors in Los Angeles said.
A judge in Los Angeles also sentenced Rodriguez to 52 weeks of sexual-offender counseling and five years’ probation. If Rodriguez violates probation, he faces a six-year state prison term.
Rodriguez, 67, was arrested in September in Los Angeles County and charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.
Rodriguez is part of the singing group Cecilio & Kapono, which formed on Oahu’s North Shore in 1973 when Rodriguez and Henry Kapono were introduced by mutual friends.
State investigates dogs mauling pigs
WAIANAE, Oahu (AP) — The Hawaiian Humane Society is investigating a video posted online of two dogs attacking a pig in a small pen.
Humane Society spokeswoman Jacque LeBlanc says investigators spent several hours Thursday at the Waianae property interviewing four suspects and the pig’s owner.
A 20-year-old man was cited with three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and cases against three teenage boys will be forwarded to the juvenile unit of the Honolulu prosecutor’s office. The owner of the pig told investigators he was at work and didn’t know what happened.
The dogs are seen biting the squealing pig. Someone holds the pig by its haunches as a dog bites the pig’s face and ears.
Hunters said it appears the dogs were being improperly trained to hunt wild pigs.
Honolulu rail plan needs $15M change
HONOLULU (AP) — Construction delays on the first segment of Honolulu’s rail project will cost the city millions.
According to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, the city will agree to a new change order worth about $15 million to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. A previously approved $4 million change order adds to the increase, which puts the new price from $483 million to nearly $502 million.
According to a letter from the Federal Transit Administration, the city was overly optimistic that federal funding would be approved for an environmental impact statement in order to begin final design work in early 2010. But approval was only obtained last month.
