More wind farm protesters arrested
KAHUKU, Oahu — More protesters opposed to a wind farm on Oahu’s North Shore were arrested.
Dozens of protesters trying to block equipment from getting to the construction site were arrested Sunday night and Monday morning.
Three wind turbine blades as long as jumbo jet wings were delivered to the Kahuku site Monday after 13 demonstrators were arrested at the entryway to the property.
Police on Sunday night arrested 26 people when protesters plastic-tied and duct-taped themselves together in west Oahu, from where the equipment convoy departed.
Last week, 55 protesters were arrested during another equipment convoy.
Opponents say the turbines pose health risks and are noisy.
Oahu plans homeless project with temporary service center
HONOLULU — A pilot project aimed at reducing problems related to Oahu’s homeless population is scheduled to begin offering a temporary hub for homeless services.
The two-pronged approach to reducing homelessness and related crime will include a crackdown on violations and the opening of a “navigation center.” Waipahu Cultural Garden Park northeast of Honolulu will host the center offering a range of social services called the Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons.
The temporary center located at Hawaii’s Plantation Village will be made of inflatable, wind-resistant structures. The center will remain no longer than 90 days before the project is relocated to a different city park.
The three-year pilot project is budgeted to cost $6 million from $30 million in funding previously approved by state legislators.
The center will be surrounded by a 5-mile area policed with zero tolerance for illegal activity, officials said.
The idea brings together many practices already in use with the intention of helping homeless people take the first steps toward getting off the streets. That includes kennel space for pets, which is not allowed in traditional homeless shelters, officials said.
Typhoon spurs federal emergency for Northern Mariana Islands
HONOLULU — A federal emergency was declared as Typhoon Bualoi approached the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Trump administration approved the emergency declaration Sunday, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
The National Weather Service said the typhoon was expected to affect the archipelago late Monday. It had top sustained winds of 85 mph and was anticipated to intensify.
The White House said in a Sunday release that the typhoon threatened the municipalities of Rota, Saipan, Tinian and the Northern Islands.
Forecasters say the storm is generally moving northwest. A typhoon warning is in effect for Saipan and Tinian, where high winds were expected.
Guam clergy sex abuse survivors might receive payments in 2020
HAGATNA, Guam — Guam’s clergy sex abuse survivors could begin receiving compensation from the Catholic Archdiocese of Agana in the first half of 2020.
A federal judge gave the archdiocese more time to calculate payment amounts to nearly 280 clergy sex abuse survivors and other claimants. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January following clergy sex abuse claims totaling more than $1 billion. The archdiocese listed nearly $23 million in assets and $45.6 million in liabilities at the time of the bankruptcy filing.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood granted an archdiocese request for a second extension of a deadline to file a reorganization plan and disclosure statement to Jan. 16, 2020.
Victims and church officials are scheduled to go into mediation beginning Oct. 30, with a church reorganization plan to follow, officials said.
The archdiocese hopes the mediation “will be successful and a plan of reorganization will be created which will reflect the settlement and the parties’ intent going forward,” church officials said in a statement.
The committee representing abuse survivors and other claimants did not object to the extended deadline. If mediation fails, the abuse lawsuits could go to trial. More time is needed to deal with the “moderately complex and large case,” church attorneys said.
The judge gave the archdiocese until March 16 to obtain the approval of its repayment plan from the committee representing survivors.