Takai carries over Hanabusa staffer to head his office
U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Takai has named longtime public policy executive Rod Tanonaka as his chief of staff.
Tanonaka is currently serving in the same capacity with outgoing Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa.
"Rod and I have known each other since we were both students at the University of Hawaii," Takai said. "His career has been focused on serving the public since graduation from UH, and he has deep experience working on federal issues that are critical to the people of Hawaii."
Tanonaka will be based in the Hawaii District Office.
Takai is scheduled to be sworn into office Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., with all members of Congress.
He will repeat his oath of office in Honolulu on Jan. 16 at the federal courthouse.
Single customer left without power in Ahuimanu area
Power was restored to all but one of 1,500 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers in the Ahuimanu area who lost service for nearly two hours Monday morning.
The outage, caused by damaged equipment, happened at about 5:30 a.m. around Ahuimanu Road near Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.
Crews restored service to most customers by 7:20 a.m. Monday. Only one customer whose service is directly tied to the faulty equipment remains without power until further repairs can be made, HECO said.
More crashes on Big Isle, but fewer fatalities
Hawaii County is looking to close out the year with vastly reduced traffic fatalities even as the accident rate is up.
So far this year, there have been 11 traffic fatalities on Hawaii island, compared with 25 fatalities during the same period last year, a decrease of 56 percent, the Hawaii Police Department reported Monday.
Of those, three were related to drugs, and three were related to a combination of drugs and alcohol, the department said.
There have been 1,491 major accidents so far this year, compared with 1,298 during the same period last year, an increase of 14.9 percent, said police.
So far this year, there have been 1,127 DUI arrests, compared with 1,303 during the same period last year, a decrease of 14.3 percent.
In the week ending Sunday, police arrested 24 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
Three of the drivers were involved in a traffic crash. Two were younger than 21 years old.
Pump breaks at water facility on Valley Island
Residents of Lahaina and Honokowai, Maui, might have low water pressure thanks to the failure of a pump at the Mahinahina Water Treatment Facility.
The Maui County Department of Water Supply is urging customers in those locales to conserve water until further notice.
Repairs were underway Monday after the pump failed, but until full production is restored, Honokowai and Lahaina customers are requested to avoid watering lawns, washing cars and any other unnecessary water usage, the department said.
Customers in Napili and Kahana are not affected. Kaanapali is on a separate water system, the county said.
