HONOLULU — Almost all of Oahu had electrical power restored Saturday after a power failure blacked out the island’s population of about 900,000 and thousands of visitors including President-elect Barack Obama. Residents had been urged to just stay home after the lights went out during a thunderstorm Friday evening. Hawaiian Electric Co. was investigating the cause. The utility had restored power to 276,000, or 94 percent, of its 293,000 customers as of 4:15 p.m., a company spokesman said. It was the first time all of Oahu had lost power since Oct. 15, 2006, when an earthquake shook the islands and knocked out power on Oahu and parts of other islands for up to two days.
Arizona: Light rail service begins
The public is getting its first crack at riding metropolitan Phoenix’s new 20-mile light rail line. Rides on the new system are free through Wednesday. Saturday’s inaugural runs on the $1.4 billion startup line came after four years of construction. The line runs from north-central Phoenix through downtown and then east into suburban Tempe and Mesa. More than 30 additional miles are planned by 2025. The system is aimed at reducing traffic by getting people on public transportation.
Ohio: Cafeterias remain open
A school district in Ohio said the economy is so tight it has kept its cafeterias open during Christmas break to provide hot lunches for needy students. It’s the first time North College Hill School district outside Cincinnati has kept its lunch lines going through the holiday break. Officials said two-thirds of the district’s 1,600 students are economically disadvantaged, up from fewer than one in 10 a decade ago.
Nevada: Railroad bridge collapses
A freight train derailed Saturday in northern Nevada, triggering a bridge collapse and disruptions in rail service on one of the country’s main east-west lines, Union Pacific officials said. The derailment occurred in a remote area along the Humboldt River about 10 miles west of Carlin and 260 miles east of Reno, a rail company spokeswoman said. The 102-year-old bridge spanning the river collapsed a couple of hours after the derailment, she said, and railroad officials are unsure how long it’ll take to restore it. Union Pacific officials said they hope to come up with a plan by Monday on how to deal with the bridge.
New Mexico: Bus crash kills two
Police in central New Mexico say two people have been killed and at least 50 injured in the wreck of a tour bus that went out of control and overturned. The Torrance County Sheriff’s Department said the bus was traveling north on U.S. 54 near Corona when the driver lost control in a construction zone. The bus hit the median and overturned. The injured included a 9-year-old child. The bus had come from El Paso, Texas. The sheriff’s department says roads were snowpacked and icy in the area.
Afghanistan: Kabul rocket attack
A rare rocket attack in the Afghan capital Saturday night demolished two rooms of a mud-brick home and killed three teenage sisters, the family and police said. The rocket attack on the southern end of Kabul landed on a house adjacent to an Afghan police training center. The attack crushed a mud home and killed three sisters, ages 13, 15 and 16, the girls’ uncle said. Men swept up the shattered bricks of mud while women mourned out loud in another room.
Britain: Woolworths stores close
About 200 Woolworths stores in Britain have shut their doors for good. The stores that closed Saturday represent about a quarter of the company’s shops. The rest of the stores are to close within about a week unless a last-minute buyer is found for the failed retailer. It filed for a form of bankruptcy protection last month. About 27,000 people are expected to lose their jobs. The British retail company has outlasted its original U.S. parent, which closed its final Woolworths stores in 1997.
Malaysia: Former king, 86, dies
Tuanku Ja’afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a royal state ruler who became Malaysia’s king for five years under the country’s unique monarchal system, has died. He was 86. Tuanku Ja’afar, the constitutional head of central Negri Sembilan state, was taken to a hospital Saturday after complaining of a headache and dizziness, a state secretary said. He died in an intensive care unit several hours later. He is to be buried on Monday.
Mexico: Beauty queen’s crown
A Mexican beauty queen detained on suspicion of drug and weapons violations has been stripped of her crown in the Hispanoamerican Queen pageant, contest organizers said Saturday. Laura Zuniga, 23, was stripped of first-place honors for “failure to comply with the regulations of the title she represents,” Bolivia-based pageant organizing company Gloria Promociones said. She beat more than 19 contestants from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States to win the title in October. Runner-up Vivian Noronha of Brazil will receive the crown.
From Herald news services
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