Honolulu Star Bulletin Sept 12, 2008

3 Arrested In Protest On Kauai

They are charged with trespassing for halting a home's construction

Kauai police have arrested three people allegedly involved in a protest that temporarily halted construction of a home being built on top of a Hawaiian cemetery last month.

Andrew Cabebe, 59, James Huff, 51, and Harry Fergerstrom, 59, were arrested Sept. 5 and charged with second-degree trespassing. They were released after posting $50 bail, according to the Kauai Police Department.

They were among seven people who, during an eight-hour demonstration, linked themselves with PVC pipes at the North Shore construction site on Aug. 7, preventing work on the home. Police said they have not been able to arrest all the protesters because some of them are not on the island and others have not been identified.

California businessman Joseph Brescia bought the beachfront lot at Naue Point just off Alealea Road in 2000 from actor Sylvester Stallone.

Brescia has said he has complied with all county and state rules to build the house, but protesters say the site has at least 30 sets of remains that should be protected.

Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe is expected to make an oral decision Monday on an injunction filed by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. to stop construction of the house.

After a six-hour hearing last month, Watanabe denied a motion to halt development until the case was resolved in court, saying concrete footings for the home had already been poured.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. is representing Jeff Chandler, a Haena resident who has family buried where the home is being built.

Construction workers found the burials last year. Since April, when Brescia got approval to build his home despite protests from native Hawaiians, a number of activists have camped out at the site and placed torches at the graves.