More than two years after the deadly collapse of the Kaloko Reservoir dam, a Kaua'i grand jury yesterday indicted former car dealer James Pflueger on manslaughter charges.

Prosecutors said the physical and mental abuse committed by Rita Makekau on five children was so heinous that she should spend the next 41 years behind bars. Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall called Makekau's behavior "unacceptable" and sentenced her yesterday to five years in prison.

O'ahu residents will awaken this morning to fairly steady rain that may be locally heavy at times, the National Weather Service predicted last night. By tomorrow, normal trade wind weather should prevail, said Norman Hui, National Weather Service forecaster.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources made an embarrassing concession after the fatal Kaloko dam breach on Kaua'i in 2006.

The mix of military aircraft at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kane'ohe Bay would change substantially beginning by 2012 under a plan released yesterday by the Navy. All but three of the Navy's 27 aging propeller-driven P-3C Orion surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft would be replaced by 18 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission jet aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800, but with strengthened wings, weapons systems and added fuel tanks.

The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found in a residence in Ko Olina last night by police who were called at 5 p.m., authorities said.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, the incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, doesn't plan to make any major changes in its operations, quashing hopes of watchdog groups seeking more openness in the way tax dollars are spent.

City bus driver Searle Pestana yesterday pleaded guilty to operating a bus while under the influence of alcohol.

A Circuit Court jury in the murder trial of Frank Sanes deliberated a day before convicting Sanes yesterday of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

This week's Lana'i brushfire was caused by a downed power line that had been felled by high winds, officials say.