A 21-year-old man was indicted by an O'ahu grand jury yesterday on a murder charge in the shooting death of a North Shore man.

Dustin Jimenez also was indicted on related firearm and other charges.

Jimenez is accused of killing Dillon Ching, 30, who was shot twice in the back late May 19 outside his family's Sunset Beach home as he was trying to break up a fight between two groups of people.

He was pronounced dead early the next morning at the Wahiawa General Hospital emergency room.

The murder charge carries a mandatory life term with possibility of parole.

Jimenez, of 'Ohai Place in Wahiawa, also was charged with three firearm counts, first-degree terroristic threatening and first-degree reckless endangering.

WATER TO BE SHUT OFF NEAR KILAUEA

The Kaua'i County Department of Water expects to shut off water to a region east of Kilauea Town tonight, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. and again June 5.

Weather permitting, a contractor will connect new pipelines to existing lines as part of the Kilauea Booster Pump project, which is to be finished in October. Affected roads include Huli, Ko'olau, North Waiakalua Street, Pu'upane, Waiakalua and Wailapa, as well as Kuhio Highway from Kahili Makai to Ko'olau.

For more information on the project, call the county Department of Water at 245-5455.

KAILUA SEWER PIPE TO BE CONNECTED

A city contractor will today be connecting a newly installed sewage pipe near the Kukanono Wastewater Pump Station at 705 Manu 'O'o St. in Kailua, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The work involves connecting a new force main, a pressurized pipe that conveys waste to the pump station and existing pipes. The project is scheduled during low peak flows, but tanker trucks will be standing by as a precaution to handle any problems that might occur before the connection is completed.

BIG ISLAND DUI ARRESTS UP 10%

Thirty-eight motorists were arrested on the Big Island for drunken driving from May 22 to Monday, police said.

DUI arrests have increased 10 percent over the same period last year. Last year there were 478 DUI arrests through May 28. This year, there have been 527.

Police say the increased DUI roadblocks and patrols have contributed to a 19 percent drop in major accidents on the Big Island in 2007. So far this year there have been 846 major accidents, compared to 1,049 last year.

UH LAUNCHES SPACE FLIGHT LAB

The University of Hawai'i has established the Hawai'i Space Flight Laboratory and is now capable of designing, building, launching and controlling its own satellites. The school's goal is to launch its first space mission by the fall of 2009, a UH news release said yesterday.

"Hawai'i is located in a unique position to become a low-cost gateway to space, and to place UH as the only university in the world to have both satellite fabrication capabilities and unique, direct access to orbital space. This will enable many experiments that study the Earth's oceans and continents, as well as test numerous engineering experiments in the hostile environment of space," said Peter Mouginis-Mark, interim director of the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, in the news release.

Through the program, UH researchers from the College of Engineering and the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology will design, build, launch and operate 40-kilogram small satellites. Federal funds tied to the program — estimated to grow to about $40 million — will cover two launches and two spacecraft, the release said.

'LION KING' RUN MAY BE EXTENDED

"The Lion King," the highly anticipated Disney musical, is expected to extend its Blaisdell Concert Hall run by six weeks, Oct. 30 through Dec. 9.

An official announcement of the extension is expected today from Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Jack Lucas, president of WestCoast Entertainment.

The Tony Award-winning show will be in town Sept. 15 through Oct. 28.

Tickets are priced from $30 to $85, depending on play dates, with VIP packages available for $150, which include premium seating, souvenir program and a show merchandise item.

Reservations: (877) 750-4400, www.ticketmaster.com.