18
March
2007
The Police is understaffed and trying to recruit local cadets. Turns out the people applying don’t have the reading skills to become police officers. Kind of scary that of all the possible options, the point of failure is “reading comprehension” for somebody who is supposed to enforce scores of written laws.
Good to see that the Chief of Police is not contemplating lowering the standard.
(Original found here.)
Young police recruits struggle to pass exam
by Erin Miller
West Hawaii Today
Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:48 AM HST
Response to the Police Department’s youth cadet program has been good, but academic difficulties may keep some candidates out of the program.
Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna said Friday the department received more than 100 applications for the program, which is set to begin this summer.
The scoring of applications isn’t finished, but among applicants who failed the entrance exam, reading comprehension was a “major issue,” Mahuna told Police Commissioners at their monthly meeting.
Cadet applicants who were unable to finish the test in the allotted amount of time struggled with understanding what they read, he added. Other components of the test include following logical progression, analytical thinking and math skills.
“Do you ever have meetings with teachers, to let them know we pass the students who can’t read?” Commissioner Karolyn Lundkvist asked Mahuna. “To correct that, it seems we could start with some kind of forum for the teachers.”
Mahuna said doesn’t think blaming teachers or the state’s Department of Education is the right approach.
“It’s not so much that they don’t recognize the problem,” he said. “The problems arise with behavior management, the inordinate amount of time spent doing that and it disrupts the rest of the class.”
Mahuna said he did not anticipate lessening the test’s difficulty level, because to become police officers, applicants must have at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. One goal of the cadet program is to help the cadets become full-fledged police officers when they are old enough to apply.
Mahuna said after the meeting that some of the applicants taking the test were still in high school and haven’t completed their education.
Commissioner Anita Politano Steckel said members of the public might push for education reform — if they knew students were unable to pass tests like the Police Department’s entrance exam.
“We can’t get people to pass a rather ordinary [exam],” Politano Steckel said. “I hope this gets out and you get the public excited.”
Commission Chairwoman Pudding Lassiter told Lundkvist to pursue a forum with police, school and community representatives to discuss the problem.
The youth cadet program is part of the department’s ongoing recruiting drive to fill vacancies. The department has openings for 43 sworn officers and 17 civilian employees.
Posted: local, education
18
March
2007
Two articles coming back to back regarding school lunch programs. Apparently students are being denied lunch, if they lose their lunch tickets. What’s worse: having hungry (and fidgety) children in the classroom, or teaching them responsibility by not losing the tickets in the first place. The solution: beg the population. “If each person in the community gave just one dollar …”
What about the parents? Isn’t that what parents should do, ensure that their kids are fed, rested, and clothed. No, the response is
It’s about aloha, loving the kid. Why deny them lunch? … People are obviously not thinking about the welfare of the child.
Yikes. I’d understand it for kids in kindergarten or the early elementary grades (but then you might not want to ask them to handle “meal tickets” in the first place), but once you get older …
(Originals found here and here.)
School lunch policies questioned
by Lisa Huynh
West Hawaii Today
Monday, March 12, 2007
Prompted by an incident in which a Kohala High School student was denied lunch because he lost his lunch ticket, Hawaii Island administrators are revisiting a long-standing debate about school lunch policies.
The question of whether students should be given lunch when they lose their lunch tickets or forget to bring their lunch money — and whether grade level should guide policy — is a complicated one involving education and finances.
The Department of Education does not have an umbrella policy for how schools should handle lunch distribution. The issues are dealt with on a school-by-school basis, said Randy Moore of the Office of Business Services.
Often schools will provide lunches to students regardless of the situation but in doing so at least several Big Island schools have accrued school-lunch-loan debts. Further, educators have expressed the need to hold students accountable for their actions.
Lani Eugenio, the mother of a Kohala High student, recently appealed to the state DOE and the Board of Education to address problems related to school lunch policy after her son was denied lunch when he lost his lunch ticket and wasn’t able to pay for its replacement.
In a memo to the DOE and BOE titled “Feed Our Children,” Eugenio wrote that her “child lost his lunch ticket and asked that the $5 replacement fee be taken out of his account, which had nearly $100. It was denied and he was denied lunch.”
She said the department and board responded to her letter but have made no changes to the system.
Kohala High School Principal Catherine Bratt said the school has attempted to address the issue of lost school lunch tickets by offering to keep the tickets in the cafeteria, where students can retrieve and return them at meal times.
“If they haven’t had a ticket, we’ve basically given them wiggle room,” Bratt said. However, unpaid loans have led to the school accruing outstanding loans close to $50. Bratt said she’s heard of other schools that have had significantly higher debts from lending students money for lunch.
Hawaii’s public schools have automated systems in which parents are notified immediately when school lunch accounts are running low, said Bratt.
Schools are reimbursed by the federal and state governments for free and reduced lunches. The data from the lunch programs aids federal government tracking of low-income students.
In the 2005-2006 school year, roughly 6.6 million free meals and 2.3 million reduced-price meals were served in Hawaii, according to Glenna Owens, DOE school food services program manager. The state received about $18 million in federal reimbursements for free meals, and about $5.5 million for reduced-price meals.
West Hawaii Complex Area Superintendent Art Souza said the general understanding is all students are going to be fed. Before becoming superintendent, Souza said he inherited a school-lunch-loan debt when he was principal at Waikoloa Elementary.
“The difficulty is, how do we collect the school lunch loans?” Souza said. “It’s an ongoing problem and there’s no right or wrong answer.”
He added there are many levels of understanding on the issue. For some schools, making students responsible for their money and tickets is a form of teaching civic responsibility.
Standard practice from the state office is for elementary schools never to deny children food, said Owens. However, the same practice does not hold for high schools, likely because the students are expected to be more responsible.
Eugenio believes students should never be held accountable for their tickets, and that the school administration is responsible for feeding the students so they are not malnourished.
“It’s about aloha, loving the kid. Why deny them lunch?” she said. “… People are obviously not thinking about the welfare of the child.”
A different approach to solve the same problem.
Konawaena program ensures kids are fed
by Lisa Huynh
West Hawaii Today
Friday, March 16, 2007
If each person in the community gave just one dollar, no student would go hungry. This idea led to a plan and a realization for Konawaena High School teacher Alex Cadang.
The lifelong educator’s idea came from an encounter with a student who, hungry and embarrassed, silently left the school cafeteria after being denied lunch because her meal account was empty.
“I was angry and approached the cafeteria manager about the situation. I asked, ‘Why not just give her the food?’ and he explained that he needed to follow the policies,” said Cadang, an in-school suspension specialist.
Instead of fixating on reasons why students should not or could not be fed, he sought a way in which they would.
Shortly after his encounter with the student, Cadang approached friend Ed Finnegan with the idea of starting a fund. It would help feed students who qualify for free or reduced lunch in emergency situations.
“What we tried to do was keep it very simple … children who have meal cards that are depleted may use our funds,” Finnegan said. “… Regardless of the amount of money you’re donating, you know that you are funding meals for kids.”
With the help of caring people in and outside of the school, and with the support of the Principal Shawn Suzuki, Cadang created the “No Child Left Hungry” Program. Despite Cadang’s not having advertised the program, word spread quickly around campus and many stepped forward to make donations.
“What’s wonderful about this is that people in the community have such a passion for the students. They just want to help our kids and families,” said Suzuki. “… This goes beyond giving money. They are not only giving their money, they are giving their time.”
Finnegan and Cadang call the plan a simple solution from simple folks, but they also acknowledge the larger implications of their collective efforts.
“I’d rather have 1,000 people give $1 than one person getting a tax write-off, because then people will understand the plight of our children,” said Cadang.
Konawaena is not alone in struggling to deal with state and federal school lunch policies prohibiting meal loans. West Hawaii Today highlighted the issue in a recent article involving Kohala High School.
Schools are reimbursed by the federal and state governments for free and reduced lunches. The data from the lunch programs aids federal government tracking of low-income students. In the 2005-2006 school year, roughly 6.6 million free meals and 2.3 million reduced-price meals were served in Hawaii, according to Glenna Owens, Department of Education school food services program manager. The state received about $18 million in federal reimbursements for free meals, and about $5.5 million for reduced-price meals.
Cadang said he wanted to share his school’s story in the hopes that it would help others determine their own solutions.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to look beyond the problem,” Cadang said. “We think we have a model that might help other schools.”
Even though Cadang said he knows the system will be abused by some, he still believes it is worthwhile.
The DOE does not have a policy for how schools should handle lunch distribution. The issues are dealt with on a school-by-school basis, said Randy Moore of the Office of Business Services.
Suzuki said implementation of the program does not negate the fact that students must be responsible for their meal cards.
“The expectation is students will still be responsible for their cards and showing us their identification,” he said. “This is just really a different vehicle for addressing the problems and I sure hope it will do some good.”
School cafeteria manager Kip Yamamoto said keeping meal cards in the cafeteria is difficult because, at the high school level, the students come in at different times and there are too many cards to look after.
“I told (Cadang) that (the program) is a good idea because there are kids that come in without cards or money. It’s a good thing when we can pull up the funds from a general account,” said Yamamoto.
Although he does not deal directly with the students most of the time, Yamamoto said it is hard for the cafeteria staff to turn away students.
For more information, contact Alex Cadang at 323-4500.
Posted: social/culture, local, education
11
March
2007
Another bunch of tangled noodles to make sense of. There’s apparently a problem with a state law on “Death with Dignity”. The disabled are worried about being asked to be killed through “reduced protections.” And the law may lead to infant euthanasia (I’m assuming that’s a new term for “abortion”?).
I don’t know what the legislature was about, but given that the bill is now held because of a medical professional means it can’t be completely unreasonable. The writer implies that the state shouldn’t require doctors to act against their Hippocratic Oath (see wikipedia here), but then has no problem for an Ohana and their personal physician to take end of life decisions without legal sanction. So it’s better for a family to end the life of a loved one, than the state saying that they can do so without repercussions?
The word “dignity” seems to be a particular sore spot, as if there can be no dignity in any legal “killing.”
Yet
the state should never put itself in the position of sanctioning killing other than for the purpose of protecting society
This is icky. It’s ok to kill the bad guys, it’s not ok to assist the good guys. I thought the Hippocratic Oath said something about doing no harm (and that it also is against doctors assisting in executions). Sometimes when people get to the end of their life, you may be doing harm by not letting them go and helping them to go. People with terminal cancers are usually not “kept alive at all costs.” The decision is how to help them and increase their “quality of life.”
“Quality of life” is not the same as “alive.”
(Original found here.)
UPDATE: a day later another person wrote in regarding this article. He comes from a different perspective and sounds rather angry at the original views expressed. Of course more valid points. Sometimes you feel that it is time for new language to view all this. The Republican Administration is great at coming up with slogan, or new terms for things we already call something (like “Insurgents,” or “War on Terror,” or “Unlawful Combatants”). Let’s apply that same and rename something known. We have Conservatives and Liberals. But they’re conserving and liberating what - the Status Quo? OK - so how about “old fashioned” and “modern?” (or “stubborn” and “impatient” if that sounds better).
Anyways, the followup letter was pissed, though heartfelt.
Death with Dignity
Protect Marriage and the Terminally Ill
Saturday, March 10, 2007 9:49 AM HST
The person who recently wrote a letter castigating Hawaii’s Legislature for not passing a “death with dignity” bill was evidently not present in the Health Committee hearing where public testimony regarding this subject occurred.
I was, and I can tell you the testimony against this very deceptive legislation was overwhelmingly against it. There were no arguments given that were more powerful than those from the community of the disabled, all of whom understood (as well as the U.S. Supreme Court) that this type of law can push us further down the “slippery slope” of reduced protections for the most vulnerable in society.
There is nothing “humanitarian” or “dignifying” about giving legal sanction to health care providers to begin functioning contrary to their Hippocratic oaths. When the state tries to define which people have more or less dignity based upon their physical condition in a given near death experience, it perverts its role in society to treat everyone as equal under the law, and it will ultimately fail. This is the “fruit” of such actions in Belgium and Holland and at a minimum, we can learn from their story. Indeed, these same countries are now slowly embracing the concept of infant euthanasia and it started with embracing the conceptual paradigm of “death with dignity”.
This bill never came before the Legislature as a result of any groundswell of public opinion, nor the breakdown of traditions that safeguard individuals prerogatives of deciding among their ohana and with their personal physician what end of life decisions to take without the force of legal sanction. The state should never put itself in the position of sanctioning killing other than for the purpose of protecting society.
Bob Dylan sang a song with a line “when we practice to deceive, oh, what a tangled web we weave.” This legislation, while perhaps well intended, would have created a tangled web of deception. Let us never participate in this deception under the guise of helping our neighbors and family members to die more peacefully, or with “greater dignity”.
Our local state representative, Josh Green, and his committee by a vote of 5 to 2, chose the wisest course of action and held the bill.
A far more serious issue at present (and one which hundreds of thousands of people did speak their mind on) is the Legislature seeking to overturn the results of the state wide referendum in 1998 that protected the institution of marriage by a majority vote of 69 percent.
House bill 908, entitled “Civil Unions” and described as “extending the same rights and responsibilities of spouses to partners in a civil union” would make a mockery of the 1998 vote.
It simply results in marriage being called by another name. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
Husbands and wives take care for your children and let your legislators know your thoughts.
MS, Kailua-Kona
here is the follow up, found here.
Same sex unions
Conservative doublespeak
Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:47 AM HST
In his letter to the editor published on March 10, Mark Spengler, in his argument for protection of the terminally ill wrote, in arguing for the defeat of the bill, the state “perverts its role in society to treat everyone as equal under the law.”
Yet in the second part of his letter, he goes on to argue against “extending the same rights and responsibilities of spouses to partners in a civil union.” As so many in the conservative fight against any kind of legal recognition of civil unions, Mr. Spengler argues for the state to treat conservative issues “as equal under the law,” all while talking out of the other side of his mouth and demanding that civil unions not be recognized.
For someone who is so concerned about protecting marriage, perhaps their attention would be better focused on Las Vegas wedding chapels and the two-day marriages of the Britney Spears of the world. Furthermore, I would think that the conservatives of this country, if so concerned with holding marriage up as the proper adult relationship between two committed, loving people, they would be clamoring for co-habiting gays and lesbians to marry instead of “shacking up.”
Instead, conservatives seemingly have to have someone to feel superior to. Think about it: Gays and lesbians remain the last group of people that it is still socially acceptable, and legal, to discriminate against in most of the nation.
Yes, even toothless residents of trailer park ghettos can sit in their smoke-filled homes waiting for their next government handout, but they can still feel superior to even the most successful homosexual in their town, because they have the legal recognition of their relationship, whatever that may be.
Are conservative marriages on such shaky ground that if the gay couple in your neighborhood had equal recognition under the law, your marriage would lose its sanctity? Would you end up in divorce court? Would the thought of gays having the same rights as you regarding hospital visitation, inheritance, taxes, and all the rest cause you to question your own sexuality? Is your grasp on heterosexuality so weak that you are concerned that you would join my “team” if, God forbid, we had the same tax deduction, or my partner could be covered by my medical insurance?
Conservatives of America, you should know that gays are not clamoring to burst into their local Baptist, Pentecostal, or Catholic church during Sunday services and demand to be married. This may come as a shock to you, but in many cities, we have our own churches. But even in small towns like Kona, where there is not a gay church, being humans, we are not generally inclined to barge in on a body of Jesus’ followers — where we likely would be viewed with disdain, be unwelcome, and in some locales we would be at risk for physical harm –in a church or just outside of it.
“What would Jesus do?” The Jesus I know is about love, and I don’t believe He would look favorably on people who treat others as inferior humans.
Happily there are denominations where generally, all are welcome, so if your church is not among them you can relax: don’t look for me in your house of bigotry and homophobia, I won’t be there.
I will admit that HB 908, as written, had a flaw. I do not think any 16-year-old should be allowed to “marry” — anybody. But I am not the least bit interested in a 16-year-old, but I remain interested in my 41-year-old partner.
And he thanks you Mr. Spengler, and all the taxpayers of this country, as Medicare has paid for two expensive hip replacement surgeries in the last two years.
I’m sure that Blue Cross thanks America’s conservatives too, since they do not have to recognize a legal relationship with my partner, they didn’t have to insure him or pay for his expensive surgeries.
I hope you think of that when you write your next big check to the IRS.
B.L., Kailua-Kona
Posted: local, health, legal
11
March
2007
Good article from a medical professional on the need for tort reform and the impact lawsuits have of the profession. There have to be better ways to have doctors “behave” than threatening them with financial ruin. The same goes for all professionals, especially those in charge of systems that can have life threatening side effects.
As far as unexpected side effects go
it is very clear that a medical center desperate for another orthopedic surgeon accepted a doctor with a demonstrably troubled background
That’s what happens. Go after the good guys, get more bad guys instead. The medical field is a business that needs to keep operating. If you race to the bottom - by kicking all the good guys out - you’ll end up in trouble. We’re still racing down. People are leaving the islands because they see it happening. What’s driving all this. There was an article in the paper today on private funds waiting to jump in and support a new Kona Hospital. And still it is not happening.
(Original found here.)
Public support needed for tort reform
John Bellatti, MD
Friday, March 9, 2007 9:06 AM HST
On March 1 at the Judiciary Committee hearing I, along with many other physicians and medical students and the state insurance commissioner, gave testimony urging passage of HB220 to allow consideration by the full House of Representatives. This bill would have placed a cap of $500,000 on “non economic damages” awarded to a plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit. It in no way limited the right or the ability of a person to sue a doctor.
This bill has been called a “tort reform” bill. Other states have experienced good results in regards to medical care availability as a result of tort reform. Following tort reform in 2003, the people of Texas have available to them 153 MORE orthopedic surgeons, 152 MORE ob/gyn, 33 MORE neurosurgeons. For an explicit description of the recent Texas experience, try Google “Texas liability miracle” and click the top link.
HB220 was initially sponsored by Kona Rep. Josh Green, who chairs the Health Committee, and it passed in that committee. It also passed Consumer Protection Committee (Robert Herkes, chairman) just a week before (13 yes, 0 no, 2 absent).
The newspaper accounts of the March 1 hearing stated that “Emotions carried the day.” The opposite was true. The results of the hearing were obviously predetermined. There was nothing emotional about this, just a cruel, hard dollar- value decision. The Democratic majority leader, Kirk Caldwell, was present watching over his brood to make sure they did nothing to upset the plaintiff’s attorneys. The Judiciary chairman, Tommy Waters, did his biding.
Rep. Cindy Evans who had earlier proposed a bill with identical language, and who had on Feb. 14 voted FOR the same HB220 in the Consumer Protection Hearing suddenly voted against the bill. Hilo’s Rep. Clift Tsuji changed his vote the same way. Apparently the doctor shortage for their constituents on the Big Island was trumped by some other considerations. The votes were: PASS Reps. Green, McKelvey, Souki, Marumoto, Pine. HOLD (Kill) Reps. Waters, Oshiro, Caldwell, Evans, Ito, Luke, Sonson, Tsuji, Yamane and Yamashita. Not present were Reps. Morita and Theilen. This prevented the bill from being debated by all the representatives in full view. The gallery of the Capitol holds a lot more citizens than the hearing rooms. Apparently the Democratic leaders do not want the Democrats’ electorate to understand the issues.
Many of us the hearing re were a captive audience while the malpractice attorneys, absent real arguments, provided emotional cover for their position. A staged reappearance of their clients occurred. Each of these represented real tragedies which occurred during the treatment of patients in Hawaii. For most of the cases no one would argue against compensating the patient, or survivors. Yet residual unhappiness and resentment in these clients was evident in spite of the multimillion dollar awards and the multi-million dollar fees to their attorneys. Compassion for these patients and their loved ones was sincerely felt by all of us — especially the doctors and medical students present. We have dedicated our lives, through education, training, and continuing practice to assisting in the midst of all sorts of tragedies.
What was most amazing to me was that, despite the presence of so many attorneys on the Judiciary Committee itself, there was no interest in showing any relevance of these cases to the matter at hand — HB220. No evidence whatsoever was brought to show that the existence of HB220 by itself would have prevented these lawsuits or have significantly limited the awards to the injured persons.
What also was lacking was a recognition that two or more of the cases could just as easily have been taken as justifications for the bill. In one case, the monetary award was $12 million for future medical and other care. Then there was an additional award for $4 million for loss of income and pain and suffering. This part of the award never made it to the plaintiff.
The attorney took $4 million in attorneys fees; no pain and suffering for him. The attorneys hinted that they would not be willing to represent these deserving clients if the awards were reduced. Unless the attorneys are threatening to strike, there are plenty others in the phone book who would. In a second case, it is very clear that a medical center desperate for another orthopedic surgeon accepted a doctor with a demonstrably troubled background.
This is exactly the situation that we (physicians, HMA and many concerned citizens) are seeking to avoid. HB220 is one important step in bringing more and better quality medical care to Hawaii. We all want less errors and less real malpractice. This will only come with a revitalized and expanding medical community. The current crisis trend will bring a different solution — no doctors — no malpractice.
The people of Hawaii are losing again. Last year a tort reform bill got no hearing at all in the House Judiciary Committee. This year Rep. Caldwell had to use his “leadership” to corral the bill. But the doctor shortage crisis is real and worsening by the week. Yesterday two more fine long-time Kona general practitioners announced they are leaving — 6,000 patients to find new doctors.
One physician is going to Texas (see above), the other to the Canadian Air Force. There is one last chance this session. SB813 is soon to be heard in the House committees for Health and then Consumer Protection. Passage there will lead back to another Judiciary consideration. Citizens could save this bill from being killed also. Submit testimony and SHOW UP. E-mail your representatives and senators.
Follow the newspaper and the Internet for announcements. Bring a water bottle for any hearings. They may last long to allow the attorneys their full show-time. Get up and speak your 3 to 5 minutes on how the doctor shortage affects you and will affect you. Mention how much you think an attorney should be able to take from his client’s pain and suffering. A recent article mentioned that there were many causes of the doctor exodus, not just liability issues.
Well, yes, there are. But does that mean that any multi-factorial problem is immediately insoluble in Hawaii? If an attorney drives over a box of nails and has three flat tires, must he junk the car because he can’t figure out which tire is to blame most for the rough ride? The health of our communities is too important to allow the status quo to continue. But no change will occur if the people affected in Hawaii do not voice their concerns, and where appropriate, their outrage (visit Evans and Tsuji).
It appears most legislators are hoping you’re not noticing. Please, remind them that you are.
John Bellatti is an orthopedic surgeon practing in Kona.
Posted: local, health
7
March
2007
Wombat had to go across the pond to visit the Big City of Honolulu. We had an early official appointment and then had the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves, before our scheduled trip back. What do you do in a big city? For us farm folks from the countryside it’s just exciting to step out the big International Airport and see nothing but concrete as far as the eye can see, eight-lane highways and traffic jams, dozens of car dealerships and lots of fancy cars, big box stores and self-storage places to keep the stuff, correctional center, and other buildings much higher than just three floors. What are simple, country folks to do in this place but … go shopping at the mall.
Honolulu has a nice hang out mall in Ala Moana. It’s 380 stores, three levels, semi outdoors, pretty much a long stretch around an open courtyard, with fishponds and plants. It’s nice, no trouble wasting the better part of a day here. And for us who are shopping deprived, it’s very, very exciting.
So here are a few random impressions of bumpkins in consumerland.
One shopping has become so compartmentalized that you can tell within 5 seconds whether you’re the intended customer. Skulls above the door - nope. Skinny pink bikini bits in the windows, nope (and who calls a swimsuit brand “Raisins”?) Motorcycles extruding out the front wall - nope. Pink flowerly dresses - nope. Everything is designed to look nice, but everything is so thought out, that you have an immediate reaction “yes” or “no.” And I would say for most of the stores the answer is no.
Now design is relative. Prada, Fendi, Gucci all charge you lots of money for their products. You get design and fashion, but we get few reactions for “style.” There are lots of Japanese though in the store, buying status symbols. From a window display I finally realized what the Fendi logo means.
We head into Tiffanys because we’re expecting some design, and sure they have pieces by designers, but it’s definitely split into a “modern” and “tranditional” section. I see some weird pieces designed by Frank Gehry (what else would you expect), but they somehow look like Holocaust memorials, rather aggressive for jewelry. There’s very little that’s simple, I mean simple, simple.
Across from Tiffanys is a Jimmy Choo, shoewear made famous through television series. Looks like there’s unusual things in there (it doesn’t really matter what it is), but looking at the two sales guys gives me enough heebee-jeebies to not get me within 6 ft of the front door. I don’t even want to be “hi, how are you doing today”ed.
Next to Jimmy Choo is a Coach store. Coach used to sell leatherwear, you know belts, wallets, purses, travel bags, and suitcases. How quaint. Now they sell clothing, eye glasses, and fashion items. It’s not about the product, it’s about the brand. And brand is everything. Oakley used to make sunglasses, now I can’t tell that they have anything to do with sunglasses. Just look at the amount of surfstores in the mall, and the amount of surfing stuff sold in them. Or take a look at Banana Republic. Way back when I remembered it as a two level store in a house on Newbury Street in Boston, selling safari clothes and souvenirs upstairs and travel literature and language books downstairs. The current Banana Republic sells some souvenir shirts with the original logo and some Rhinocerous line drawing on them. But the current Banana Republic has nothing to do with a Banana Republic, I wonder if people understand those T-shirts.
But for more branding take a look at Apple. The Apple Stores are very popular, but not for the products, but for the free Internet on their computers. As far as the products go … hmmm. I really don’t like the look of their current products. It’s all nice and clean, but those big monitors look like shiny plastic. The laptops are so unadorned, they almost seem thoughtless, like the only purpose for them was to look simple, at the expense of any personality. They don’t even need to work well (though I think they do).
We spent some time at the Macy’ - “America’s Department Store” it said somewhere. We had some gift certificates that had to be spent. One had expired two weeks ago, we got it extended. As we’re checking for simple tops, I’m watching the clothes on sale and watching the people shop. There sure is a lot of variety out here, but very few pieces I would consider picking. You can tell right away when people are conscious in their decisions, the Eileen Fischer stuff stood out right away in cuts, colors, and materials. But all of the stuff comes with labels, and very little of it causes a response. Who comes up with all these products.
Macy’s also has a few beds for display. We were tired and had to testdrive them. Nice, thick top cover, very comfortable. Found an error on the price label - it said $9600 for the mattress. Yup, for the mattress. We bought a bedsheet that was on sale. Now we’re left with $1.42 on our giftcard. I doubt there’s anything in Macy’s for $1.42.
What else. Realized that Williams Sonoma and Barnes & Nobles are high density stores, that is lots of different products per square foot. Luxury good stores are low density stores, oftentimes sells what seems like less than a dozen products. You spend a lot more time in a high density store, and it’s much more fun to browse and discover. Price is not necessarily the issue, because Williams Sonoma is not cheap.
But you can already tell that shopping here may be no different from any higher-end shopping mall in the country, and yet it is still an Hawaii experience. There were just a few more impressions. 1) I saw a local TV personality doing his lunch shopping at the mall. 2) Found out the reason why security cops are always stationed near the escalators when a bunch of four teens took a joy ride up and down. Escalators are rare around here. 3) I found lockers. These are the first set of lockers I’ve found in the states. They’re not cheap, $1 per hour, $5 per day, but they’re there, tucked away in a dark alley in the bottom level. A place where you can store your bags for the day. What a novel idea, unknown to Hawaii. The airports don’t have them, and we don’t have railway stations here. And I get excited about seeing a bank of metal boxes.
At the end of the day we took the bus back to the airport. Our loot - the above bedsheet and a pair of pants. For lunch we headed into the food court at the Shirokiya Department Store - fresh tempura, sashimi, custard pancakes, marinated cuttlefish and mackerel, ocean salad and kim chee daikon. All “not normal” and all good.
So boy that was a fun day. But let’s not go crazy. Now it’s time to jump back to the quiet life in the wombat burrow.
Posted: social/culture, design, local
4
March
2007
Nice, clear, calm, informative article from a police officer explaining while drunk drivers are put back on the street as “released on their own recognizance.”
First time you hear this you go - whaaaaa? But then you get some background and it sounds perfectly reasonable, given what we have, and what the police has to deal with. What other choice is there in this environment?
DUI procedures
How the release works
Saturday, March 3, 2007 8:43 AM HST
Two people recently submitted letters questioning the reasoning behind the release of persons arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) on their own recognizance. The reasoning is multi-faceted and I hope to clarify for your readers.
In the late 1980s, a design for the planned Kealakehe Police Station was submitted to the county council for approval. That building plan was then reduced by about 33 percent, as the council could not foresee the future growth of Kona.
The current Kealakehe Police Station was built with a cell block that has nine normal cells and one rarely used padded cell. While that cell block was adequate during the early 1990s, it quickly became too small, as the population and number of arrests increased over the years.
By the early 2000s, it was not unusual for two prisoners to be placed in every cell on any given weekend. As remarkable as it may seem, there have actually been times when three prisoners shared a five- by eight-foot cell.
In the 1990’s, an organization called Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) pressured the Legislature into passing new laws regarding drunk driving.
These laws created a lot of extra paperwork for the arresting officer and basically increased the arrest process time dramatically.
In the old days, a single officer could make a DUI arrest, process the arrestee, complete the paperwork and be back out on the road patrolling within one to two hours.
These days, if the officer is unfortunate enough to try and do the entire process alone, the average officer is looking at a minimum of 3-5 hours at the station. Because of this, officers pitch in and help each other with the process. This results in two or three officers being off the road for an hour or two.
It also means that two or three officers are going to be subpoenaed for court at the time of the trial. That results in more overtime and more officers being pulled off the road if the trial occurs during the officers’ tour of duty.
When an arrestee is charged and held on bail, all of the paperwork needs to be completed by the end of the shift. That includes the several pages of arrest report the officer dictates and transcribers in Hilo prepare the following morning. The Prosecutor’s Office expects the entire report by the time the prisoner shows up at Kona District Court on the morning after the arrest.
By releasing the prisoner on his own recognizance (ROR) and giving the arrestee a future court date, the officers can complete some of the paperwork and get back on the road as quickly as possible. The officers call someone to pick up the drunk driver (usually a friend or family member) and hold the arrestee’s keys at the station until the next morning. The officer can then complete the paperwork at a slower time.
This may seem unreasonable to the uninformed, but when your beat partners are responding to fights without adequate backup or calls on your beat, it is important.
The decision to release a prisoner on his or her own recognizance is made by the arresting officer and confirmed by the desk supervisor.
While it may seem shocking to your readers, DUI arrestees are frequently released “ROR.” With limited cell space, a huge amount of paperwork (for DUI arrests), and a system that requires the police to jump numerous hurdles while trying to maintain a safe level of manpower on the streets, releasing a drunk driver to the care of a sober friend is a necessary evil.
Ret. Sgt. Bradley Main
Kailua-Kona
Posted: social/culture, local
2
March
2007
The local Board of Education is the Charter Schools don’t see each other eye to eye. So the BOE investigates and accuses the Charter Schools of mismanagement of funs, because they wasted $1728 over 2 1/2 years. Yup.
Are you kidding me? Less than $2000 of waste, spent on 2 things in 2 1/2 years.
If you’re a monopoly, and a disliked one at that, don’t shoot off your mouth on small stuff like this, it just makes you look petty. In fact, if that is it, then hats off to the Charter Schools for running such a tight ship.
Now the required solution is for the Charter School office to come up with a Strategic Plan.
…?
Waa ha ha ha ha.
And you wonder why public education is in the condition it is in? Well you don’t … it’s … right … there.
(Original found here.)
BOE Audit Questions Charter Schools’ Management of Public Funds
by Nancy Cook Lauer
Stephens Media Capitol Bureau
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:04 AM HST
HONOLULU — A key committee of the Board of Education, distraught over an audit that showed an apparently free-wheeling and free-spending Charter School Administrative Office, on Monday recommended the findings be turned over to both the state Ethics Commission and the Department of Labor.
Members of the BOE Audit Committee were especially concerned over undocumented luncheon meetings totaling $618 and staff celebrations and farewell parities totaling $1,110 during the almost 21/2-year period covered by the audit. They also questioned why the charter office paid expenses for two charter school directors to travel from the Big Island to attend a BOE general meeting.
The internal audit covered spending at the office from Sept. 1, 2004, to Jan. 12 of this year. The undocumented spending on meals and parties came during the tenure of former Executive Director Jim Shon, whom the board fired last summer. The office has had four “permanent” or interim directors in its three-year existence.
“This is problematic all around,” said BOE Chairwoman Karen Knudsen. “It’s quite apparent that we haven’t had anyone in here who’s had management experience.”
BOE auditor Chris Lee said the primary weakness at the office was the lack of formal policies and procedures and a strategic plan. If those two weaknesses were corrected, the other 11 problems he found should go away by themselves, he said.
“This one looks a lot worse than it really is,” Lee said.
State law allows charter schools and the administrative office to operate outside conventional state laws but requires the office to have formal policies and procedures.
Interim Executive Director Maunalei Love said the office would follow the audit recommendations and get the formal strategic plan and policies and procedures completed as soon as possible — perhaps even by next month. She said employees had started working on them when she came on board about four months ago, but the project had to take a back seat to other urgent business in the short-staffed office.
The audit could, however, help torpedo a bill moving through the Legislature that will take some oversight of charter schools away from the BOE and give it to a recently formed charter school review panel. After being heard in the House Finance Committee last week, the bill is being kept from a full floor vote while the committee awaits the audit report.
While some of the newer board members, such as Kim Coco Iwamoto, told the board “I think we can take the high road,” many on the committee spent the good part of an hour and a half grilling Love and Chief Financial Officer Bob Roberts on the audit’s findings.
Board member Garrett Toguchi pushed for the involvement of the Ethics Commission on the travel and meals expenses and the Department of Labor on a contract employee whose position was being turned into that of a full-time employee.
“It begs the question of stewardship of public funds,” Toguchi said.
Steve Hirakami, president of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network, and John Thatcher, the former president, were the two Big Island charter school directors who flew to a BOE meeting at the request and expense of the charter school office.
Hirakami said the office paid because the two were asked to lend their expertise to an issue before the board, but he didn’t recall what it was.
“The kind of things they are finding is real nit-picky,” Hirakami said, recommending the office get an independent audit done to help them better understand the issues.
“We have six or seven of the schools getting audited annually and it’s a real good tool,” Hirakami said.
But after repeated grilling of her CFO and herself, Love’s patience was wearing thin.
“I was hoping that this would be something advantageous,” Love said, “particularly something to help us move on and not to justify what had happened in the past but as a way to move forward.”
Posted: social/culture, local, education
2
March
2007
An article on the 27 percent jump in firearms permit applications in the state.
“Basically, the amount of nuts out there has increased. People are crazy out there because of the ice epidemic and people need to protect themselves,” Hayama said. “A gun gives them a sense of security.”
I hope there are not too many nuts going after nuts.
The article was a little different in our local paper. It contained this paragraph
Some experts cautioned the growth in gun ownership could lead to more guns getting into the hands of criminals. The exact number of firearms in hawaii is not known, but Honolulu police estimate it at more than a million.
So 8,000 asking for a permit is just peanuts, even if it’s 27% more than last year. 1 million is 1 gun per person - I mean there’s one for every grandma and baby in this state. If these are so effective, there should be no crime. And with 1 million guns to pick from, that’s a lot of guns to rob. So people will rob you, they’ll take your gun, you need a new one. The more guns, the easier to find a gun, the more protection you need from the ones looking. Should this be a race to infinity or a race to zero?
But you can’t stop somebody with a gun wanting to harm you from harming you? Maybe. But why does he want to harm me? And why does he have the power to be able to do so? These are cultural and society’s choice.
(Original found here.)
More people in Hawai’i apply for gun permits
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Posted on: Thursday, February 15, 2007
Applications for firearm permits in Hawai’i are setting new records, and law enforcement officials are concerned more guns are being stolen and more are being used by drug dealers.
A total of 8,695 private firearm permit applications were processed in Hawai’i in 2005, the latest year for which numbers are available. That was an increase of 27 percent over 2004 and the highest number since the state began keeping count in 2000, according to the state attorney general’s office.
Hawai’i has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation, and one of the lowest rates of firearms-related deaths. The state had only 3.45 firearms-related deaths per 100,000 residents in the five years to 2004. By comparison, the number for Washington, D.C., was 29.1.
The recent high-profile shooting death of an off-duty deputy sheriff has drawn attention to the issue of gun control. The .22-caliber Ruger semiautomatic pistol that was used to kill Daniel Browne-Sanchez early Saturday was reported stolen in the 1970s, police said.
Gun owners are not required by law to notify police of a stolen firearm. Law enforcement officers are worried that legal weapons are stolen and make their way into the black market, where they can be used in the commission of a crime.
“The shooting death of deputy sheriff Browne-Sanchez this past weekend by a convicted criminal using a stolen gun illustrates the tragic consequences of illegally obtained firearms in the wrong person’s hands,” said FBI assistant special agent in charge Robert Kauffman.
Authorities also are finding that local drug dealers are arming themselves at an alarming rate. While gun violence in the illegal drug trade is not rampant, law enforcement officials are concerned that when they find drugs they usually find firearms.
“The biggest problem that we run across is the connection with firearms and drugs,” said Tracy K. Elder, resident agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. “Quite honestly where you find a lot of crystal methamphetamine, you are going to find firearms and when you put the two together you have an explosive situation.
“The good thing that we do have here … (are) very strict firearm registration laws on the books. They are stricter than the majority of the states. That has helped out tremendously to keeping gun crimes at minimum.”
GOOD RECORD
Hawai’i is ranked second only to Massachusetts as having the strictest gun control laws by George Soros’ Open Society Institute.
The Brady Campaign, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization aimed at preventing gun violence, gave Hawai’i’s gun laws an “A-” in 2005.
“We don’t deal a lot with Hawai’i gun laws because you have very good gun laws already, and Hawai’i ranks near the top in terms of public safety,” said Zach Ragbourn, spokesman for the Brady Campaign. “On the whole, there is not a whole lot of room to criticize Hawai’i on gun laws.”
According to the Hawai’i Department of Health, between 2001 and 2005 there were 188 firearms-related deaths in the state, 132 of which were ruled as suicides, two accidental and 43 homicides.
The exact number of firearms in Hawai’i is not known, but Honolulu police estimate it at more than a million. With that many guns in circulation, it is hard for authorities to keep them out of the hands of criminals.
“There are so many guns on this island that it is virtually impossible to stop the unregulated transfer of firearms. If you want a gun, you can get it,” said Ronald Becker, an attorney who is chairman of the Criminal Justice Program at Chaminade University. “That said, you don’t want to draw too many generalized conclusions from one isolated instance. Firearm crimes are still an anomaly among our crime statistics.”
FEAR FACTORS
The increase in firearm permits in recent years was fueled in part by anxiety generated by Sept. 11, 2001, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the state’s battle with illegal drugs, according to gun advocates and dealers.
“We had a ton of people come to us after 9/11 afraid of something happening inside the United States,” said Harvey F. Gerwig II, president & director of the Hawai’i Rifle Association and a licensed firearm safety instructor. “That concern hasn’t gone away with Iraq, and Iran now looming and all of our National Guard guys overseas, there is a lot of concern (for personal safety).”
In Hawai’i, crimes associated with crystal methamphetamine and other illegal drugs, such as burglaries, assaults and car thefts, have prompted many to seek protection in the form of gun ownership.
Dale Hayama, owner of Young Guns on Pa’a Street in Mapunapuna, said owning a firearm helps some people feel a sense of security.
“Basically, the amount of nuts out there has increased. People are crazy out there because of the ice epidemic and people need to protect themselves,” Hayama said. “A gun gives them a sense of security.”
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Posted: social/culture, local
2
March
2007
When you think of Hawai’i what’s the Number 1 export product that comes to mind? Fruits, flowers, ukuleles … How about fresh water? I see several companies down by the shortline that suck water up from 3000 ft, desalinate and bottle it, to the tune of 1 million bottles a day. It’s being shipped to Japan, for people willing to pay more for purity.
How did this happen. I remembered when those guys were experimenting in the sun, with open tanks, trying to dry the salt out of the water, but coming up with the idea of bottling the water for drinking. We’re trying to organize a high-tech tour of the bottling plant. That’s about how fancy it gets.
How much skill does it take to “make water” on an island?
(Original found here.)
Hawaiian Deep-sea Water Exports Double Last Year
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thursday, February 22, 2007 · Last updated 12:49 p.m. PT
HONOLULU — Hawaiian deep-sea water exports more than doubled last year.
Deep-sea water is popular in parts of Japan, helped by promotions that the water from 3,000 feet below the ocean surface is thousands of years old and thus free of modern impurities.
Exports of the Hawaiian variety to the Asian country have jumped since companies began shipping the product several years ago.
The total monetary value of the shipments hit $37.4 million last year, making deep-sea water Hawaii’s leading locally produced export for the second year in a row.
“Everyone needs water and these days people don’t mind paying something more for something good,” said Yutaka Ishiyama, sales and marketing manager for Koyo USA Corp. “This is the purest water on Earth. It’s very natural and it’s something very pure.”
Koyo is the biggest of three bottling companies that use deep-sea water provided by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, a state facility in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Koyo alone produces 1 million bottles a day.
advertising
Officials say Hawaii’s deep-sea water is popular because of the islands’ reputation as a special place.
D.O. Hawaii, another deep-sea water producer, plans to market its water for use in other drinks, so it can be promoted as an ingredient. It is also hoping makers of tuna and even cosmetics will use its product.
“Even if it is a phase, we’re excited because we’re promoting our water for things beyond the water market,” said Rich Treadway, a spokesman for DSH International Inc., which operates as D.O. Hawaii.
Industry officials say the business is likely to grow further.
“I think it’s going to continue to grow for the foreseeable future as people continue to ramp up production,” said Ron Baird, chief executive officer for the Natural Energy Laboratory.
Companies such as Koyo USA Corp. and Deep Seawater International are hoping bottled deep-sea water catches on in Mainland markets. Last summer, Koyo USA opened a third plant at the Kailua facility in anticipation of new U.S. and Asian sales.
The industry employs about 100 people, diversifying the state’s tourism dependent economy.
The state also benefits by receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in royalties from companies who use the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority’s “100% Hawaii Deep Seawater” service mark on their bottled water.
Posted: local
2
March
2007
Two articles regarding recent efforts to protect locally grown products by labelling them as “Made in Hawaii,” and making sure that that label only is applied to products 100% grown here. If you don’t then blended coffee ends up on the Consumer Reports test table, gets rated a “yuck,” and ends up defaming all those people that have a superior product that they’d like to charge $30 a pound for.
The trick of course is that the label has to be a positive thing.
I’ve often thought that the supermarkets should be way more up front labelling local products as such, and also to label where non-local products come from. It might make a difference to me that my lettuce comes from a local farmer or from the Salinas Valley, or that my garlic does not come from Gilroy but from China. And if it doesn’t, it should. The same goes for GMO foods by the way. Labels would provide information. Information should guide the decision.
(Originals found here and here.)
Protections sought for Hawaii-made products
By MARK NIESSE
Associated Press Writer
Feb 24, 6:57 PM EST
HONOLULU (AP) — Despite the name, that Aloha Hawaii Lei for sale at a local store is made with flowers from China.
Kona Coast Hawaiian Style Pancake and Waffle Mix comes from a company in American Canyon, Calif. Aloha Gourmet Hot Coconut Candy, complete with a “Hawaii” sticker on its label, is actually a Thai product.
And that’s just some of the fake Hawaii you can buy right here in the islands - not to mention products with supposedly island-grown ingredients available in grocery stores and gift shops around the world.
The state Legislature can’t do much about the fake products sold beyond Hawaii shores, but there are moves to crack down on the widespread pseudo merchandise aimed at fooling island residents and tourists.
“The list goes on and on,” said Matthew Loke, administrator for the state Department of Agriculture. “The proliferation of Hawaii copycat products is on the increase.”
From macadamia nuts to colorful lei and Kona-labeled coffee, several agriculture imports are the target of proposals aim to protect authentic Hawaii ingredients from products masquerading as island grown.
All these bills are moving ahead in the state Legislature with broad support except for the coffee bill, stalled by disagreements within the local coffee industry.
“It basically comes down to truth in labeling. If it’s a Hawaii-grown product, we’d like it to be stated as that,” said Alan Takemoto, executive director for the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.
The macadamia nut proposal would require that packaging clearly tell customers what percentage of the nuts were grown in Hawaii.
Local nut growers insist Hawaii-grown nuts are the best, but even some local processors are sometimes accused of importing cheaper nuts from Australia, California, Costa Rica or elsewhere to mix in with the local nuts. Schmitzler said the Kona nut crop was good last year, but rainy weather stunted the Hilo output.
“We need to embrace and protect this industry,” said Sen. Jill Tokuda, D-Kaneohe-Kailua, of the Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. “We have to add value to these products that are made in Hawaii.”
The biggest agricultural debate among lawmakers surrounded a bill that would only allow coffee to be called “Kona coffee” if it contains at least 75 percent coffee grown in the South Kona or North Kona districts of the Big Island. The current requirement is 10 percent.
State law already requires Kona coffees to tell customers on their labels what percentage of the blend came from Kona.
“It’s unknown what the economic impact will be on the coffee farmers, processors and the market in general,” said Steve Collector, treasurer for the Hawaii Coffee Association. “You don’t raise something that drastically until you know the effects. We’re pushing to have a study done.”
Another proposal would force the state government to give preference to buying lei and flowers grown in Hawaii, which may be more expensive than lei made in other countries. In particular, most of the purple orchid lei are brought into the state from Thailand.
Some lei makers say they are being forced out of a business closely identified with Hawaii because they can’t compete with less-expensive flower growers from other countries. A Thai lei can wholesale for $1.50, compared to a similar one locally grown for $4.00.
“What we do is embedded in our culture of aloha. So much of that is being lost,” said Tina Rasmussen, who works at a flower farm making 15 types of lei. “We are an industry that deserves to live on.”
From a broad perspective, agriculture officials are trying to get more money for the state’s “Hawaii Seal of Quality,” a branding designation for Hawaii-grown premium products, Loke said.
So far, 26 growers and processors of flowers, mushrooms, macadamia nuts, noni, papaya, coffee, honey, asparagus, beef, tea and other products have signed up.
The bill would reinvest revenue from the Hawaii Seal of Quality program rather than pool it with the general fund.
“It shows these products are genuine Hawaii-grown, Hawaii-made premium products,” Loke said. “The people who pay for it will get the benefit.”
On the Net:
Hawaii Legislature: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
and on Macadamia Nuts
Mac nut, coffee bills eyed
Legislation may tighten Hawaii nut’s labeling
by Nancy Cook Lauer
Stephens Honolulu Bureau
HONOLULU — Bolstered by support from the state Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, a bill tightening labeling standards for macadamia nuts easily cleared the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce on Wednesday.
The bill, HB 1628, will require the percentage of Hawaiian-grown macadamia nuts to be specified on the label of any container purporting to contain them. It also prohibits labels to imply there are Hawaii-grown mac nuts inside if they’re not.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Herkes, D-South Kona, Ka’u, has already unanimously passed the House Agriculture Committee. Its next stop is the House floor, before being sent to the Senate.
The state’s macadamia nut farmers, many of whom are on the Big Island, have been experiencing a glut of unsold crop because of an unusually good production year, coupled with competition from cheaper imports.
One of the problems, said Captain Cook coffee and macadamia nut farmer Una Greenaway, is that mac nuts are shipped in the shell from Australia, and as long as they’re cracked open in Hawaii, they call themselves Hawaiian.
“This is really, really disastrous for the Hawaii macadamia nut industry,” Greenaway said.
Sandra Kunimoto, chairwoman of the Board of Agriculture, said the bill would bring “truth in labeling” to this segment of the agricultural industry.
“The proposed changes enhance consumer awareness by requiring clear and understandable disclosure of the amount and origin of the raw or processed macadamia nuts contained in the package,” Kunimoto said in testimony.
Alan Takemoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, said the new label requirements could help the state stay competitive in the global marketplace.
“Establishing a niche ‘Hawaii-grown macadamia nut’ brand provides the grower the additional marketing tool to ask for a higher price for their product,” Takemoto said. “Macadamia nut is a commodity that Hawaii is becoming less competitive in the world market. We need to protect the name Hawaii for products that are truly grown in Hawaii.”
Committee Vice Chairman Angus McKelvey, D-Lahaina, Kapalu, agreed. At Takemoto’s request, he also amended the bill to include enforcement provisions.
“It seems to me, without an enforcement clause, it has no teeth,” McKelvey said.
Nancy Cook Lauer can be reached at nclauer@stephensmedia.com.
Posted: social/culture, design, local
