BY HAWAII REPORTER
Fines, Jail Proposed for Selling Toy Guns to Kids
Companion bills submitted to this year’s Hawaii legislature aren’t fooling around when it comes to toy guns.
The bills would make it a crime to sell or offer to sell a toy gun to a minor in Hawaii.
HB432 and SB749 were submitted to the House and Senate by Rep. Scott Saiki and Sen. Carol Fukunaga, respectively. The bills make it unlawful to sell a toy gun to someone under age 18 unless the buyer used false identification or appeared 18 or older.
The bills have been submitted to the Judiciary Committee in the House and the Commerce and Consumer Protection and the Judiciary and Labor committees in the Senate. A hearing is set next Tuesday in the Senate Consumer Protection Committee at 9 a.m. in room 229.
Nationally, various states and cities have looked at banning sales of realistic-looking toy guns. Last year a law went into effect in Arkansas barring the sale of toy guns that look real. The measure was enacted after a 12-year-old was gunned down after waving a realistic-looking gun at police.
GAO begins Study of Costs of Compact on Hawaii, Guam
A delegation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office is visiting Guam this week to study the costs of providing services to migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.
The Compacts of Free Association between the U.S. and the island nations allow their citizens visa waivers to travel among each other’s countries. The U.S. also gained rights to station troops, aircraft and ships within the countries’ waters.
But a 2008 Hawaii task force found the federal government isn’t fully reimbursing the state for costs of immigrants from the island nations.
The report noted many show up with serious medical needs and cost the state $101.2 million in 2007, most of which was in educational, social services and health department costs. The federal government’s reimbursement to the state was $10.6 million that year.
Guam’s U.S. Congresswoman, Madeleine Z. Bordallo said the GAO team will assess the adequacy of federal reimbursements for Guam’s government, as well as other indirect and direct impacts.
The GAO study is the result of a request made by Bordallo, former Rep. and now Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and other lawmakers.
Pam, Pierre Omidyar Among the Top U.S. Donors Last Year
Honolulu residents Pam and Pierre Omidyar ranked among the top U.S. donors to charity last year in giving $61.5 million to various donations, according to a list to top donors put together by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The Omidyar’s ranked No. 16 on the list of billionaires with their giving to a number of organizations.
This included gifts to HopeLab, a nonprofit in Redwood City, California that was founded by Pam Omidyar that seeks to combine research with innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illness; and Humanity United, a group that seeks to enable local and global solutions to end modern-day slavery and mass atrocities in our time.
Omidyar’s local donations include their Ulupono Initiative, an organization focused on sustainability, environmental efforts and energy. Pierre Omidyar derives most of his wealth from eBay Inc., the online marketplace he founded.
Two Weekends Left for Phone Directory Recycling
The Berry Co., publisher of the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages, said two weekends remain for its phone directory recycling project.
The recycling sites will be open Fridays through Sundays, Feb. 11-13, and Feb. 18-20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The sites are:
- Ward Centers, next to the Trolley Stop on Auahi St.
- Windward Mall, in the parking lot near Macy’s on Haiku Rd.
- Kahala Mall, next to the Trolley Stop on Kilauea Ave., across from Macy’s.
- Town Center of Mililani, behind Consolidated Theaters, near the Reynolds Recycling location.
Hawaii Shark Attacks Rose Last Year
The number of recorded Hawaii shark attacks rose to its highest level in three years in 2010, according to data from the International Shark Attack File.
The program administered by the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida said four attacks occurred in the state during the year, the highest number since 2007 when there were 7 attacks. None of the incidents resulted in a death.
The program’s data shows roughly 3.6 shark attacks occurred in Hawaii between 2000 and 2010, with only one fatality occurring.
Nationally there were 36 attacks last year, with two fatalities. Florida tallied the highest number of attacks at 13.
The International Shark Attack file said worldwide there were 79 attacks, of which 6 were fatalities.
It simply amazes me that our State Representatives and Senators have nothing else better to do but attack the toys our children play with. Having our State Government dictate to us how to raise our children; how “Orwellian” this issue is.
Isn’t there something a bit more important than this? Like say the $800 million dollar budget deficit? Or the nearly $18 Billion dollars of unfunded liabilities that need to be dealt with.
Shouldn’t our State Representatives and Senators be reviewing the State’s budget in an effort to cut the ballooning size of some of the Departments within the State?
And these are the same intellectuals who decided to give themselves a pay raise for the ineptness they created. Meanwhile, they continue to punish you and I for their mistakes with their tax and over spending agendas. Who keeps electing these people; not I.
Albert Einstein said it best: “Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Comments are closed.