HERE'S wishing state House and Senate leaders success in their pledge to deal with fireworks regulation early in the legislative session beginning this month. Fireworks may
engulf LegislatureLike same-sex marriage for many years, fireworks is a side issue that has potential to take over the session and distract lawmakers from acting on more important issues such as civil service reform, the budget and economy, the state health fund, gun control and a new prison.
The issue certainly is hot, so to speak, after New Year's Eve aerial celebrations filled the air with noxious smoke, burned property and caused troubling injuries including one death. But it's still a side issue that has little bearing on Hawaii's long-term welfare. If legislators do nothing this year but argue about fireworks, they will have failed woefully.
They should be able to resolve the matter fairly easily if they apply a little common sense and cooperation.
The ultimate common sense would be to ban fireworks. As Gov. Ben Cayetano says, "This is such a clear-cut health and safety issue that...it's something that needs to be done because it's the right thing to do."
It's been accepted for years that people have the right not to breathe second-hand cigarette smoke. You would think this implies a similar right to be spared the foul clouds from gunpowder blasted into the air on New Year's Eve.
But some legislators -- and citizens -- aren't comfortable with a total ban on the island tradition of New Year's fireworks and, to be fair, it's not entirely unreasonable. Cultural traditions have real value and shouldn't be discarded without a lot of thought.
If legislators can't yet live with a complete ban, an interim compromise is to understand the real tradition and return to that.
The tradition didn't include personal aerial fireworks, a recent arrival to the islands, and it should be a no-brainer to immediately legislate them out of existence by whatever means necessary.
TRADITIONALLY, aerials were fired by professionals from isolated places like Magic Island so misfires of the powerful explosives would cause little harm to people and property. Shooting fireworks from centralized locations enabled a maximum number of people to enjoy the show with a minimum of smoke.
These dangerous devices never were intended to be fired from neighborhood streets and backyards. To continue to look the other way while it happens is irresponsible.
New Year's firecrackers, on the other hand, clearly are part of our tradition. But as Health Director Bruce Anderson points out, the tradition is more like kids lighting a few hundred firecrackers one at a time -- not half the people on the island blowing off a bazillion of them from elaborate structures erected on residential streets.
A combination of import controls, licenses and permits should get matters back under control. We might be surprised how far it would go to simply ask people for their cooperation and consideration of others.
Let's get it done quickly and move on to more important things.
To readers who felt they were left hanging by last week's column, our Shar-pei Bingo survived his lonely New Year's Eve among the fireworks and is flattered that so many nice people cared enough to ask. While he stayed in the yard that night, he slipped out a few nights later and set dogs barking and neighbors swearing up and down the street until we chased him down. His mock contrition after his scolding was unconvincing.
David Shapiro is managing editor of the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached by e-mail at editor@starbulletin.com.
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