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Kailua residents asked
to help clean the beach

State Rep. David Pendleton asks Windward residents to help clean Kailua Beach Park.

"I can't walk on the beach with my kids without stepping on plastic debris that has washed ashore," said Pendleton (R, Kailua), a lifelong Kailua resident.

Pendleton and his staff hope to get Windward lifeguards, residents and business owners to collect trash and debris at Kailua Beach.

It will be in commemoration of Volunteer Week and Earth Day. "Kokua@Kailua 2000" will be held Sunday from 9a.m. to 11a.m. Former football star Russ Francis will join Pendleton to help clean the beach.

Volunteers are scheduled to meet at Kailua Beach pavilion at 9a.m. and work toward Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

Hardware Hawaii, Castle Medical Center and the city will donate supplies to help volunteers collect trash. Castle and other local businesses will donate refreshments for volunteers.

Towaway toll:

Beware, motorists who park in towaway zones: You may be required to pay $50 to the tow truck driver to unhook your vehicle.

Senate Bill 2725 House Draft 2, passed by the House Consumer Protection Committee, states, "If the vehicle is in the process of being hooked up to the tow truck and the owner appears on the scene before the vehicle has been moved by the tow truck, the towing company shall be entitled to unhook the vehicle upon payment by the owner of an 'unhooking' fee of not more than $50. If the owner is unwilling or unable to pay the unhooking fee, the vehicle may be towed."

"This bill doesn't help consumers, it simply allows tow companies to increase their profits by towing the car to their lot, adding on the costs of the tow and storage," said Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua).

"The bill harms consumers," said Thielen. "If we care about consumers caught in this position, we'd require the tow company to accept credit cards or checks and to release the vehicle on the spot," she said.

Cash for crime victims:

The U.S. Department of Justice granted Hawaii $1,991,000 to fund the Crime Victim Assistance Program in Hawaii.

Throughout the United States, about 10,000 organizations provide services to crime victims such as crisis intervention, counseling and emergency shelter, said U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink (D, Hawaii).

The federal program is funded by fines, penalty, assessments and bond forfeitures collected from convicted federal offenders.

"These funds support nearly 3,000 community-based organizations that serve crime victims nationwide," added Mink.

"I am especially pleased that the grant will provide funds to aid the victim assistance program in the State of Hawaii through 2003," she said.

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WINNERS & LOSERS

WINNERS

Bruce Anderson: Health director gets a Senate panel to OK funds to meet the State Hospital's payroll; the money originally meant for the payroll was spent on a court-ordered community program.

Maryanne Kusaka: Kauai mayor's push for state to pay damages when county lifeguards on state beaches are sued, pays off, as Senate approves the idea.

Brian Schatz: Sharks are swimming a bit easier after Senate committee OKs a House bill, pushed by Rep. Schatz, to forbid the landing of sharks just for their fins.

LOSERS

The Nature Conservancy: It won't be getting a new tax to protect state watershed areas after all four county water boards say it isn't right to tax people's drinking water.

John Henry Felix: City councilman's troubles mount. First he has a mild stroke; now, his $100 daily fine for running weddings at his home will continue until a July 27 hearing.

Ben Cayetano: Gov keeps trying to float a plan for commercial operations at state yacht harbors -- but for the second time in two weeks, the Legislature scuttles it.

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