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Forty-four fete
prompts Senate
cover-up

Red party hats were passed around on the floor of the state Senate on Friday to celebrate the 44th birthday of a senator with challenged hair follicles.

Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae) said the birthday hats were actually to help cover the somewhat hairless head of Sen. Jonathan Chun (D, Kauai).

"We have for him his old birthday hat and we'd like for him to wear it today," Hanabusa insisted.

After snapping the cone-shaped hat into place, Hanabusa gave Chun something to help let out hot air.

"Having Sen. Chun blow on a whistle is a lot better than hearing Sen. Chun speak," she said.

Chun's staff then gave out pieces of birthday cake in his office after the session.

Peers select Say

House Speaker Say's peers in the National Speakers Conference elected him second vice president Jan. 6, thus securing Hawaii as the site of the group's 2003 annual convention.

Say slipped away from Hawaii during the September primaries to attend the annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., where Hawaii was among the sites contemplated for the convention.

Say said he's excited for the chance to showcase the islands' high-tech parks, hybrid corn and tourism to an expected 350 to 400 visitors.

The Speakers Conference comprises House speakers from the 50 states, Guam and American Samoa. Say is Hawaii's first speaker elected to office in the group.

Sierra Club's picks

Jeff Mikulina, director of the Sierra Club-Hawaii Chapter, highlights four freshman legislators as "creative, fresh faces":

Rep. Blake Oshiro (D, Aiea), who clerked for Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund; Sen. J. Kalani English (D, Wailuku), a former voice for environmental initiatives on the Maui County Council; Rep. Mindy Jaffe (R-Kaimuki-Waikiki); and Rep. Helene Hale (D-Kau-Puna).

High on the chapter's agenda this session are clean energy, bottle deposits -- and the chapter's most-recycled push -- persuading lawmakers to use tourism dollars to protect Hawaii's key attraction, the environment.

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Winners...

Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono moves up in the governor's race sweepstakes after getting the nod from Gov. Ben Cayetano to handle a new education initiative.

High-school seniors are suddenly in demand with legislators, the governor and portions of the gambling industry dreaming up ways to pay for their college education. Cayetano says the $175 million Hurricane Relief Fund would pay for it, while others suggest using taxes from legalized gambling.

Susan Chandler, Human Services Department director, is back in the budget, according to Cayetano, who vows to restore many of the social service programs cut during Hawaii's recession.

...and losers

Gov. Ben Cayetano just wanted to look at a resort's aquarium in the Bahamas last year, but after the resort's developer was linked to a proposal to legalize gambling in Hawaii, observers called him Bahama Ben.

Russell Okata, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, still gets no help from Cayetano, who didn't say anything about the HGEA pay raise issue in his State of the State speech.

Chief Justice Ronald Moon wants to stress the new drug courts, while Cayetano suggests doing away with criminal sentencing for first-time drug offenders, raising questions about the future of drug courts.

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This feature by Richard Borreca runs
Mondays throughout the legislative session.

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