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Wage bill would also alter tip adjustment
The House Labor and Public Employment Committee passed a bill yesterday that would raise the $5.25 minimum wage by 75 cents over three years, even as the Senate Labor Committee wants to hike it by 70 cents in one leap.The Senate committee's minimum wage bill, passed Monday, would increase the wage from $5.25 to $5.95 on July 1, with annual adjustments tied to Hawaii's consumer price index.
The House committee, meanwhile, favors stepwise increases reaching $6 in 2003. Its bill would delay the hike for one year, increasing it by 25 cents on July 1, 2002, and by 50 cents on July 1, 2003.
Also yesterday, House committee members passed two new twists to the tip credit, which allows employers to pay tipped employees 20 cents less than the minimum wage.
One twist would change the 20-cent credit for employers to an as-yet-undetermined percentage of the minimum wage. The Hawaii Restaurant Association is asking for a 25 percent tip credit, which at the current scale would allow employers to pay tipped employees $3.94.
Another twist involves a living-wage clause that would limit employers' tip credit to those workers whose hourly wages and tips exceed $9.43, the amount needed to sustain a family of four above the federal poverty level.
House Labor chairwoman Rep. Terry Yoshinaga said the intent of the clause is to avoid penalizing workers who don't make $100 a night in tips.
"There's a big difference between Zippy's and Kincaid's," she said.
The tip credit would be eliminated altogether in the bill passed by the Senate committee.
The Senate and House bills now go to their respective money committees - Ways and Means, and Finance.
Tiny Molokini proves 180,000 years older
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY, Hawaii - Molokini island, the small, partly submerged volcanic crater off the south shore of Maui, is about four times older than previously thought, a Japanese geologist has discovered.A recent study done by Kyoto University graduate student Yoshitomo Nishimitsu puts the age of the crater at 230,000 years, give or take 90,000 years, said the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The crater - a popular tour cruise destination - was previously thought to have been created in the last 50,000 years because the nearest lava, cinders, and ash on Maui fall into that time period.
Nishimitsu obtained rocks from Molokini last year, took then back to Japan, and recently obtained dates using the potassium-argon method, the observatory said.
The student's work was part of the ongoing mapping of Haleakala geology by observatory scientists.
Tomorrow
Some events of interest7 p.m. Monday, Maemae Elementary School: Liliha/Kapalama No. 14 Neighborhood Board meeting, 319 Wyllie St. For information, call 527-5749.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
'Humongous' tree blocks Pali Hwy near lookout
A 30-foot-long tree fell onto the Pali Highway just after 6 a.m. today, blocking both Honolulu-bound lanes and one Windward-bound lane.The tree, described by police as "humongous," fell onto the highway just below the Pali Lookout.
Police re-routed traffic in both directions. State road crews began clearing the tree at 7:45 a.m. They were expected to complete work this morning.
Maui elevator fire causes $150,000 in damage
LAHAINA - A fire occurred in an elevator shaft at an eight-story building at the Sands of Kahana condominium in West Maui this morning, forcing the evacuation of 150 people.No one was hurt, but the blaze caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to the elevator car and shaft, said Assistant Fire Chief Alan Cordeiro.
Cordeiro said the cause was under investigation.
He said the fire began in the elevator on the second floor of Building 4 and firefighters controlled it in 40 minutes and extinguished it about an hour after receiving the alarm at 2:50 a.m.
Kauai flood closes road, cuts off north shore
LIHUE - Most of Kauai's north shore was cut off from the rest of the island yesterday by the closure of Hanalei Bridge due to flooding.The National Weather Service said at 10:10 a.m.yesterday that 7.25 inches of rain fell at Hanalei in the preceding 24 hours, 5.5 inches of it since 4 a.m.
Hanalei Elementary School and Kula School, a small private school near Kilauea, were closed yesterday.
Rain also closed Kuhio Highway at two other places between Hanalei and the end of the highway at Kee Beach and the Wainiha Bridge.
A landslide blocked the highway at Lumahai until it could be cleared.
There were no reports of major property damage or injuries.
