GOP backs UH
faculty in wage dispute

With a possible University of Hawaii strike looming, the 19 Republicans in the state House are backing the faculty.

The GOP called the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly's wage request of 12 percent in across-the-board increases "reasonable."

Besides paying the professors more, the Republicans, however, said the state should beef up the budget and stop meddling in university affairs.

"If we are willing to make these systemic changes and pay our faculty and staff appropriately, then a new, strong university will emerge," Rep. Galen Fox (R, Waikiki), GOP House leader, said.

The state administration is offering 7 percent raises over two years, with a provision for merit pay for University of Hawaii-Manoa professors.

DOE scraps art program: Who needs swings and slides when you've got works of art to romp on?

As if the state doesn't have enough headaches about safety hazards on school playgrounds, state lawmakers want the state arts foundation to buy outdoor sculptures that double as playground equipment.

But it's a no-go as far as manager Ronald Yamakawa of the Arts in Public Places Program is concerned. The Department of Education "just told us we should remove one of our pieces at Kilohana Elementary on Molokai," he says. Kids there were using the artwork -- three slippery construction pipes, 4 feet in diameter -- as a sliding board. The foundation plans to scrap the work.

Democrats sponsor forum: Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono will join legislators and education union representatives Thursday evening for a panel discussion.

As the state moves closer to a strike by public school teachers and university faculty, the Democratic Party will sponsor a forum on the issues surrounding the confrontation.

Besides Hirono, the panel will include Alexander Malahoff, president of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Karen Ginoza, Hawaii State Teachers Association president; and Sen. Norman Sakamoto and Rep. Roy Takumi, chairmen of the Senate and House Education committees respectively.

The event is free and open to the public. It will held 6-8 p.m. in the Kakaako Conference Room at Ward Warehouse.

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Winners & Losers

WINNERS:

>> Skateboard riders: Get a break from the House Transportation Committee, which drops a proposal that skateboard riders must wear a helmet when riding the streets.

>> A temporary task force to study Hawaii's election laws: Wins a $100,000 budget from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which recommends that the committee be able to hire lawyers and travel around the state studying ways to reform state elections.

>> Convicts on good behavior: Would be able to earn reductions in their sentence by making progress in the areas of vocational training, social adjustment, counseling, self-help, therapeutic, educational and literacy programs.

LOSERS:

>> Owners of biting dogs: Would be subject to county laws first and then state laws regulating dogs that attack or injure, under a new proposal from the state Senate.

>> Cybersquatters: Would be subject to court injunctions stopping them from reserving others' Internet domain names similar to a person's name or trademark.

>> Ted Sakai: Catches it from Gov. Ben Cayetano, who calls for changes in prison operation after Kerbert Silva escapes for the second time this year. The governor hints he could be looking for a new public safety director if the escapes do not stop.

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