Legislator joins Asian-Pacific
advisory group

State Rep. Barbara Marumoto (R, Waialae Iki) was sworn in last week as one of 13 new members of the national President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The commission will focus on mandates to improve Asian-American and Pacific Islander participation in government, foster research and data collection for these groups, and increase their community involvement.

They were sworn in Wednesday at a White House Conference Center ceremony. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the first chairman of the advisory commission, said the task ahead of the group is a challenging one, and the stakes are high.

"We cannot let our successes blind us to our continuing unmet needs," Mineta said.

Terrorism law hearing: The state will begin discussions of whether it should have an emergency bioterrorism law at a hearing Dec. 12 at Room 224 of the state Capitol. Senate Consumer Protection Chairman Ron Menor (D, Mililani) said the state should seriously consider adopting an emergency bioterrorism law because it could give the state the necessary tools to act swiftly when there is a biological-terrorism threat.

"Although at present the threat of anthrax exposure and other similar kinds of health emergencies has not become a significant problem in Hawaii, the state government cannot wait for a disaster to happen and must plan now to develop effective responses to protect the health of the public," Menor said.

Call Menor's office at 586-6740 for more information.

Political lecture: Professor Dan Boylan will give a talk on "Jeremy, Linda and Mazie: Hawaii Politics in Transition" at a free public lecture in Kona on Thursday.

Boylan, a history professor at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, is a familiar political commentator with a weekly public television show and a column in Midweek.

The Kona lecture is sponsored by Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii, West Hawaii Center, as the second installment of its visiting-professor series.

The lecture will be held at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel Ballroom 2 from 7 to 8 p.m.

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