Gov taking drives in
his new Mercedes

After 15 years of being chauffeured by a state security officer, Gov. Ben Cayetano is getting back behind the wheel in one of the hottest cars on the road.

The governor, who leaves office this year, said last month that he's been driving on weekends in his new Mercedes-Benz CLK-55 AMG, the automaker's fastest production car.

The $70,000 coupe is equipped with a 5.5-liter, 24-valve V-8 engine that puts out 342 horsepower and 376 foot-pounds of torque starting at 3,000 rpm.

According to Mercedes-Benz, it goes from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. The governor wouldn't be expected to exceed the state's maximum speed limit of 55 mph to confirm that, especially with the new traffic photo program that he supports.

"I'm going to sell this car. I'm going to get a slower one," he told reporters.

HIV tests for sex abusers

Convicted sex offenders would be tested for HIV upon the request of the victim, according to a proposal by Rep. Barbara Marumoto (D, Waialae-Kahala).

"Too often ... the victim is left with the fear that they are infected," she said.

Alleged sex abusers would also be tested for HIV upon a court order, under Marumoto's bill.

Marumoto said victims now can ask a judge to order a test, but if it is not guaranteed, they are left "worrying about the outcome for an interminably long period."

Marumoto said she wants sex abuse victims to know whether their attackers have AIDS or are HIV positive.

Tax form error found

The state Taxation Department has discovered a booboo.

The latest batch of 1099G forms has been misdated -- by a century.

The 1099G Hawaii Tax Refund Report lists the amount of refund credited to the taxpayer for the specified year. In all cases, the refund amount is listed correctly, but the tax year is shown as 1901 instead of 2001.

The error affects only fiscal year-end taxpayers who received a refund for the tax year 2001 -- about 1,100 filers in all.

The department, in a statement released Friday, said it has reprinted and mailed forms to replace all the incorrectly issued forms. The reissued forms will have "CORRECTED (Tax Year Only)" printed in bold red letters.

The statement said the department "regrets any inconvenience or confusion this situation may have caused."

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