Gov. Ben Cayetano exchanged hair secrets with "himself" Friday. Governor shares hair tips
with his doppelganger
Star-Bulletin staff"You probably use hairspray."
Cayetano was actually talking to Sal Nillias, the winner of the State Farm Fair's Gov. Ben Cayetano look-alike contest.
Nillias, 68, of Kalihi, stopped by the governor's office where he was photographed with his "twin."
"I think I even get that shirt," Cayetano told Nillias after inviting the 68-year-old Kalihi resident to sit in his chair.
Nillias said that his kids call him "Ben." When his grandchildren see the governor on television, they say, "There's Papa."
"I think it's an honor to be close resemblance because he's such a celebrity in the state here," Nillias said.
It was his daughter who suggested that he enter the contest, he said.
Nillias won a $2,500 certificate for a laser eye corrective surgery.
Carroll raps gas plan
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Carroll says Andy Anderson, Democrat candidate for governor, is misguided in his promise to lower gas prices by putting government into competition with the private sector.Carroll said Anderson's proposal does not address a fundamental cost of either producing or distributing fuel and said what he proposes is socialism that interferes with the free-market economy.
Also, Carroll asked front-runner Republican gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle to debate him on issues such as education, the economy and government efficiency.
"Platitudes and high ideals are nice, but the people of Hawaii deserve more than an agenda, they deserve real solutions and real debate on the issues," he said.
New focus for Djou
State Rep. Charles Djou will target the bare essentials as a newly appointed member of the state's Core Government Functions Advisory Commission.The Kaneohe Republican, who is running for City Council this fall, was named to the post by House Minority Leader Galen Fox (R, Waikiki). The commission was created by the Legislature earlier this year to identify core and noncore functions of Hawaii government, and to propose legislation to eliminate or modify sufficient noncore programs for the 2003 legislative session.
Djou said he looks forward to working with the others who will be appointed to the group to find ways to improve government efficiency.
Voting rights bill hailed
People with mental retardation will no longer be prevented from voting under a new law that was highlighted Friday at a commendation ceremony at the governor's office."They now have the right to vote. That gives them an added amount of dignity," said Lambert Wai, president of the ARC in Hawaii, formerly known as the Association for Retarded Citizens.
The law, which affects 12,000 Hawaii adults with some form of mental retardation, says a person will not be denied the right to vote solely on the basis of mental retardation.
Under the new law, a voter may be disqualified based on mental incompetence only after a determination by the courts.
ARC officials have said Hawaii joins six other states that no longer have discriminatory provisions in their constitutions or statutes.
Legislature Directory
Legislature Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes