[ OUR OPINION ]
Decision on bus ads
shouldn’t be rushedKEEN FOR new revenue to support TheBus, the City Council has moved ahead with a measure to allow advertising on the outside of city buses. It is an idea worth exploring. However, in the current atmosphere -- with a divisive, lingering strike by transit workers and riders upset about fare increases -- the Council and city officials should not rush a decision.
THE ISSUE
A City Council committee has approved a measure to allow advertising on buses.
A number of matters need careful analysis before bus ads are approved. Among them are First Amendment potholes, which have tripped up other municipalities that permit such ads, and the city's own spotty record in that area.
Another dicey issue is whether advertising on the broad sides of buses will be in keeping with Hawaii's ban on outdoor advertising and other visual blight, such as the large signs and billboards that spoil the view in other states. Also in question is how much money ads would bring in to the city's coffers.
The Outdoor Circle and Scenic Hawaii object to the proposal because they are concerned the ads not only would blemish the city visually, but would open the door to other forms of outdoor advertising. Their fears may be unfounded for the near future, but as the public grows used to such ads, they may become more acceptable.
Planned Parenthood objects because it believes the city may not be able to control the kind of ads placed on the publicly owned buses, citing the images of aborted fetuses an anti-abortion group has been displaying on the side of a large van in recent months.
Although the sides of buses may not be considered traditional public forums, the city may run into First Amendment problems if it does not set up clear, specific and narrow standards about what types of advertising will be accepted.
Cities across the country have found themselves targets of lawsuits after they either failed to set up those rules or allowed subjective judgments to determine acceptability. In New York City, a federal appeals court ruled that authorities could not pull bus ads that made fun of Mayor Rudy Giuliani simply because they didn't like the content. In Florida, Pinellas County stepped into hot water when a transit director removed a bus ad critical of a religious organization upon the group's demand.
The city has had its First Amendment challenges. Two years ago, the city was sued after it banned a painting from a display on the art of women, first saying it was unsuitable for children, then claiming that it was not the right size for the show. As part of a settlement, the painting was exhibited a year later.
How much revenue bus ads will generate is unknown. Ads posted inside buses draw only about $121,000 a year, and while exterior advertising can be expected to make more, even cities with larger systems don't get huge payoffs. For example, San Francisco's Golden Gate Transit system gathers less than 3 percent of its $71 million budget from ads, while Portland makes about $700,000 a year.
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Raise tax to counter
underage drinkingALCOHOL is the most abused substance among the nation's children, and the problem is as bad if not worse in Hawaii. Underage drinking costs the nation $53 billion a year in losses stemming from traffic fatalities, violent crime and other behaviors, according to a new survey by the National Academy of Sciences. Improved advertising standards and higher alcohol taxes are needed to combat the problem.
THE ISSUE
A survey estimates that underage drinking costs the nation $53 billion a year.
The academy points out that booze is much cheaper than it was 30 to 40 years ago and calls for increased alcoholic-beverage taxes. Last year's Legislature neglected to approve tax increases proposed by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano ranging from 9 cents for a bottle of beer to $1.20 for a fifth of hard liquor.
The federally sponsored survey found that 72 percent of high school seniors and 39 percent of eighth-graders reported having consumed some alcohol in the past year. One-fourth of the seniors had consumed five or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks.
A separate survey taken by the state Health Department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division found 16.3 percent of 12th-graders in Hawaii drink heavily enough to need treatment for alcohol abuse or dependency. The percentage of those who drink alcohol daily ranges from 1.8 percent of eighth-graders to 3.3 percent of seniors. "They do binge drinking and put themselves in risky situations," says Elaine Wilson, chief of the division.
The Federal Trade Commission praised the alcohol industry this week for complying with the commission's 1999 recommendations for self-regulation. The FTC said the companies it surveyed refrained from advertising their products in shows and publications where at least half the audience was under 21.
An industry trade group says it has decided to restrict advertising to shows or publications where at least 70 percent of the audience is over 21. That fails to take into account ads in such televised events as the Super Bowl, which draws the largest audience of children possible, although accounting for a small proportion of total viewers. It also does nothing about what the FTC calls "some conspicuous ad campaigns with juvenile themes," such as commercials featuring full-figured twins and wild party scenes.
