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Faulty law should be
wiped off the books

THE ISSUE Lawmakers are ready to repeal a law that can be used to ban people from public places for up to a year.

TO avoid spending taxpayer money, plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a flawed state law are willing to hold off proceedings while awaiting its repeal. Unfortunately, Senate President Robert Bunda would prefer an imprudent court battle.

Lawmakers should resist Bunda's aggressive defense and nullify Act 50, a vague measure that allows a citizen to be barred from public property for up to a year after receiving a warning, or face criminal trespass charges.

The law was meant to prevent people, homeless or otherwise, from setting up camps for extended periods at public parks and beaches. Bunda proposed it to keep "squatters" away from Mokuleia, an area in his district that has seen chronic problems, drawing complaints from residents that the intruders were a nuisance and a risk to other park users.

However, the law does not define the kind of conduct that would justify barring someone from public property, arbitrarily grants enforcement authority and provides no means of appeal.

Bunda maintains that the law should be revised, not repealed, because authorities would have no recourse in ridding public areas of undesirables. Yet the police department -- believing Act 50 is a defective law -- has seldom used it, issuing citations for illegal camping and permit violations instead.

The problem the law addresses obliquely and ineffectively is homelessness. Until that matter is resolved, using bad laws to herd the homeless from place to place is futile.

Attorney General Mark Bennett has said that he believes the law is constitutional, but that it is up to the Legislature to amend or repeal the law.

Lawmakers are poised to remove it from the books and come up with other ways to deal with the homeless problem, but Bunda remains adamant. "I say let's go on with the lawsuit -- let the attorney general go and fight this in court and see where we end up," he declared.

Bunda should acknowledge that he's on the wrong side of this argument, deal with it and try again to formulate a measure that will stand up to scrutiny.

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To stay healthy, listen to
your body and brain

THE ISSUE Studies and recommendations about health continue to overwhelm the public.

INFORMATION about health and medical studies peppers the public almost daily, leading to confusion as people try to sort through sometimes conflicting data and frustration in figuring out what it all means to them.

While the results of new research might lend insight, more often than not people don't really need to wade through the latest statistical tables to know what human instinct and common sense tell them clearly. That is, don't overindulge and don't adopt risky behavior.

The past weeks have brought a number of reports about health. A study conducted in Hawaii and California revealed that eating a lot of Spam, Vienna sausages and hot dogs as well as pork and red meat might increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. It isn't clear if the meats themselves or cooking methods bring on the disease. What is evident is that large amounts and long-term consumption factor in. The message? Moderation, or eating instead fish or poultry, which appear safer.

That advice conforms with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new food intake guidelines, recommending more vegetables, fruit and whole grains and less fatty meats. Deciphering the revised pyramid, however, is troublesome. USDA paid a marketing firm $2.5 million to come up with a graphic display of information that could be easily understood. It should get its money back. The pyramid, striped with wedges and a figure of a man climbing stairs, bewilders more than informs. In any case, the pyramid only tells people what they already know, and again, that's to eat and drink in moderation.

Though research can present broad facts about conditions that cause certain diseases, it's really up to individuals and their medical advisers to direct health care.

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