LIVE FREE OR DIE

New Hampshire on the cutting edge

Hawaii gained something of a black eye among knife owners nationwide last year when a state senator here introduced a bill—ultimately doomed—that would have banned pocket knives. A year later, New Hampshire has become the first state to repeal all restrictions on knife ownership. The enabling bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Jenn Coffey, passed unanimously by both Democratic-controlled houses, and signed by Democratic Gov. John Lynch on May 18. Could such a bill gain approval here, where switchblades and butterfly knives still are illegal? Who would like to test Hawaii's bipartisanship over such an issue?

STIMULATING

Summer work, if you can get it

Federal stimulus funds are providing a big boost to Hawaii youth looking for jobs this summer, and state officials say the vast majority of people 14 to 23 are eligible. More than 1,200 have already registered with the Summer Youth Employment Program for jobs that pay at least $8 an hour. The funding is available through Sept. 30, which leaves plenty of time to get to work.

LITTLE PINK PILL

New drug on horizon for gender equality in the bedroom

If you're a woman who has had an “;unexplained loss of sexual thoughts, fantasies and desire”; that has caused you “;significant emotional distress,”; then German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim may have just the drug for you—pending approval by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.

As reported in The Washington Post, the drug flibanserin was developed as an antidepressant, but was later found to be more effective in boosting women's libidos.

Some women's groups are concerned about the drug's safety, which is something the FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee will consider when it meets June 18. But promoters say women deserve their own version of Viagra, which as we all know was the sex pill for men.

If flibanserin is approved, analysts estimate sales could reach $2 billion a year in the U.S. alone.