Coconut Wireless
by Jacob Shafer
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Maui Senators Land Top Committee Posts
As the 2011 legislative session kicks off on Oahu, Maui’s three Senators are well positioned, with each claiming at least a committee chairmanship.
Sen. Kalani English will chair the Transportation and International Affairs Committee, while Sen. Roz Baker will head up the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. Sen. Shan Tsutsui, of course, will preside as Senate President, making him the first Valley Isle Senator to hold that position.
Meanwhile, the chamber’s lone Republican, Sen. Sam Slom of Oahu, will be a busy man. Though he’s not chair of vice-chair of anything, he does serve on every committee—the only Senator to do so—and is the de facto Minority Leader. Who exactly he’ll be leading is another matter.
Reviving the LC Dance Battle?
If you’ve followed our coverage of the Maui County Department of Liquor Control even peripherally, you know about the agency’s vague, ridiculous dancing rules. At best they’re a Footloose-esque punchline; at worst they’re an affront to the First Amendment and yet another way the department can intimidate license-holders with threats and capricious enforcement.
If you’ve followed our coverage you also know about Maui Dance Advocates (MDA), the scrappy little group that’s been trying for years to get the LC to amend its rules—or at least define what “dancing” is. (The best we’ve gotten is Director Frank Silva parroting former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart by declaring, “I know it when I see it.”) Last year MDA lobbied Rep. Joe Bertram to introduce a bill that would have forced the state’s Liquor Control departments to do exactly that, but it fizzled in committee. Bertram’s no longer representing Maui after losing in November, but MDA hasn’t given up.
The group is encouraging Mauians to write letters and make calls to elected officials over the next week, asking that another bill be introduced this session. They’re also organizing, appropriately enough, a dance-a-thon to raise money and awareness. For more info, visit mauidanceadvocates.com
County Threatening To Dump Trash Delinquents
Have you paid your garbage bill? If not, you’d better—or you’ll soon find yourself buried under an escalating mountain of rubbish. That’s the message from the County, which issued a missive this week warning residents that any accounts not paid up by February 7 will be closed.
Notices were sent to offending households January 18, but if you want to be sure or have further questions, visit co.maui.hi.us or call 808-270-1731.
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