Homespun Honolulu

I just thought it would be nice to update some of the ongoing stories that continue to grace Honolulu’s headlines.

Update to Walk Wise Hawaii

Hawaii is still not walking too wisely. They’re not driving too wisely either. At the beginning of the ninth week of the year, we have our ninth pedestrian fatality. The laws are more strict, the penalties more severe, but still the body count keeps rising. The only result we seem to have is that the driver of yesterday’s incident fled the scene! Granted, the driver must have been shaken and didn’t want to pay those fine(s) but, man, it sucks to be that driver when he or she is identified. At the same time I think it is important to note that the victim was not in a crosswalk and it was dark. The incident has people screaming for the installation of a traffic light at the location. Good idea. Let’s see how long it takes, shall we?

So, my idea of restarting the New Year with the start of the Chinese New Year didn’t come to fruition. I guess firecrackers and dragons weren’t enough to chase away all of our highway demons. For both drivers and pedestrians — Auwe!

Update to Fire Hydrants for Dogs

Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) was probably the hardest hit by this with 20-some-odd thefts causing six or better power outages. Now HECO is charged with the task (by default) of replacing all of that stolen copper wiring to re-light those streets that were left in darkness.

Sorry, HECO. You’ve had so much drama lately. Natural disasters are one thing, but the man-made variety are just not acceptable.

There’s hope! There is a new 2007 legislative package that includes not only crack down on the thieves, but a hard crunch on those buying the stolen metal. Copper buyers are now required to provide proper identification and an affidavit from the people they are purchasing the goods from.

Under this new law, both the buyers AND the sellers are equally liable for the passage of these stolen goods.

Over the grapevine (or the coconut wireless as it were) I hear that HECO will be replacing the copper with a cheaper metal to deter further thefts. For HECO and Hawaii Law Enforcement - Aloha and Mahalo for your patience and endurance!

First of all, let’s get one thing straight — people have the right to do whatever they want without having a gestapo breathing down their neck. If visiting porn sites is your thing then go for it. Go for it that is, IF, you are an adult and IF you do not impose your online hobbies on others and certainly not on a minor child.

Most parents want the Internet and the money they have spent on technology to be educational for their children, not morally reprehensible and certainly not dangerous! Children always seem to be the target of online sex offenders, or sex-offenders-to-be. It happens everywhere, it’s all over the news, but it doesn’t happen here. Not to our kids. Uh, just how delusional are we?
It’s not always paradise, gang. An article published a year ago in the Honolulu Advertiser warned possible offenders about new judicial Bills and about the sentencing for those found guilty of this “electronic enticement” — all seven (7) of them. What?!? Seven cases?!?

What makes our kids so damn receptive to this? They are numb to it. It’s all over television, it’s all over the Net and everyone is doing it. It’s accepted. Dammit! What have we done? What can we do to protect our babies (anyone under 18) and, at the same time, the reputation of our beloved medium? That’s right, the Internet needs our protection too. What a mess.

Bloggers have been “called out” by the Blogger Power: Safeguard the Web for Children project to get the message out to the online providers of adult content. The game of “tag” has begun and is moving at a rather rapid pace. It’s simple for the porn sites to do and it’s simple for us to urge them to comply with this small request. Let’s ask them to…

“Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information.”

Simple and to the point. Let’s see if we can keep the kids away from the porn so they won’t be exposed to it and think it “accepted” behavior, and this may also help keep the sexual predators away from the kids! This project is a good start. I don’t know who I will tag, but I’ll come back and add their names as I do!