Public urged to report aerial ads

Honolulu police believe Aerial Banners North will fly ads this weekend somewhere over Oahu asking "Will You Marry Me?" and proclaiming "Happy Birthday" — and want the public’s help tracking down the pilots to cite them.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell held his first joint news conference with city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and Police Chief Louis Kealoha on Friday to emphasize how hard he wants to crack down on the mainland company that has flouted the city’s ban on aerial advertising.

In the 1920s, Caldwell said, Honolulu became the first city in the nation to ban all billboards.

"Natural beauty in our state is a top priority; in fact, it’s enshrined in our Constitution," Caldwell said.

So Aerial Banners North’s defiance has been met with "anger and frustration by the people of the City and County of Honolulu," he added. "They don’t like the fact that you have someone coming from outside trying to tell us how we should live and how we should be and how we should follow laws or interpret them to their satisfaction. … It’s required police officers who should be out there catching the bad guys to have to go cite the company multiple times because they say, ‘We don’t care.’ We’re telling them, ‘We care.’ We have the chief of police and the prosecutor, two very busy people, coming here this morning to say they care, too."

Michael J. McAllister, the attorney representing Aerial Banners North, described Caldwell’s message issued at the news conference as a "pretty strange use of municipal resources. It’s not a life-safety emergency."

Aerial Banners North, McAllister said, has received "a lot of interest from potential clients in Honolulu" and plans to fly at least one banner this weekend that will read, "Will You Marry Me?"

"In general, Aerial Banners North is flying lawfully and will continue to do so," McAllister said. "Aeriel Banners North believes in what it’s doing."

Caldwell asked anyone who sees the company’s yellow plane flying a banner this weekend to call 911 so police can issue another citation, following one that was issued July 4 when the company flew a banner that read, "ABNLoves America."

Officers responded to 911 calls July 6 reporting the same banner but were unable to track down the pilot to issue another citation, which carries a maximum penalty of $500 and three months in jail.

Pilot Matthew P. Radeck of Waianae is scheduled to appear in Wahiawa District Court on Aug. 5 for the July 4 citation.

Kaneshiro has issued a summons for the company to also appear in District Court and is considering filing a civil injunction to ask a judge to prohibit Aerial Banners North from flying aerial ads.

At the same time, city officials are working with the state Department of Transportation, which issued the company a permit to park at Kalaeloa, Caldwell said.

Deputy Police Chief Marie McCauley said police believe the company’s contract plane takes off from Kalaeloa, then picks up its banners in a private pineapple field. They believe the plane later drops off the banner in the pineapple field before landing.

Caldwell said, "I would be more than happy as the mayor to pick up the phone and talk to that (land) owner and ask them to please prohibit that from occurring. … It’s helping someone violating our ordinance, and we’d like them to stop."

Kaneshiro emphasized that his office is not interested in prosecuting any landowners.

"Let’s make it clear: We don’t want to go after everybody," Kaneshiro said. "Let’s just prosecute the bad guys, the people who really want and intend to violate the law."

Caldwell believes Oahu residents would not support companies that advertise with Aerial Banners North.

"I’m hoping the marketplace will respond accordingly," he said.

The city’s ban on aerial advertising has twice been upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Kaneshiro said.

An Aerial Banners North waiver obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration "allows it to operate throughout the U.S.," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

"The waiver also states, ‘This certificate of waiver does not waive any state law or local ordinance. Should the proposed operations conflict with any state law or local ordinance or require permission of local authorities or property owners, it is the operator’s responsibility to resolve the matter,’" Gregor said.