Mayor Kirk Caldwell is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony this afternoon for a city ordinance to phase out the distribution of reusable plastic checkout bags on Oahu.

County law already prohibits the distribution of plastic and nonrecyclable paper checkout bags. Businesses, however, have been exploiting a loophole in the law to hand out reusable bags made of thicker-grade plastic and so-called compostable plastic bags.

Under the new law, starting July 1 next year, businesses will be required to charge their customers at least 15 cents for each reusable plastic, compostable plastic and nonrecyclable paper bag. They will not be allowed to give customers reusable and compostable plastic bags at checkout after Jan. 1, 2020.

The signing ceremony is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Diamond Head side of Magic Island.

Maui

Man resentenced to 95 years for 2012 sex crime conviction

WAILUKU >> A Hawaii man convicted of 146 charges for repeatedly forcing a girl into sexual acts during a five-year period was resentenced to prison terms totaling 95 years.

William Barrios was resentenced Thursday for crimes Judge Richard Bissen Jr. called “particularly disturbing, horrific, cruel, abusive and violent.”

In a trial that ended in November 2012, Barrios was found guilty of 72 counts of first-degree sexual assault, 72 counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping of a girl from 2004 to 2009, The Maui News reported.

Barrios sexually assaulted her from the age of 8 until she was 13, Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani said.

Tani asked for consecutive sentencing totaling 100 years for Barrios, grouping the charges by the sexual acts of which Barrios was found guilty.

In a Dec. 22 decision, the state Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. But it vacated the sentence “since the circuit court did not adequately explain its reasons for imposing multiple consecutive prison terms on Barrios, and since the court appeared to use Barrios’ refusal to accept guilt as an aggravating factor in imposing his sentence.”

Defense attorney Ben Lowenthal, who handled Barrios’ appeal, asked that Barrios be sentenced to concurrent terms for a total of 20 years. “To set up a sentence so that Mr. Barrios has absolutely no chance of being paroled is unfair,” Lowenthal said.

Tani said the girl’s mother also was being intimidated by Barrios.

“She couldn’t turn to her father because essentially that was the defendant,” Tani said. “She was a prisoner in her own life.”

The girl, now 21, said she at first planned to write a letter for Barrios’ resentencing but instead elected to face him in person. “The man standing right over there stole my childhood,” she said.

Bissen asked her what sentence she thought Barrios should receive.

“I think he deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life, whatever that entails,” she said. “He should never see the outside of jail ’cause he’s going to do it again. He’s going to find another family. No one deserved what we went through.”