Question: When will the destroyed public boat ramp at Ko Olina be replaced? Doing so was a requirement of original issued permits for the development.
Answer: It is on track to open around February 2013, according to regular updates provided to the state Land Use Commission.
Ko Olina Development is complying with the commission’s order to provide the public boat ramp and is processing the necessary permits, a spokeswoman said.
As we reported in 2010 (is.gd/kokualine08032010), the commission had given the developer 43 months from July 2009 to build the ramp inside Ko Olina Marina, replacing the ramp that was closed in 2005.
While those who used the old ramp were happy, it was a bitter victory because of the time given Ko Olina to build the replacement ramp.
“Yes, we’re going to get the boat ramp,” but it will be eight years, from 2005 to 2013, that public access to a ramp will be denied, Creighton Chang, a spokesman for about 300 fishermen and boaters, told us back then.
Chang, who has been monitoring the progress of the ramp, said recently the city Department of Planning and Permitting has approved the ramp, and the U.S. Corps of Engineers is now reviewing plans and permits.
Still, “In my opinion, the public has been denied public access to this facility for over eight years, which I consider illegal,” he said.
Question: I recently saw a young man wearing a bright red sweatshirt with large, white letters spelling out the f-word. Is there no law governing what can be written on clothing and worn openly in public?
Answer: Yes, but not quite what you’re looking for.
The First Amendment (Bill of Rights) to the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
We’ve had similar complaints through the years. When someone complained about a bumper sticker that said, “It’s the speed thing, mother——,” the Honolulu Police Department, citing the city Corporation Counsel’s office, told us, “It may be tasteless but it’s protected as free speech.”
Another person complained about a restaurant that had a sign that said, “F— Bush.”
University of Hawaii journalism professor Gerald Kato, who has researched free speech issues, told us that because it was a private establishment and “not a government cafeteria or something like that … the owner has the right to express his political views whatever they may be. It’s protected speech.”
However, there are restrictions in the case of license plates.
As we explained previously — is.gd/kokualine08062006 — Hawaii and other states contend that regulating what goes on license plates is not a matter of free speech.
The Oregon Appeals Court ruled in a case that didn’t even involve the use of an obscenity — just the words “VINO” or “WINE” — that the state had a right to decide what goes on a license plate because it could be seen “as state communication rather than as communication by the plate holders or a combination of both."
Mahalo
To Gail at Waipio Costco. My mother did not realize that she left her wallet at Costco until she got a call from Gail, who tracked her down by calling a number of places. My parents drove with pounding hearts to Costco, where Gail greeted them with the wallet. In my mother’s harried call to tell me what happened and asking me to write to “Kokua Line,” she said that Gail told her that it would be a good idea to have her phone number in the wallet. Mahalo, Gail, for the advice and your aloha! — Grateful Daughter in Oregon
The Honolulu Police Department concurs that is a good suggestion about the phone number.
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
