Candidate residency bill dies in committee
State lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have added a question to the 2014 ballot asking whether there should be stricter residency requirements for candidates who want to run for the state Legislature.
House Judiciary Chairman Karl Rhoads said he learned Friday afternoon that the House Finance Committee decided not to fund the proposal.
Friday is the deadline for lawmakers to submit the final wording of constitutional amendment proposals to the governor.
Rhoads (D, Chinatown-Iwilei-Kalihi) said he’s disappointed about the death of the measure he introduced, which would have asked voters whether senators and representatives should be required to live in their districts for at least one year before being elected.
Advocates say the bill would help ensure candidates have basic knowledge about their districts. But critics say raising eligibility requirements decreases democratic participation and limits voter choice.
The bill’s death leaves just one constitutional amendment proposal still working its way through the Legislature, a bill that would allow the state to fund private institutions providing preschool education.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police identify Big Isle man killed by truck
Hawaii County police have identified the man who was fatally injured Wednesday when he was hit by a truck on Highway 11 in Puna as Brendan Charlie, 21, of Mountain View.
Police said Charlie was walking on the roadway when he was struck by a 2013 Toyota pickup truck driven by a 55-year-old Hilo man traveling south on Highway 11.
Charlie was taken by fire rescue personnel to the Hilo Medical Center, where he died at 4:28 a.m.
The accident happened near the 18-mile marker in Glenwood.
The truck driver was not injured.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call officer Tuckloy Aurello at 961-8119 or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311.
It was the 12th traffic fatality on Hawaii island this year, compared with 11 at the same time last year.
Stricken sailor flown to safety by Coast Guard
A Hilo-based Coast Guard helicopter Friday medevaced a crewman suffering symptoms of a heart attack from a tanker ship 92 miles southeast of Hilo.
The crew of the 580-foot tanker Stolt Topaz radioed for help Thursday morning when the tanker was 477 southeast of Hawaii island. The tanker changed course for Hawaii.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the Hilo Coast Guard station picked up the 56-year-old crewman at about 9 a.m. Friday and flew him to Hilo Airport, where he was taken to Hilo Medical Center.
An HC-130 Hercules patrol airplane from Air Station Barbers Point also participated in the operation.
