Bill calls for anti-graffiti czar, cameras

Hawaii would post cameras on state property and hire someone to coordinate anti-graffiti programs if lawmakers pass a bill they are considering.

The bill (Senate Bill 2602) states that graffiti on buildings, walls, bridges, bus stops, trees, mailboxes and other surfaces is a blight on Hawaii.

City and county police handle graffiti now, said Shawn Tsuha, the Department of Public Safety’s deputy director of law enforcement. Police generally catch taggers only when they stake out a spot or, more commonly, a witness calls 911, he said.

"Hawaii’s starting to get more and more graffiti," he said. "With the explosion of social media, taggers are going for a worldwide audience now. Before it was gangbangers marking territory, prospective artists trying to put up some love message to someone."

The bill would put an anti-graffiti coordinator in the office of the lieutenant governor. It would also install cameras to catch vandals on state property such as highway signs and bridges.

"It’s trying to leverage a coordinator so the anti-graffiti efforts at the state level can be synchronized," Tsuha said.

Observers of the burgeoning Honolulu street art scene expressed hope that enforcement efforts would not conflate all spray-paint artists with vandals.

Steven P. Harrington, the editor in chief of Brooklyn Street Art, a website that tracks street art worldwide, said the art festival POW! WOW! Hawai’i, which takes place this month, has given Honolulu an international reputation as a destination for street artists and muralists.

"No one can condone vandalism," Harrington said. "However, a lot of vandals eventually grow into really good artists. I can name 20 people who have graduated from being vandals to, as they got older, getting very good at their craft."

Seattle educator chosen as ‘Iolani dean

Aster Chin has been named as dean of ‘Iolani School’s upper school, replacing Ann Yoneshige, who is retiring in June.

Yoneshige has been with the private school for more than 40 years, beginning as a math teacher and moving into various leadership roles, most recently as dean of the upper school.

Chin is the current associate director for global programs at Lakeside School in Seattle. She has also taught at Columbia University in New York City and Lowell High School in San Francisco. Her work abroad has taken her to Morocco, Uganda, China, Ecuador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Chin received a bachelor of science degree in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis; a master’s degree in international affairs and a doctorate in economic development and sustainability, both from Columbia University.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Gravesites set for renovation

WAILUKU >> A renovation of gravesites at Makawao Veterans Cemetery on Maui is set to begin later this month.

The Maui News says the $1.1 million project is expected to take one year and will include the refurbishing, cleaning and realignment of more than 1,500 gravesites. The work was recently awarded to BCP Construction of Hawaii.

Hawaii State Veterans Services Director Ronald Han Jr. said new burials will continue as usual at the cemetery, but sections undergoing renovation will be blocked and cordoned off for safety reasons.

The 7-acre cemetery is nearing capacity. But Han said it’s still on track for a 10-acre expansion, which officials have said they hope to begin this year.

Native Hawaiian clinic to shutter

HILO >> A Hilo clinic offering medical care tailored to Native Hawaiians plans to shut down next month after years of struggling with finances and a crippling doctor shortage.

Hui Malama Ola Na ‘Oiwi will continue programs aimed at helping Native Hawaiians obtain health services, such as a transportation program that picks up patients living in rural areas and takes them to medical appointments.

But it will close its primary care clinic on March 8. “We’ve been dealing with this, struggling to maintain our clinic, for many, many years,” said

Executive Director Michelle Hiraishi. “All the community health providers have been facing this kind of struggle.”

About 400 patients visit the clinic each month, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. Nearly 80 percent are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Two percent are uninsured.

Associated Press