Legislator planning zip-line safety measure
State Rep. Angus McKelvey said he plans to introduce a bill next year focusing on worker safety around zip-line activities, in light of what he’s heard about the recent death of a employee.
Piiholo Ranch Zipline worker Patricia Rabellizsa died after falling 150 feet Thursday while assisting a zip-line guest.
McKelvey, chairman of the House Consumer Protection Committee, said he’s heard Rabellizsa was not wearing a safety harness as required.
He said the "worker error" raises the question about focusing more on employee safety education and training.
"It’s an inherently dangerous worker activity," McKelvey said.
In 2011 a Hawaii island zip-line tower collapsed because of weak soil, sending Ted Callaway, 36, of Lahaina plunging to his death. The line was being built along Honolii Stream. Another worker was critically injured in the accident.
"I think it’s in everybody’s interest to make sure it doesn’t happen again," McKelvey said.
Isle soccer players mark AYSO anniversary
Young soccer players in Hawaii were among 14,628 from around the country to celebrate the American Youth Soccer Organization’s 50th anniversary Saturday in pickup-style games in nearly 140 communities.
Participants were assigned to age-based pickup teams as they arrived at the hundreds of soccer fields hosting AYSO’s SoccerFEST14, including at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.
Utility will place LEDs in Kauai streetlights
LIHUE » LED lighting will soon be illuminating Kauai’s streets.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said Friday it will switch 2,900 streetlights owned by Kauai County to light-emitting diodes. It will do the same for nearly 600 state-owned streetlights on Kauai.
The latest LED lights use half the energy of traditional high-pressure sodium lights.
KIUC CEO David Bissell says the arrangement allows the county to cut its lighting bill and the utility to use less fossil fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Council’s budget would cut real property taxes
A Maui County Council committee Monday approved a $604 million fiscal 2015 budget for Maui County, $18.5 million lower than the one Mayor Alan Arakawa proposed.
The budget would reduce real property taxes by 3.1 percent, the Budget and Finance Committee says.
Arakawa said his administration would work within the budget, but raised questions about cuts:
» Capital improvement projects in need of upgrades — such as the district park systems — were significantly reduced. Capital improvement items such as the Public Works Baseyard improvements in Makawao and Lahaina as well as planning and design for the consolidated base yard and future regional park in Central Maui were eliminated.
» The operating budget cuts were mostly in areas mandated for expansion by 2012 County Charter amendments or proposed for expansion by the administration to serve the community.
