A bill introduced Friday at Honolulu Hale is designed to tighten up regulation of Oahu taxicab drivers.
Honolulu City Council Bill 70 would require cabdrivers to be tested on traffic laws, knowledge of Oahu streets and English proficiency each time they renew their two-year taxi certificates. Currently, applicants are tested when they first seek the permits, with traffic law tests required every fourth renewal.
Bill 70, authored by City Council members Ann Kobayashi and Joey Manahan, also calls for a dedicated phone number that passengers can call for complaints. It would also require the Department of Customer Services, which regulates metered cabs, to set up guidelines regarding the number and the size of photographs that must be submitted by taxi applicants. The law now says only that an application must include a photograph taken within the last 30 days.
The changes follow a Honolulu Star-Advertiser report earlier this week on problems in the oversight of taxis.
Bike event registration still open
Some 2,000 cyclists are expected to participate Sunday in the inaugural Ono Fun Ride and the 34th annual Honolulu Century Ride, organizers say.
The 18-mile Ono Fun Ride starts 7 a.m. and runs from Kapiolani Park to Maunalua Bay and back, while the Century Ride, at 100 miles maximum distance for participants, starts 6:15 a.m. and runs from Kapiolani Park up the Windward Coast and back.
Those interested can still register Saturday at Waikiki Elementary, 3710 Leahi Ave., between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., according to the Hawaii Bicycling League. Registration for the Ono Fun Ride will cost $20 for HBL members and $30 for nonmembers. To register Saturday for the Century Ride, it will cost $80 for members and $95 for nonmembers.
Riders can also register the day of the rides at no extra cost for the Ono Fun Ride, and $20 extra for the Century Ride.
Longshoremen to clean harbor debris
A group of longshoremen will spend this weekend collecting trash that has accumulated at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, washed down Manoa, Makiki and Palolo streams by recent heavy rain.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said the cleanup is planned for Saturday and Sunday and will be run by Puma Punku Ocean Clean Up Inc. — a new nonprofit formed by longshoremen to clean the ocean of plastic and marine debris.
Anyone interested in volunteering to help clean the harbor this weekend may call the group at 341-4262 or go to the harbor and locate Puma Punku President Frank Ruiz.
Man dies after being found floating in bay
Hawaii island police have initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation in connection with the death of a man found floating facedown Thursday evening in Hilo Bay.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday officers responded to the 100 block of Banyan Drive after a man was reported floating in the bay.
Police found the unresponsive man about 15 feet from shore. Officers and Fire Department personnel helped bring him to shore. He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was officially pronounced dead at 9:02 p.m.
Police are attempting to identify the man and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Kapaa man held in robbery of pharmacy
Kauai police Wednesday night arrested a 42-year-old Kapaa man in connection with the robbery of a Kapaa pharmacy Sept. 19.
Police said the man was arrested at his home on suspicion of first- and second-degree robbery.
At about 12:30 p.m. Sept. 19, a masked man armed with what looked like a handgun walked into the Kapaa Pharmacy and demanded prescription drugs, police said.
The pharmacist complied, and the man fled with more than $1,000 in prescription drugs.
Police, using surveillance video, were able to identify the suspect.
He is being held in police custody in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The suspect has not yet been formally charged and is expected to appear in Kauai District Court next week, police said.
