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IN PROGRESS FROM JAN TO MAY Invasive Species -Council member Greggor Ilagan will be pushing to commit funds for a communications specialist with the Big Island Invasive Species Committee. County crew clearing albizia trees. Building off the work that the Big Is- land Invasive Species Committee has been doing to deal with the albizia threat in Puna, he will be using dis- trict contingency relief funds for a position within BIISC whose primary function will be able to assist people who have problems with trees on or near their property. At a May 11 meeting of a working group that has been formed to com- bat the trees, Ilagan sought better co- ordination among the various agen- cies, including Civil Defense, Public Works, BIISC, the Hawaii Electric Light Co., and the Hawai'i Emergency Man- agement Agency (formerly known as State Civil Defense). Currently there is no single point of contact for the public to call in and receive assis- tance. BIISC has stepped forward and agreed to be that point of contact. L-R: Communications Director Fran- ny Brewer, Project Manger Springer Kaye and Councilman Ilagan brainstorm on the albizia issue. The communication specialist would work with agencies such as HELCO and Hawaii County to design and dis- tribute information about the hotline and whom to contact in the event that a tree needs to be removed. This person would handle all calls related to albizia trees, help people get prop- er training on the safe use of Mile- stone herbicide, and shepherd them through the process of requesting assistance from the State or County government. With base salary, plus fringe bene- fits, this position is expected to cost around $60,000. Ilagan will be con- tributing a certain amount from his contingency funds and he is hope- ful that some of his fellow Council members will feel similarly moved to donate from their own contingency accounts in the next fiscal year. Neighborhood Watch Bill -A bill to update the process by which Neigh- borhood Watch groups can get signs has passed initial Council committee review and could receive final ap- proval by the County Council as early as July 1. A Neighborhood Watch meeting. This separate from the $15,000 for funding of Neighborhood Watch signs that will be available islandwide for coming fiscal year. The Neighborhood Watch sign bill has gone through many drafts and many rounds of review behind the scenes. The goal had always been to address the concerns of community members in getting the signs, as well as updating a law that had remained essentially unchanged on the books for decades. Council Member Greggor llagan's Bill 47 was introduced to a Council Com- mittee on May 5 and postponed to June 2, where minor amendments were made and it received a unani- mous positive recommendation for the first of two readings before the Council on June 16, and then July 1. If approved, any Neighborhood Watch area coordinator wishing to have a Neighborhood Watch sign placed in that person's neighbor- hood must request and fill out an application form provided by the police department. If the Police Chief determines that the Neighborhood Watch is in compliance with the poli- cies of the Police Department, and not a rogue organization posing as a Neighborhood Watch, the Chief may approve the application. Councilman Ilagan and Police Chief Harry Kubojiri discuss ammendments for the neighborhood watch bill. For Neighborhood Watch programs located in private subdivisions, the Police Chief will be authorized to work with area coordinators to facili- tate the purchase and installation of Neighborhood Watch signs on pri- vate roads open to the public. The current law only allows the installa- tion of the signs on public property. The bill also designates a role for the community police officer and repeals the requirement that 60 percent of homes within the boundaries of a designated neighborhood partici- pate in the Neighborhood Watch pro- gram. SuperPAC Disclosure -As of early June, House Bill 1491, which will in- crease reporting requirements for so- called SuperPACs, has been approved by the Legislature and was sent to Gov. David lge for his signature. The Governor is reviewing all bills and will have until June 29 to notify the Legislature of his intent to veto any of them. Any bill not on this potential veto list by June 29 will become law. "Equal justice under law" is engraved on the facade of the Supreme Court building