Fantastic Fridays

Rep. Glenn Wakai (right) spent an afternoon on Fantastic Friday painting over graffiti on a freeway overpass.

"We are trying to turn something terrible into something positive."

That is what Representative Glenn Wakai had to say about a project in which students from Moanalua Middle School are using their Furlough Friday days to paint over graffiti defiling property in their community.

"It's embarrassing that our kids are out of schools so often," said Rep. Wakai. "While that battle continues to be waged between government workers and the Governor, I believe in turning negatives into positives. We give children lessons about civic responibility. We don't just hand them a brush, we talk to them about the importance of character and pride."

The students and other volunteers have already covered graffiti near the entrance to Moanalua Gardens Park and on the freeway overpass of in Moanalua Valley. They're known as the Fantastic Fridays Crew and was made possible through the contribution of several organizations including Totally Against Graffiti (TAG), the Painters Unions, McDonalds, the Honolulu Police Department, and the Office of Rep. Glenn Wakai.

Volunteers stand in front of freshly painted columns at the entrance to Moanalua Valley.

Hawaii helping Micronesia

Over the weekend, Representative Glenn Wakai helped load two 40-foot containers with medical and educational supplies from Shriner's Hospital. The donated items will be sent to two islands in Micronesia, Pohnpei and Palau. Reach out Pacific, a non-profit organization of which the representative is president, will send the items to hospitals in great need of supplies. Reach out Pacific services the Association of Pacific Island Legislature nations.

Some of the equipment donated include a stainless steel kitchen counter, industrial refrigerator, and AC units. All of these items will help hospitals in Micronesia provide their patients with better care.

Check out the story on KHNL News 8.

Reps in the News

A round up of stories you may have missed...

Rep. Glenn Wakai on KGMB9 News regarding the state's investment in the space industry. Rocketplane Global, one of the companies that Hawaii has been courting, closed its offices and left town in Oklahoma after taking $18 million in tax credits. Story here.

Here's a good news story on Rep. Wakai's recent donation to LBJ Medical Center in Samoa. According to a SamoaNews.com story here, donated toys and medical supplies arrived last week courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, Shriners Hospital of the Pacific, and Reach Out Pacific (REPAC), the non-profit organization headed by Wakai.

Hawaii's Filipino Caucus is the focus of this story in the Filipino-American Community Newspaper, featuring Vice Speaker Michael Magaoay.

What will it take to get Americans out of their cars?

That question was being asked a lot a few years ago as we considered the option of fixed rail. Will people really give up their cars and take mass transit? Now, the answer is clearer. The price of gas has indeed forced folks to change their driving habits, and the tipping point seems to be around $4 a gallon.

Remember the good ole days when we in the U.S. were paying about $1 per gallon and gasped at the thought that our European friends were paying $5 a gallon for gas? The Christian Science Monitor ran a piece yesterday that shows that the British are still trying to find ways to deal with the price of gas, which is now $9 a gallon on their side of the pond.

The Kauai Garden Island has published their first in a series of stories of how Kauai residents are changing over to motorcycles, mopeds, scooters and even trikes. Trikes?

Well, although he took some good natured ribbing this session from Rep. Scott Nishimoto on his "training wheels" legislation, maybe Rep. Glenn Wakai was on to something when he pushed for regulations on three-wheeled mopeds in House Bill 931. The bill, which was signed into law in June, exempts certain three-wheeled mopeds from seating and passenger restrictions on the operation of mopeds. It requires liability and property damage insurance on three-wheeled mopeds and restricts three-wheeled mopeds to roadways with speed limits of 35 mph or less.

At 100 miles per gallon, who's laughing now?

Reps. Wakai and Brower donate Shriner's clothes and toys to Tuloy Foundation

While in the Philippines, tourism committee members Reps. Glenn Wakai and Tom Brower spent the day with local kids from the Tuloy Foundation, a program that helps guide and change the lives of young runaways, orphans and criminals. A Hawaii charity helps support the school.

The House members handed out 7 boxes of stuffed animals, clothes and toys that were donated from Shriner's hospital.

More on their goodwill efforts on the KHNL website.

In Photo (L-R): Rep. Brower and Rep. Wakai help the children of the Tuloy Foundation program pick out their favorite stuffed animal.

The Taddster at Reno-Tahoe

Photo: Rep. Scott Nishimoto, Tadd Fujikawa and Rep. Glenn Wakai. Both reps report a golf handicap of 28

Tadd Fujikawa made his professional debut at the Reno-Tahoe Open on Thursday. While this is being posted, Tadd appears to be struggling to make the cut. However, he has lots of fans in Hawaii cheering him on who will be proud of his performance, no matter the score. This session, Rep. Glenn Wakai, who represents the district where Tadd lives and goes to Moanalua High School, sponsored a floor presentation to honor the young golfer.