The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • 1

ISIAHD EDITION Sl9! STATE edition O'ahu50t Neighbor Islands 75t 6 Copyright, 2004 FRIDAY February 20, 2004 I HAWAITS NEWSPAPER HonoluluAdvertiser.com fi K100IDi Sfflnlf)M Weather: 83-69 Mostly sunny A2 Committee lacks quorum to uli, 'Ewa), led a handful of sign-wavers who objected to the Judiciary Committee's decision to hold a hearing on the bill after voters had decided in a 1998 vote on a constitutional amendment not to support gay marriage. Tamayo said civil unions See UNION, A5 bers were on hand to hear the testimony, and a majority is needed for action other than deferral William Woods, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy Foundation, said the bill does not allow same-sex couples the opportunity to marry, but does gives them more rights than they have now. "It is clearly just another governmental status in addition to marriage affording some level of recognition, rights, benefits and responsibilities," Woods said. Opponents protested the hearing as well as the bill. Rep.

Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, D-42nd (Waipahu, Honouli- By Gordon Y.K. Pang Advertiser Capitol Bureau More than 100 people packed a House Judiciary Committee meeting last night to testify on a bill that vote on bill was held outside the room by opponents of same-sex unions. It was not immediately clear whether the committee had a quorum to vote on the bill Only six of the 15 mem to new Soldiers adjust 'crate homes' would give gay couples the right to form a civil union granting many of the rights and privileges of marriage. A majority of those who showed up supported House Bill 1024, but a small protest 1 i lii -e 1 Vfv-i- ''si l-. I fmtomi- nil ,1 j.

4 4 i The Tundoivn at Ifcpi'olcni Varied routes, facilities make running along the Kapi'olani Park area one of the best neighborhood running areas on 0'ahu. SPORTS, D8 EOng Street Cafe fares well Food as entertainment, part 2: The Night Stuff visits King Street Cafe. TGIF Regent session challenged A state watchdog agency says a closed meeting of the UH Board of Regents violated open-meetings laws. HAWAII, Bl Not exactly home alone A 31-year-old mother of three struggles with dating while living under her father's roof. ISLAND LIFE, El COMING TOMORROW Saturday Scoops: The care and feeding of orchids.

"onoIuluAdvertiser.com On the Web: For the latest news of Hawai'i and the world today, check out HonoluluAdvertiser.com 8 Sections, 120 Pages 4 ill Reminders of Saddam remain By William Cole Advertiser Military Writer KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq Saddam Hussein, sporting aviator sunglasses and a black beret, smiles upon Pfc. Patricia Rodriguez every day on her way to work with the 25th Infantry Division (Light). Graffiti by hundreds of occupying U.S troops cover the billboard-sized visage of Saddam, a mural that wouldn't have been touched a year ago. "At first it was kinda scary because you see his picture," said Rodriguez, 20, who works with records in a former Iraqi command building. "But at the same time you know he's not here anymore." A local worker putting up lights says Saddam launched planes from here in 1988 with chemical weapons for use on the Kurds.

There's still that incongruity at Kirkuk Air Base, which was outside the longstanding northern "no-fly zone established by the United States following the first GulfWar. Reminders of an ousted Saddam are everywhere, with American troops filling the void. Just off one runway, Schofield Barracks cooks wash hot meal containers next to a camouflaged old Soviet MiG fighter jet, its canopy perforated by bullet holes. See IRAQ, A6 SEE RELATED STORY, PAGE A6 imnfniiiii i-'HJ" irl itit rf i-- Photos by RICHARD AMBO The Honolulu Advertiser 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment cooks Pfc. Jonathan Dowdy of Hampton, foreground, and Spc.

Brian Stark of Tempe, are reminded of an ousted Saddam Hussein, whose mural is covered by occupying troops' graffiti. Mm nfr--'' Ballot on school reform backed House panek advance proposed amendment By Derrick DePledge Advertiser Education Writer Key state House Democrats have agreed to push forward with a ballot question in November that would let voters decide whether to create local school boards, sending the measure to the full House for a vote today. Democratic leaders on three House committees agreed yesterday to advance a bill backed by Gov. Linda Lingle to split apart the state Department of Education into local school districts with locally elected school boards. The bill also would replace the state Board of Education with an appointed standards and accountability commissioa Lawmakers first stripped out Iingle's preference for seven school boards and a seven-member commission, arguing that the specifics should remain open for debate.

The close votes by the House committees on education, the judiciary, and labor and public employment reflected the deep skepticism many Democrats still have about local school boards. See SCHOOL, A7 ly progress toward the goal Under the rule, schools will not have to administer reading tests to non-English speaking students during their first year of enrollment in a US. school The students instead can exams that measure their English proficiency. And for two years after those students learn English, schools will be allowed to count their reading See NO CHILD, AS RESTAURANT ROW 566-9991 1 Sgt. Rick Davis of Oklahoma City works on his golf swing outside his "container home" as a fellow anti-tank platoon member, Spc.

Jose Montero of Reno, looks on. Immigrant students exempt from Verizon Hawaii may 1 ir comes as lawmakers in a growing number of states move to limit spending to meet the law's requirements or opt out of them. The law requires all public school students to take annual reading and math tests from third through eighth grade and once in high schooL The goal is to make all students proficient in those subjects by 2014. Schools face sanctions if a demographic subgroup of students fails to make year 0n the Web: Listen to staff writer William Cole's thoughts on life at Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq. Click on HonoluluAdvertiser.com pany's New York headquarters, however, sent an email at noon yesterday to Verizon Hawaii's 1,800 employees, acknowledging "that discussions have taken place," spokeswoman Ann Nishida said.

"No sale is pending. No decisions have been made," Nishida said. "Sometimes these talks lead to nothing." If Verizon Hawaii were sold, the cost of residential phone service would stay the same because it is regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission. Business customers worry, Classified Comics E7 Crosswords E2 Editorials A16 Movie ads TGIF31-M Nation World A3 Obituaries B2 Stocks TV listings E6 Weather A2 be for sale however, that their service could change. "In major ownership changes, customers often suffer inconveniences," said Yuka Nagashima, president of LavaNet an internet service provider with about 12,000 customers connected through Verizon lines.

"Some ownership changes have increased value to the customers in the long run, others have not How things will play out depend heavily on who the buyer is and what the purchase terms By Fredreka Schouten I Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Immigrant students struggling to learn English will get a one-year reprieve from the reading tests required under a federal school reform law. The new policy, announced yesterday by Edu-. cation Secretary Rod Paige, marks the second change to the No Child Left Behind law signed by President Bush two years ago. And it UH MANOA 255-6903 Company held talks with buyer By Oan Nakaso Advertiser Staff Writer Verizon Communications Inc. said yesterday it is negotiating to sell its Verizon Hawaii subsidiary, the Islands' primary source of residential telephone service.

Verizon Hawaii, which operates more than 1 million local access lines, declined to identify a possible buyer. Verizon officials in the com MI 2700 S. KING ST. 944-5500 WINDWARD 247-1200 WESTR1DGE 487-3777 A Gannett Newspaper jar comma. required (tndudmt lonf dbtonct ft noootmkk rantif MddftioMf restrictions dppr; KC ptinted muCBfub ontf tficTMoMclcjiiit ond Li.Mtcii tvne vffetoni Condfeofw for tubfxt la change without GSininiiEss) npavadtmaitofOeutseht'klekeniAC.

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