The Hawaii County Board of Ethics has added a second count of ethics code violation against Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole.

By a 4-1 vote, the board on Wednesday found that Naeole violated the county ethics code when she threw a pen across the room at a June 2, 2008, council meeting. The action violated the portion of the code requiring county officers to give "fair, courteous and impartial treatment,"the ethics board said.

The board last month found Naeole in violation of the same section when she made thumbs-down gestures behind the backs of testifiers during a June 16 meeting about council reorganization. The actions could intimidate the public and keep people from testifying, board members said.

Naeole said she threw her pen in exasperation during a budget discussion when she learned that West Hawaii was getting a $55 million civic center while people in her district were homeless and "mothers were sleeping in cars."

"When I threw the pen — my bad — it wasn't when any testifiers was on," Naeole told the Ethics Board.