A proposal paving the way for the Hannemann administration to rename a park after President Obama was held up by the City Council’s Public Safety and Services Committee today.

Current law says city facilities can only be named after people who are deceased.
Committee members said they didn’t like that the bill is specific in allowing only “a president of the United States born in Hawaii” to have a facility named after him or her. They suggested that the administration come back with a bill that would allow a city facility to be named after any living person.
Others questioned if the Native Hawaiian community had been consulted about the significance of Aina Moana and the notion of eliminating that name from the books.
A separate resolution has been introduced that would rename Aina Moana Beach Park, more popularly known as Magic Island, to President Barack Obama Beach Park at Magic Island. A bill allowing such a name change must clear first.