Honolulu Police Commission nominee Steven Levinson, a former Hawaii Supreme Court associate justice, said he wants to reserve comment on the embattled seven-member panel until he’s had a chance to learn more.

“I’m going in with an open mind,” Levinson told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday shortly after his nomination was announced by Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s office.

However, he did say he supports a City Charter amendment before voters next month that would allow the commission to subpoena witnesses and give it the power to remove or suspend the police chief.

Levinson would replace commission Chairman Ron Taketa, who has been the public face of the seven-member panel as it’s fended off accusations that it has not done enough to address recent controversies involving Chief Louis Kealoha and HPD officers. Taketa has said he doesn’t think the charter amendment is necessary. Levinson’s term would expire in 2020. The commission would choose a new chairman.

Levinson was on the high court from 1992 to 2008. Prior to that he was a Hawaii Circuit judge. He has been a director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii since 2009.

He was the justice who wrote the 1993 opinion in the case Baehr v. Lewin, which said the state needed to show a compelling interest for denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Bill would prohibit county from using Styrofoam

KAILUA-KONA >> Though a proposed ban was already tabled in June, Hawaii County Council members are again pushing for a ban on expanded polystyrene products, more commonly known as Styrofoam.

Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille plans to propose a modified version of the earlier bill, which would prohibit only the county from using foam products, West Hawaii Today reported.

“The big difference is that the prohibitions in Bill 140 were sort of across the board, but this bill only prohibits the county, county vendors and county facility users (from using foam containers),” Wille said.

The original proposal, Bill 140, stalled after a 4-4 vote and would have banned foam containers across Hawaii County. All restaurants would have instead been required to use reusable or compostable products, with a few exceptions.

The Big Island will have a composting facility by July 2018.

Many arguments against Bill 140 had focused on the negative impact it would have on businesses, but Wille argues the updated version assuages those issues by affecting only county facilities.