'Honolulu Weekly' loses news rack fight

By The Associated Press

08.06.02

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Honolulu Weekly does not have a constitutional right to distribute its free papers from Waikiki news racks the city designed for publications that charge readers, a federal appeals panel has ruled.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Aug. 2 overturned a 1999 permanent injunction by a Honolulu federal judge that had allowed the weekly to be placed in racks like those for the city's two daily newspapers but with the coin mechanisms disabled.

The three-judge appeals panel found in Honolulu Weekly v. Harris that no First Amendment rights were violated by disallowing the weekly a place in the coin-operated racks.

The city of Honolulu had wanted to restrict the weekly to smaller slots intended for free publications.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said officials were pleased with the ruling but had no immediate comment on how it would affect arrangements for publication distribution in the Waikiki tourist area.

Honolulu Weekly officials were caught by surprise by the reversal of the injunction.

Kate Paine, the weekly's distribution manager, said the city and publishers had worked out an arrangement that works for all publications involved. "For the injunction to be turned around is a step backwards," she said.

The 1999 news rack ordinance followed long discussions that included proposals to eliminate distribution of publications on Waikiki sidewalks altogether. The city maintained that putting the free weekly in the coin boxes designed for larger newspapers would lead to visual blight and wasted space.

The Waikiki boxes now used by the weekly were allotted in a June lottery for three years. They stand alongside similar racks for The Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

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