From the Honolulu Advertiser (September 20):

"Big Island acting mayor Dixie Kaetsu yesterday vetoed a bill that would have banned plastic bags, citing "philosophical issues" and concerns over the measure's language on public involvement."

According to the report, Kaetsu felt that the bill did not give nonprofit organizations enough time to "comment" on the bill,  and that the one-year timeline to the ban was insufficient.

Had the mayor signed off on the legislation, the Big Island would have joined neighboring Mauii, which passed a similar ban in August.  The Mauii ban will begin in January 2011, which gives merchants just over a year to exhaust their stockloads of plastic bags.