State law enforcement officers are clearing 40 or so homeless encampments — mostly tucked behind tangles of kiawe and hidden from view — on Diamond Head’s iconic slopes. The sweep follows six months of warnings and attempts to persuade the campers to accept help from social service agencies.

In late December, after repeated efforts of several social service agencies, a woman who had been battling drug addiction and mental illness issues while living on the state park’s slopes and elsewhere on the streets for at least a decade, accepted a Housing First voucher and moved into a room in a city housing project. It was hoped that others would follow. When the sweep got underway Wednesday, officials found seven people at the site. They now face fines for illegal camping. Here’s hoping that group and the others who left behind camps pursue the help they’re offered to secure suitable living quarters.

Risks greater than ever in the Pacific

The 15th annual Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana, which concluded Thursday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, aired issues of disaster planning. Among other risks conferees tackled this year, climate change loomed larger than it did at the event’s founding.

Going through the conference topic list, the term “climate” comes up a few times, “resilience” a few times more. And the overall theme is “Navigating Toward Security and Sustainability.”

Perhaps the recent arrival on the scene of the city’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency was well timed, after all.