Texas utilities regulators have rejected the $18 billion bid by NextEra Energy to buy that state’s largest electric utility, Oncor. That was the big-fish deal NextEra was angling for, back when small-fry Hawaii opted out of its own acquisition deal.

That proposal to acquire Hawaiian Electric Industries dominated the calendar at our own Public Utilities Commission for months on end. The two portfolios have to be very different, of course. Even so, Hawaii’s PUC folks have to be feeling just a little bit vindicated. Aloha, y’all, NextEra. Next?

A promising rail stop in Halawa

With the lifting of restrictions on developing the Aloha Stadium site in Halawa, the future looks bright for replacing the Rust Bowl with something a lot more useful — a smaller, modern multi-use stadium surrounded by housing and retail.

It’s taken awhile, but you can see a trend developing: An airport being modernized (eventually); sleek new apartments and retail shops in Kakaako instead of warehouses; a face lift and expansion of Ala Moana Center and environs; a growing community in Kapolei.

Imagine being able to reach all these places, and many others in between, quickly and easily by rail transit. That’s the plan. We’ll see.