Wishing Hirono a speedy and full recovery

Tuesday’s news of U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s Stage 4 kidney cancer sent waves of concern over Hawaii. The longtime lawmaker did her utmost to reassure, averring that “At the conclusion of this treatment, there will be no identifiable disease left untreated. My doctor expects I will make a full recovery from these treatments.”

Hirono’s public grit emerged Wednesday, soon after an operation to remove her right kidney. “Got out of surgery and doing okay!” her staffers tweeted Hirono as saying. That was followed soon after with her statement lauding the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the President Trump-Russia situation.

Political views aside, here’s wishing Hirono that full recovery.

Time of the essence against rapid ohia death

When pitted against a scourge known as “rapid ohia death,” the fight to save the beloved native plant has to be that much more speedy.

Now the hope is that a new mobile test unit — called “lab in a suitcase” — will help. The University of Hawaii at Hilo, the USGS Pacific Islands Ecosystem Research Center and the USDA Agricultural Research Service developed the suitcase unit. This enables diagnostic field testing for two of the invasive species. Unfortunately, the state reports that the fungus has grown by half. Scientists, better pack those suitcases.