Off the News

Legislators face tough decision

From the "It's Only Fair" file, we have pulled an important legislative update.

Lawmakers are still pondering a bill that would extend until Dec. 31, 2013, the 5 percent cut in their own pay that's been in effect for two years. Conferees were meeting yesterday on House Bill 575; without this measure, their salary goes back up on July 1.

Considering that most units in the Hawaii Government Employees Association have accepted the same cut, this would be equitable.

Of course, would the legislators also get the HGEA's extra vacation hours? Not that they need any more time off.

High prices cast pall on air travel

If you're any good at looking for airline fare bargains, you better get to it, if you hope to travel to the mainland any time soon.

Prices have taken off, so to speak, thanks to higher oil prices or fees, and it will be a challenge to find roundtrip tickets for anything less than $500.

Chances are high that more Hawaii residents will be taking "staycations" instead of shelling out big bucks to visit the mainland for a week or so. The high prices might even affect how many isle residents travel to Las Vegas in September to see the University of Hawaii Warriors play against UNLV, which in the past has numbered up to 15,000.

Say it isn't so!