Stryker vehicles get ready to ship out

Good night, sweet Strykers. We hardly knew thee.

And perhaps that’s a good thing. Many Hawaii residents were opposed to the 320 heavily armed, eight-wheeled, 19-ton military vehicles being deployed here in the first place, starting about 10 years ago.

It was expensive to ship the vehicles on a regular basis for high-level training from their base at Schofield Barracks to the firing ranges at Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii island and the National Training Center in California. Also, local environmentalist groups considered them damaging to the environment.

Hence the Army now is prepping the vehicles for shipment to somewhere else, probably Washington state.

On the downside, the move will mean a cutback in the troop strength of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, from more than 4,600 soldiers to about 3,600, which is bound to have some depressive effect on Hawaii’s economy, at least in the short term.

But that’s just all the more reason for Hawaii to focus on expanding economic opportunities in its civilian sectors — an option too often overlooked.

All hail the new attention paid to taxis

There’s progress at last at the city Customer Services Department, where more regular inspections of taxi drivers have resumed. The Star-Advertiser’s series on lax oversight helped spur the change.

The City Council also heard the call and is considering stricter standards for cab drivers.

And, let’s face it, it’s not just tourists who should feel relieved. Local folks do occasionally depend on taxicabs, for those times when the family can’t provide the run to and from the airport.