Donohue disregards Djou’s desires

Former City Councilman Charles Djou always was proud of his record of voting against tax increases. So he’s probably disappointed that the first vote of the person chosen to succeed him on the Council was for a tax increase on non-owner-occupied homes.

Djou vacated his Council seat last month after winning a special election for Congress to replace Neil Abercrombie, who had resigned to run for governor.

Djou had preferred his replacement to have been attorney Jonathan Lai, but the Council unanimously picked former police chief Lee Donohue. Djou issued a gracious statement about the selection from D.C., but surely he could not have enjoyed reading Donohue’s comment: "I think the raises in taxes were very reasonable."

Give your regards to Broadway

In times of financial cuts and austerity, a common lament is that funding for the arts is particularly vulnerable. So when it was announced that Broadway’s "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cats" would be coming here in the fall, it was good news. First, of course, is that island audiences will have the chance to catch top-notch productions. But the lasting, heartening impact is that the shows will benefit six local theater groups: For each ticket sold, 50 cents will go into a new Broadway in Hawaii Education Fund. Way to support the local arts.