Solution sits right over our heads

Some ideas seem so bright you wonder why they escaped us all this time. Maybe it’s because they’re out of sight and out of mind.

That’s the case with the "solar canopy," the 414-kilowatt array of photovoltaic panels on rooftops above 177 parking spaces at the Oceanic Time Warner Mililani headquarters. They were erected by Chevron Corp. — ironic, since the push for clean energy is powered by our desire to get away from oil, Chevron’s stock-in-trade. If only all the surfaces above our heads could be paved like this.

Ode to the symphony orchestra

Hopefully in the fall, the curtain will rise again for the Honolulu Symphony, or whatever its label, thanks to the efforts of a committee led by Oz Stender and assisted by former Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra President Steven Monder.

The committee acquired the past symphony’s assets at auction and has agreed to a new contract with 64 full-time musicians. That pact alone strikes a happy note and is a good departure from the friction between the previous symphony’s administration and musicians. Committee member Vicky Cayetano has suggested the orchestra’s appeal will be broadened to keep the music flowing.