Don’t give malihini the wrong idea

People usually feel pretty nervous about anything being "set in stone" — it’s permanent, and that’s not always a good thing.

Imagine how the stonesetters are feeling about misspelling the common Hawaiian word as "malahini" in the city’s new Saratoga Avenue sidewalk display. It’s the sort of thing a malihini would do, but not what anyone wants to see in an exhibition that purports to teach our visitors about the native language. Not to mention that its meaning — "newcomer" — was etched into the very same rock, but as two words. Is there a stone imprinted with "lolo" somewhere?

Truth be told, though, it probably shouldn’t be newspaper folk lecturing the city or its contractors about making typos. Talk about being in a glass house and, well, throwing stones.

Another judge appointed, another secret kept

On Monday, Gov. Neil Abercrombie made his third judicial appointment. This time, Karen Nakasone, a deputy public defender, was named as an Oahu circuit judge, subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

Was she the best choice available? How about his other appointments: Sabrina McKenna to the state Supreme Court or Rhonda Loo to the Maui Circuit Court? Abercrombie won’t release the names of finalists submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission, so you’ll just have to trust him. After all, he’s the governor. And apparently he believes that how he chooses the state’s judges is none of your business.