Molokini, where mongooses and cats don’t play

It’s been 17 years since the "Target Island" of Kahoolawe was returned from federal to state control. So it’s ironic to see that nearby little Molokini, also targeted in those war-era bombing runs, seems likely to change hands in the opposite direction. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the proposed custodians, have never known to be bomb-throwers, so it’s different. The agency’s goal is to protect the population of shearwater colonies, birds that on the crescent-shaped islet aren’t threatened by mongooses, dogs or cats, let alone bombs.

Once upon a time, asbestos was a miracle product

Reports from various insurance groups show that nationally, claims related to asbestos exposure — long linked to the cancer mesothelioma — are on the rise.So it’s startling to see proof, as Bob Sigall recently cited in his Star-Advertiser column, that people once thought of asbestos content as a safety feature worth trumpeting (‘Asbestos’ was a good word when Hawaii Theatre opened," Star-Advertiser, Rearview Mirror, Sept. 2). He had a photo of The Hawaii Theatre curtain showing that what now appears as a Diamond Head design once bragged about the asbestos in the fabric.