Jon Van Dyke, a gentleman and professor

Much will be said about the legacy of Jon Van Dyke, the legal scholar and law professor who died on Tuesday, leaving behind larger-than-life contributions to Hawaii’s legal and political landscape. But for his constitutional law students at the William S. Richardson School of Law, he’ll be remembered in other ways.

He was a professor who liked brightly colored PowerPoints crammed with topics to be discussed. He was a soft-spoken practitioner of the Socratic method, posing a seemingly simple question — "Is ‘morality’ a rational justification for a law?" — and then gently but firmly guiding his unwary students around the pitfalls of their flabby reasoning. He also kept up with the headlines, addressing such thorny issues as the right to die, gun control and health care reform.

With his classes finished, all that’s left are the final exams to be taken later this month. His legacy will be contained in those, too.

One bag of trash, please. That is all

Let’s face it: The holidays are not famous as a barometer of restraint. Still, Kanu Hawaii wants to put all you revelers to the test.

The nonprofit organization, whose mission includes tamping down the state’s ongoing problem managing its rubbish, has just kicked off a four-week "No Waste Challenge." The goal: to see that 50,000 pounds of trash that’s usually bound for the landfill never get there.

There are related events (kanu.me/NoWasteEvents), including a Dec. 10 drive at Kale’s Natural Foods Store and Deli to raise some money to build a recycling facility at the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center.

But the really impressive feat, if it can be achieved, is to limit the trash to one bag per family, Dec. 18-26. And no, it doesn’t count if you just hold it all for the trash dudes to collect after New Year’s. That’s cheating.