Want to be a politician? You have until 4:30

If you’re itching to make a difference by representing a constituency, today’s your deadline to enter the election fray.

The deadline is 4:30 p.m today to file as a candidate for this year’s Aug. 11 primary election; nomination papers are being accepted at the Office of Elections or city/county clerk’s office (see http://hawaii.gov/elections/candidates/).

The offices up for grabs: U.S. senator, two representatives to the U.S. House; 25 state senators; 51 state House representatives; Honolulu mayor, prosecutor and five City Council seats; Hawaii island mayor, prosecutor and nine Council seats; nine Maui Council seats; Kauai prosecutor and seven Council seats; and four trustees to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Once again, Venus transits Hawaiian skies

Somehow it seems only fair that Hawaii should have the best seat on the planet for today’s show, the Transit of Venus, since that was what brought Captain James Cook to this part of the globe to begin with.

The first voyage of Cook was sponsored in part by the Royal Society, the British science institution, to observe the 1769 transit, which he did from Tahiti. It’s just one more astronomical element in the stargazing, seafaring history of the Pacific.

This time we’re the only state where it will be visible in its entirety. The University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy has online advice for doing that while protecting your eyes (www.ifa.hawaii.edu/transit) — a far better resource than Captain Cook ever had at his disposal.