Oops, were we supposed to appoint a judge today?

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has had loads of positions to fill by appointment — probably more than the average governor in his first term. So it might not be shocking that one of them got by him: The June 10 deadline passed before he submitted his pick for a Maui Circuit Court judge slot.

Still, Peter Cahill — the attorney whom the governor had tapped, albeit belatedly — could still be the one who emerges through the fallback plan. The Judicial Selection Commission now will decide which of its list of nominees to send forward for Senate confirmation.

Not to revel in this misstep (the newspaper misses a deadline now and then, too), but maybe someone in the Capitol’s fifth-floor offices might check out one of those smart-phone apps that send not-so-gentle calendar reminders. And good luck, Mr. Cahill.

Attracting the digital cable surfer-voter

Marketing often requires creativity, and Linda Lingle’s latest political campaign is certainly trying out a novel idea.

In a move that has attracted attention from around the country, the former Hawaii governor, now seeking to be the Hawaii GOP’s U.S. Senate candidate, has established her own digital cable channel, featuring videos and other materials about her political views. It’s part of a larger media buy from Oceanic Cable that for this week alone includes $13,000 worth of political ads spread across six channels. Lingle’s cable outlet, sandwiched between Fox News and Headline News, was thrown in for an extra $10,000 set-up fee and a $2,500 weekly operation fee.

Will Lingle’s "LL2012" channel lure enough digital cable surfers to justify the cost? Other candidates, in Hawaii and elsewhere, are eager to find out.