Finally, peace at Turtle Bay

After years of friction, union negotiators at Turtle Bay Resort have voted unanimously in favor of a new contract to be put to a vote by the 350 workers on Friday.

The Unite Here Local 5 committee’s vote followed a strike authorization last month by the employees and comes two years after an impasse between them and the resort. A labor contract with the resort’s former owner expired in 1999 and was extended repeatedly until 2003, when union members began working without a contract until the two sides signed a four-year pact in 2006.

In light of all this, the "step forward" described by longtime Turtle Bay worker Steven Dela Cruz may be an understatement.

‘Moderate’ means liberal in Texas

Moderate, according to Webster, is "within reasonable limits; avoiding excesses or extremes; temperate or restrained."

Not bad attributes for someone aspiring to public service, right? Former Gov. Linda Lingle is making copious use of the word in advertising as she pursues a U.S. Senate seat. But this seemingly rational word choice would be rejected in the much more combative style of other GOP campaigns across the mainland. In Texas, for example, just about any Republican who could be tagged with the M-word was driven from office in the tea party sweep of 2010, and "moderate" is being bandied about like a cuss word in 2012 campaigns. A moderate by any other name … might as well be a Democrat in the Lone Star State.

Advisory to members of this species: Have you considered moving to Hawaii?