All the seats are filled, at least for now

Thunk. Did you hear that? That, we think, was the last political domino to fall after the sudden death of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye a month ago today.

To recap: Inouye’s longtime Democratic seat on Capitol Hill was filled by Brian Schatz, upon appointment by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Schatz, who had been lieutenant governor, was in turn replaced by Maui’s Shan Tsutsui, who as state Senate president was aligned for the job. Tsutsui’s Senate leadership spot was then filled by veteran Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, while his elective seat was filled via gubernatorial appointment by Gil Keith-Agaran, a state House representative from Maui. That, of course, left open his House seat, which was just filled on Tuesday — a day before the 2013 Legislature’s start —via Abercrombie appointment by Mauian Justin Woodson, a former Young Demo­crats of Hawaii president.

Whew. Get all that?

An opportunity to know your Legislature

Arguably it’s the place where the most consequential changes are made before folks have a clue what’s going on: the state Capitol.

For those vocal types who would hate being in the dark, Kanu Hawaii has revved up its weekly series of legislative workshops in the rotunda.

Volunteers who have been schooled on the lawmaking process and are following specific issues (they’ve been dubbed "Kanu Hawaii Fellows") will lead the sessions, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday in Room 423.

Why 5:30? It’s after working hours and, more to the point, basement parking is free at that point. But if even that isn’t convenient, the session will be livestreamed online: kanuhawaii.org.