Can a local brewery be saved?

Word that Hawaii Nui Brewing filed for bankruptcy last week initially was a bit worrisome for customers who have enjoyed the various beers it produces under the Mehana and Hawaii Nui brands.

However, as presented in the bankruptcy court, its problem seems to be one of growing too fast, rather than an indicator that the bloom is off the rose for Hawaii-based brewery companies, and that a fresh injection of funding will help the company get back on its feet.

A lender supposedly has committed to help the company keep running without interruption, with the ultimate goal of taking over ownership of the firm, which is based in Hilo and has about a dozen workers.

It produces about a dozen different brews, with annual sales, including in Japan, of about $1 million, representing about 5,200 barrels or 71,650 cases.

Here’s hoping for the best.

From Hawaii to the final frontier

Hawaii has a long history with the U.S. space program. In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts stopped in Honolulu on their way back from the moon. In the 1990s, politicians dreamed of making Hawaii a spaceport for high-flying tourists.

These days, our ambitions are more practical. The University of Hawaii is scheduled in October to launch a collection of nanosatellites — 4-inch cubes — into low-Earth orbit from the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.

UH hopes big things can come from small satellites: an industry built around what UH President M.R.C. Greenwood called "a low-cost gateway into space."

It may not be Cape Canaveral. But it sure looks like the future.