Making a mess with molasses

It’s too soon to know the full extent of the impact from the mammoth molasses spill into Honolulu Harbor. The discovery of the spill, evidently from a leaky pipeline on a Matson Inc. ship, has left the Department of Health environmental officials uncertain about the next step.

Molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process, has for years been brought in from Maui and stored at Sand Island, evidently without incident. The sticky syrup looks a bit like petroleum but it can’t be cleaned from the water in the manner of an oil spill. So Matson can’t fix that. But dead fish can be picked out of the water, and thousands of them have been suffocated in the sugary mess. Perhaps the shipping company can pitch in there. Otherwise, dead fish attract hungry sharks and eels — not the kind of visitors Hawaii wants to see these days.

Thanks for the memories, Kawamoto-san

Well, it was weird while it lasted.

The news that Genshiro Kawamoto will sell his Kahala properties and other holdings to Alexander & Baldwin, was greeted with cheers from long-suffering neighbors, who watched helplessly as Kawamoto erected nude statuary and allowed once-elegant properties to return to a state of nature. "It’s a new day for Kahala," crowed attorney Richard Turbin, who has fought Kawamoto for years.

Indeed. What will Kahala Avenue be like without Kawamoto’s weedy, unkempt lots and his grand plans for a string of museums? Better, no doubt. But a lot less interesting.