Call center sets good example  

When it comes to your health, there should be no language barrier.

That’s the thought behind the Hawaii Health Connector’s new call center, which will answer questions about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. The call center, which launched Tuesday, will offer help in 10 languages, including Hawaiian, Chuukese, Ilocano and Marshallese.

That’s a lot more inclusive than the state’s driver’s license exam, which is offered only in English. The state Department of Transportation is working now to add more languages, with a little goosing from a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month by Faith Action for Community Equity.

The Health Connector can be reached at 877-628-5076 or 855-585-8604 (TTY/TDD).

More answers needed after spill

A week after the 1,400-ton molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor that’s killed some 25,000 fish and marine life, Matson Inc. has claimed full responsibility, saying it won’t pass cleanup and damage costs on to its consumers or taxpayers.

“We’re not going to charge our customers more as a result of this spill,” Matson CEO Matt Cox said Monday, after a boat tour of the harbor.

That’s good to hear, so let’s hope regulators help Matson keep its word, in the short and long terms.

What wasn’t so good to hear was state transportation officials saying they were unsure if any other nonhazardous substances similar to molasses are shipped out of Hawaii waters in bulk quantities, or under the radar of regulators.

Let’s make sure, shall we?