Private anti-poverty program busting out

Welcome news out of Minnesota: The Jeremiah Program is taking its model nationwide.

Since 1998, the nonprofit has helped lift Minneapolis mothers and children out of poverty, providing a combination of housing, education and job training aimed at breaking a desperate cycle that had persisted from generation to generation. It now operates in Minnesota, Ohio and Texas, and is looking to expand nationwide.

An analysis found that for every dollar invested in the Jeremiah Program, there was a $4 return, in the form of taxes paid by the now-working mothers, less reliance on public assistance and fewer special-education services required by their children, among other costs.

Hawaii officials would do well to invite the program here, and seek to replicate its success in the islands.

UH football legends coaching the enemy

Today’s football game between the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and the University of Nevada Wolfpack promises to be interesting — if not exciting — if for no other reason than that former UH standouts Nick Rolovich and Ashley Lelie will be coaching on the sidelines for the Wolfpack.

As Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon wrote Friday, Rolovich as quarterback and Ashley as wide receiver were "the most spectacular single-season passing combination in UH history." They endeared themselves to UH fans forever by leading the team in 2001 to a 9-3 season that climaxed with a 72-45 victory over BYU, which was UH’s arch nemesis at the time.

That they’re both now coaching for the Wolfpack is somewhat disconcerting, but it’s always good to see those two guys working in football, and we wish them all success — except for today.