Is there a doctor in the House? Yes

Not to say that science holds all the answers to life’s great questions, but a few important ones are going to come up this session of the Legislature, and it’ll be good to have another scientist on hand for the discussion.

Among those discussions will be potential reforms to the state health insurance exchange, and ways to contain costs at Hawaii’s publicly funded hospitals.

The latest addition at the state Capitol is Dr. Richard Creagan, whom the governor appointed to fill the Hawaii island seat in the state House vacated by Denny Coffman. Creagan’s credentials include being an alumnus of Yale, where he studied biology.

In addition to being an emergency room physician, Creagan and his wife, who live in Naalehu, run Kiolakaa Mountain Farms.

Considering that issues about genetically modified organism crops are bound to be raised, that’s pretty helpful experience for the job, too.

Let a thousand taro plants grow

Even though the urban garden sprouting along Ala Moana Boulevard won’t last, let’s hope that the idea takes root.

Advocates planted dryland taro on a narrow strip near the old Comp-USA building knowing that the site would be redeveloped in about six months.

That should be long enough for at least one harvest of taro for poi, and plenty of time for the neighbors to notice that it’s possible to cultivate edible organic gardens in tight quarters.

Surely this will prove a sustainable addition to the cityscape.