Time to build a safer sparkler

Reactions have been a bit ambiguous where the City Council’s latest fireworks proposal is concerned.

Council members Ikaika Anderson and Ann Koba­ya­shi last week introduced a bill to bring back sparklers and fountains to the shelves where Oahu shoppers now get their legal firecrackers. Since the partial ban was enacted in 2010, the novelties have been illegal, just like aerial fireworks.

Yes, it’s easy to wax nostalgic about these seemingly benign things from our youth. But yes, they do cause burns … and do we really want to dredge up that whole debate again?

Now, if they could develop e-sparklers, that might be a solution. Smart people, get on it.

Living in the Supreme Court’s fantasyland

Legal eagles are putting their reputations on the line in the popular Supreme Court fantasy league, predicting the outcome of pending cases, how the vote will split and how each justice will vote.

Now in its fourth "season," the website, which started as a lark, has transformed into an effective way to teach middle-school and high-school students about the U.S. Constitution and the American legal system. Check it out at http://www.fantasyscotus.net/.