Voter registration is easy — if you do it today

How easy does voter registration have to be in order to entice our lackadaisical electorate? Pretty darned easy, it seems.

The Office of Elections is offering a drive-through option, at sites in three counties, ending in a few hours, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the deadline for primary registration. (Don’t know why Maui is sitting out this particular initiative). Oahu voters can drive into the drop-off lane fronting the state Capitol on Beretania Street, where people will be standing by to enroll them without their setting foot out of the car.

Perhaps elections staff should offer an order of fries with that. Hey, Hawaii voters are a tough sell.

Enough sun for a PV system? UH can tell you

For energy conservationists, research enthusiasts or wonky types in general, these websites are you.

The University of Hawaii Geography Department has several new interactive sites that allow users to see just how much solar radiation, evapotranspiration or other climate and water processes go on in your neighborhood. On one site, for example: Click onto an island map, zoom onto your street, and voila, there’s a month-by-month breakdown of how much solar your area gets, based on watts per square meter. That’s welcome info for anyone thinking of installing rooftop solar panels.

Check out solar.geography.hawaii.edu/interactivemap.html for solar; evapotranspiration.geography.hawaii.edu for water evaporation; or climate.geography.hawaii.edu and rainfall.geography.hawaii.edu.