OHA wise to invest in college education

Education is a proven path to success, so an agency devoted to improving the lives of Native Hawaiians is wise to put more of its money into college scholarships. The number of students receiving financial aid from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs rose about 15 percent this year, to a total of 354 Native Hawaiian students who received a combined total of $870,000 in scholarship money. The average award was $2,458, a big help in an era of rising tuition.

This year’s funding brings to about $3.5 million the total amount of college scholarships bestowed by OHA over the past five years. For more information on financial aid available to Native Hawaiian college students, see http://www.oha.org/scholarships.

Global security requires global resolve

While 9/11 is always observed with sadness for those whose lives were lost and changed by the 2001 terrorist attacks, with concern for security for travelers and at public gatherings, it feels especially sad and frightening now.

President Barack Obama’s Wednesday address about the current threat from the Islamic State extremists served as a dispiriting reminder. After so many years of war and sacrifice, the world seems no closer to equilibrium — the Middle East in particular, but the fires are raging elsewhere as well.

The only hope is global security becomes a matter of global resolve, and that the U.S. isn’t left as the principal police force for the planet.