The gubernatorial candidates square off

Call it the engaged voters’ version of must-see TV.

The candidates vying to become Hawaii’s next governor will appear in a live discussion at 8 p.m. Thursday, on PBS’ "Insights" program. With four hopefuls in the mix, only a plurality — not a majority — will be needed to win the Nov. 4 election. So settle in to hear where they — Republican James "Duke" Aiona, Libertarian Jeff Davis, Independent Mufi Hannemann and Democrat David Ige — stand on the issues.

Plus, if you want to hear more and meet the candidates in person, there’s a Saturday forum hosted by Hawaii’s Korean, Chinese and Filipino chambers of commerce. It’s 9 to 10 a.m. (doors open at 8:30 a.m.) at the Center for Korean Studies, University of Hawaii-Manoa, 1881 East West Road. Aiona, Hannemann and Ige are slated to attend.

A new effort to find homes for families

The sight of homeless families, especially children, living in squalor on public sidewalks should shock the conscience.

Unfortunately, it no longer does. There are so many families on the streets, and the solutions so far seem woefully inadequate.

Housing ASAP, a new program by the Hawaii Community Foundation, attempts to better the odds by spending $4 million to more efficiently connect homeless families with housing through a network of homeless service providers. It’s based on the idea that collective, focused efforts based on solid data can put more families into more homes more quickly.

It sounds good, and we hope it works. Seeing a homeless child playing in the street should be cause for alarm, not indifference.