Drop in molasses bucket for Matson

Matson. Molasses. Money, money, money — a million, this time.

Hawaii’s shipping king settled its federal criminal case over last year’s molasses spill in Honolulu Harbor for $400,000 in fines and $600,000 for community service. That compounds the $5.2 million already paid for the cleanup and other costs — with possible civil claims from the state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Matson’s a big company and will surely roll with these punches. Ultimately, it will be Hawaii consumers who may pay the bill over the long term: The company can recoup through shipping fees that get tacked onto the cost of every commodity we buy.

Still, for now, it’s sweet to see Waikiki Aquarium benefiting from the community service donation, the funding to be split with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and its beach cleanups.

HPD moves slowly in right direction

The Honolulu Police Department is doubling the amount of classroom training officers receive about responding to domestic violence, which is a positive step.

Remember, though, that this improvement brings the annual training requirement to a mere two hours for officers ranked lieutenant and lower, because only an hour a year was required before a notorious case rightly brought more attention to this serious issue.

Obviously, there’s much more work that needs to be done, and on an ongoing basis.