Navy must protect marine life, too

The U.S. Navy has vast Pacific waters to consider as training sites, so it seems reasonable that it should be able to meet its defense goals while avoiding areas teeming with whales, dolphins and other marine life.

The federal judge who ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated environmental laws when it approved the Navy’s plans for training in waters off Hawaii and Southern California said as much, noting that the Navy failed to explain how it could accommodate geographic restrictions that protect endangered humpback whales, but not any other species.

For want of a nail, kingdom was lost

Ah, penny-wise and pound-foolish — that’s the state Department of Transportation Highways Division, which mismanaged the ZipMobile breakdown into a debacle that left motorists gridlocked on the H-1 and beyond, well into Tuesday night.

It all came down to a $1,200-$1,500 central processing unit (CPU) and battery pack, which, when popped into the ZipMobile, finally "rezipped" lanes to allow traffic to flow.

The DOT said CPU shelf life made it decide against stocking backup CPUs — but really? For $1,200 apiece, for such a critical component?

That’s a mere surfboard for Big Isle Mayor Billy Kenoi, which he charged on his public credit card then repaid.

Just about the only silver lining came from the stranded motorists themselves. Though tired and angry, drivers kept things together well, mustering as much aloha as they could to keep a bad situation from turning worse.