Those willing to dismiss the story about Albert Hee’s conviction on tax fraud charges as a merely interesting page from the annals of corruption, remember: This is your money, too.

The funds Hee was found to be diverting to his own uses came from a federal fee every phone customer pays on each phone bill, the Universal Service Charge. The feds provided the money to Hee’s company, Sandwich Isles Communications, which is supposed to provide telcom service to Hawaiian homestead communities, out of this source.

“We remain committed to our mission and to carrying on Mr. Hee’s vision,” the company said in a statement.

Really? That sounds a bit worrisome to us.

UH president doing a good job, it seems

We’re all for low drama at the University of Hawaii — especially after recent years that saw episodes that spawned monikers such as the “Wonder Blunder,” and as long as good work is being done.

So it’s hard to disagree with the UH Board of Regents’ assessment of President David Lassner, which gave him high marks in six criteria areas after his first year at the helm (not including his interim period). Lassner’s fairly low-key, earnest persona has certainly been a change from some previous, controversial UH leaders.

Still, it’s been hard to discern just what students and faculty think about the runnings of the UH system. For a university, it’s almost too quiet.