Rulemaking, expected to take at least two years, has begun at the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which has settled a lawsuit by one of its prospective beneficiaries.

At issue: laying out how DNA testing can prove the Native Hawaiian ancestry required to be a homesteader. Under federal law, that’s 50 percent.

Of course, the plaintiff in the case, Leighton Pang Kee, may have to wait longer than that to receive the actual benefit, as there is a long, long wait list DHHL still is struggling to address.

But the settlement was a victory all the same. DNA results essentially become just another legal document, such as a birth certificate. That’s surely necessary in a culture that didn’t always have such things, and one with traditions such as the hanai adoption practices adding complications.

Pay-TV jam puts goodwill at risk

It’s critical that Hawaiian Telcom and Raycom Media, owner of Hawaii News Now channels KGMB (CBS) and KHNL (NBC), reach agreement soon on the fees Hawaiian Telcom pays to carry Raycom’s signals.

Raycom has asked for two to three times more than what Hawaiian Telcom says it has been paying the broadcaster.

Hawaii News Now says several marquee events could be affected, including sporting events and playoff games, if a deal is not reached by Thursday.

If no deal is reached, 34,000 Hawaiian Telcom TV subscribers on Oahu could see black on KGMB and KHNL stations come Friday. And that, in turn, would cause those customers to see red.