A spark from a digital pressure gauge detonated compressed gases, causing a blast that injured a visiting researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa last month, a Honolulu Fire Department investigation concluded. The gauge should not have been in the lab with compressed gases; a similar, smaller blast days earlier was never reported, HFD found.

In the aftermath of the incident, it appears that UH-Manoa is taking the appropriate steps, including establishment of a new chemical and physical safety committee to help identify and implement protocols in campus laboratories.

Further, results of an independent investigation into the blast by the University of California Center for Laboratory Safety are expected by month’s end.

Especially in an environment of experiments, the need for safety cannot be overstated.

Stuck on the sight of shopping carts

What is it about shopping carts that has drawn the ire of lawmakers?

First there was state Rep. Tom Brower a few years back who, upset over the homelessness issue, bashed some carts from encampments with a sledgehammer.

Now City Councilman Trevor Ozawa wants to get abandoned carts off the streets, by requiring businesses to employ wheel-locking devices to deter their theft.

Sure, authorities might advise burglary victims to install an alarm system, but they don’t victimize them further by making it mandatory.