Obviously, not all in town agreed with the state consumer advocate’s opposition to NextEra Energy’s $4.3 billion bid to buy the Hawaiian Electric companies. But advocate Jeffrey Ono and his staff fashioned a persuasive case, firmly articulating why the deal fell short for Hawaii consumers. So persuasive, in fact, that the Public Utilities Commission ended up rejecting the deal, NextEra has since returned to Florida, and Hawaii and HECO are left to forge new paths for energy generation and distribution.

Now, mission accomplished, Ono has stepped down as consumer advocate and plans to return to private-practice law.

His successor will have big challenges ahead, working to protect and represent consumers’ interests on various public utility cases, from energy to water to telecommunications.

Waianae gets homeless housing

It’s a small project, but a sign of things to come.

Three modular housing units, to serve homeless individuals and families heading for permanent housing, are being installed in Waianae on a city-owned lot.

Some community members didn’t like the idea of such a project in their neighborhood — crime, property values and all that. But the homeless already are in our neighborhoods, with more turning up every day. The 500-square-foot units will hardly make a dent by themselves. But it’s not the only project of its kind. People can expect more such housing to pop up, perhaps in their backyards, too.