It’s not known exactly how Steven Levinson, a former associate justice on the state Supreme Court, will approach his new post, once his nomination to the Honolulu Police Commission takes effect. Levinson himself said he’d keep an open mind. But most observers would bet on his being an assertive presence, one that could help alter the complexion of a panel that has been criticized for timidity.

Levinson is probably best known as the jurist who in 1993 wrote the opinion in Baehr v. Lewin, stating that the state should not deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples without showing a compelling interest. So he doesn’t seem afraid of controversy.

Big courtroom dramas come to Hilo

Hilo is normally sleepy — but now, it’s the place to be for legal drama. The trial of Mayor Billy Kenoi started Tuesday, of course, and the charges over his lavish spending and liquor buys using his government-issued purchasing card are producing riveting testimony. Already.

In another quasi-courtroom proceeding, the contested case hearing over the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope started Thursday, pitting the TMT’s global consortium against Native Hawaiian activists who say the site atop Mauna Kea is sacred. Heavy stuff indeed for humble Hilo.