Those crowds. Residents of Kapolei are used to them, but more frequently on the freeway. Last weekend, the throngs voluntarily massed for the opening of the new regional shopping center, Ka Makana Ali‘i. This surely was a welcome sight to the merchants.

The mall spans a full range of businesses — some up-market enough to offer a fun change of pace, others affordable and much more local than at the tourist meccas in Waikiki and Ala Moana. There’s a motel there, too, if kamaaina would like to be tourists for a bit. All this, and no commute.

Paradise Park promoters get another hearing

Even final decisions don’t always stay final for long.

Manoa residents concerned about the proposal to revive an attraction at the Paradise Park site were no doubt relieved when the state Board of Land and Natural Resources decided in May not to renew its permit.

Now the same board will decide Friday on an application from Paradise Park Exchange LLC for a contested case hearing on that decision. It’s not over until it’s over, and the conversation may continue for a while.