A community group rolled the dice when it bought two hilltop sites above Ka Iwi Coast to prevent a competing buyer from picking up the undeveloped East Honolulu property.

While city and state agreed nearly two years ago to cover most of the $3.65 million price tag, officials warned that first they must check the validity of a seemingly odd land title restriction penalty for not subdividing or developing the land.

The nonprofit Trust for Public Land maintains that the restriction has expired, but the city and state have yet to wrap up their probes. Meanwhile, the trust is making hefty interest payments on a loan it took out to buy the land in March. Here’s hoping that the matter is soon resolved so the trust can instead spend its cash on care of the land.

Sexual assault evidence kits will be tested, at last

A decision by Hawaii’s police departments to test 1,400 backlogged rape kits comes as welcome news for victims of sexual assault and their advocates. The victims can go through hours of invasive procedures to provide DNA evidence contained in the kits; testing the kits and uploading the results to a nationwide database could help track down serial rapists or resolve outstanding cases.

It’s also hoped that more vigorous law enforcement will shine a light on a crime too often hidden by shame — and encourage more victims to step out of the shadows.