Time and competition pass KMart by

It seems like only yesterday that Honolulu residents, long deprived of the “big box store” experience, were clamoring for their first KMart. It was 1992 — not yesterday, but not that long ago. Folks waited in line for the doors to open.

Now not only has that outlet been shuttered for nearly a year, but the company has announced it will close down the Halawa KMart as well. A lot of big-box retailers have swept through in the intervening 24 years, so islanders are feeling less deprived.

Competition is great for customers but often a challenge for businesses — sometimes, a fatal one.

Students teach lawmakers a thing or two

Middle and high school students assembled at the North Shore’s Camp Erdman to learn about the Legislature’s workings through the YMCA’s 66th annual mock session. They have the opportunity to turn the tables and “teach government what its youngest citizens want,” according to one participant. Among the faux bills: automatic voter registration for residents applying for or renewing a driver’s license as a means to “encourage our weakest voting bloc (youth) to get to the polls.”

State Sen. Karl Rhoads proposed a real-deal automatic voter registration bill that failed during the last regular session. In support of the dream of a fully functional democracy, here’s hoping the measure resurfaces and passes in the next session.