It’s the last Sunday in May and time to “flASHback” on the month’s news that amused and confused:
>> The 2017 Legislature ended with House Speaker Joe Souki ousted for pushing “death with dignity” and Sen. Jill Tokuda losing her Ways and Means chairmanship for opposing a blank check for rail. Legislators have little margin for error; do one thing right and out you go.
>> U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa’s dog Frannie made a fundraising appeal for political donations on Hanabusa’s birthday. You could designate contributions to either BarkPAC or BarfPAC.
>> After treating Donald Trump with kid gloves during the election and being the first Democrat to court him as president-elect, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has lately bashed him on issues from Syria to health care to his tax returns. Somebody didn’t get the Cabinet job she wanted.
>> Gabbard, 36, is being touted by national media as a possible Trump challenger in 2020. Her campaign theme: Why keep a 70-year-old baby in the White House when you can have a real one?
>> The rare Lahaina Noon, when the sun is directly overhead and we cast no shadow, occurred twice in May. We all experienced what it feels like to be Gov. David Ige every day.
>> Mayor Kirk Caldwell turned to the airline industry to save Oahu rail, appointing former Hawaiian Airlines exec Hoyt Zia to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. Chuck Yeager couldn’t make this pig fly.
>> HART is suing the Blood Bank of Hawaii to take over its Dillingham Boulevard property for rail construction. After sucking up all our money, they’re coming for the blood.
>> A City Council resolution designated Honolulu as a “Haven of Aloha” that won’t abide by Trump’s immigration policies. You know your government has gone bonkers when it’s practicing civil disobedience against itself.
>> The Council is advancing a bill to address concerns about foul odors emanating from waters around the Honolulu Country Club in Salt Lake. It’ll be a good pilot project for dealing with the hauna coming out of Honolulu Hale.
>> Police Commission Chairman Max Sword said he was “thinking outside the box” when he proposed putting Beth Chapman, wife of Dog the Bounty Hunter, on a panel to help pick a new police chief. More like thinking outside his mind.
>> Honolulu Zoo was shut down briefly when an occupant of the chimp exhibit scaled a rock wall and escaped. The situation was resolved when a zookeeper scolded: “Get back in there, Mr. Lieutenant Governor, you still have a year to go.”
And the quote of the month … from Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi on escalating rail costs: “We cannot keep going to the taxpayer and saying, ‘Give us more money for we don’t know how many years and we don’t know how much.’” Plan B is a mask and gun.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
