It is wholly lamentable that the city is locking up public-park facilities overnight, but wholly logical given the rise in repeated vandalism.

From April 1 through June, the city is paying $25,916 to a private security company to lock bathrooms and gates nightly at 25 city parks, from Sandy Beach to Aiea, to deter vandalism. The pilot project was launched after more than 600 acts of vandalism to city parks over three years, the mayor said. The facilities are secured when most parks officially close, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. So far, this seems to have worked, with no night vandalism reported at the 25 sites since the pilot started. That, at least, is good to hear.

National parks get more expensive

Time was that citizens could enjoy the wonders of our national parks for a nominal fee. Well, the times, they are a-changin’.

Entrance fees at many national parks will increase on June 1 — by $5 for most seven-day vehicle passes — to help raise revenues for some $11.6 billion in deferred maintenance across the National Park Service’s 417 parks, historic and cultural sites, and monuments. Overall, the increases are thankfully modest compared with those proposed last year.

In our backyard, per-vehicle visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park get a reprieve until 2020 — that’s when the $5 increase kicks in and that fee goes to $30. Check out nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm.