Poisoning fish is nothing new; it’s actually got quite a long history in traditional practices. Still, that doesn’t make anyone who recently ate the poisoned Tahitian prawns caught in local streams feel any better. And that is why authorities now are warning graduation partygoers to know seafood origins — though it’s hard to know how to check.

Indigenous cultures have long used plant-derived toxins to stun fish and scoop them up. The recent local episodes resulted from applications of Ortho Bug-be-Gon, containing a pyrethroid, a synthetic type of a poison from chrysanthemums — not a very flowery touch.

Seattle’s big-business tax to help homeless

Seattle’s City Council on Monday approved a tax on large businesses such as Amazon and Starbucks to help fund the fight against homelessness. The annual levy adds up to about $275 per full-time worker, and would raise about $48 million a year to pay for affordable housing and other services.

While opponents called it a disappointing “tax on jobs,” supporters say the city’s housing crisis is exacerbated by skyrocketing housing prices tied to economic growth. Other cities have implemented similar taxes. While Honolulu has few heavy-hitter businesses, we do have booming tourism and construction industries. Politicians’ wheels might already be turning.