Everyone’s back in school again

OK, fun’s over. The traffic that’s been so light over the summer will tie us up in knots again today, with public and private schools, including the University of Hawaii, back in session.

If it’s any consolation, the state Department of Transportation has vowed not to contribute to the mess. All construction-related road closures on major state highways will be suspended through Friday.

But most of these don’t happen during rush-hour, anyway, so commuters will just have to wait out the worst crunch times. If your job affords you this luxury, have another cup of java.

Bill Paty a man of the world, and Hawaii

Even for someone who had 97 years on this planet, William “Bill” Paty II packed a lot into that time.

There wasn’t much that Paty, who died Aug. 12, didn’t accomplish. The decorated World War II veteran survived his detention as Germany’s prisoner of war, came home and managed the Waialua Sugar Plantation, chaired the state land board and headed the Boy Scout council. He served as trustee for the kamaaina Mark A. Robinson Trust, too.

In 2008, a city program called the Forever Young Awards tapped Paty among its first honorees. Nobody is “forever young,” but Paty came as close to that dream as anyone.