A snail named George fades away

The sad thing is, George had a name. If the little Hawaiian land snails hadn’t been under such threat that only a few specimens had survived, Achatinella apexfulva would have been thriving, too numerous to name.

But University of Hawaii scientists were trying to save George and nine others like him in the laboratory, so the relationship was a bit familiar. His death a week ago today wiped out the species, once common in the Koolau mountain range, the snails’ natural, but shrinking, habitat.

All this talk about invasive pests and endangered species? The danger is real.

The DOE takes its lumps at the Legislature

Last week, as the holiday decorations were coming down, the gloves were coming off at the state Capitol. At a budget briefing, House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke took a few well-deserved swipes at officials tied to the state Department of Education’s school repair and maintenance backlog blunder. Last January, the DOE tagged its backlog at $293 million as of 2017 — a significant drop from $392 million in 2010. However, later in the year, the DOE set the true backlog at a whopping $868 million, pointing to an inaccurate and scattered approach to tracking projects. Given the weak excuse, there’s a good chance the hits will keep coming after the Legislature convenes next week.