According to data released this month about the latest nationwide homeless census, or Point in Time Count, despite three consecutive years marking decreases, Hawaii still holds the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country. Statewide, nearly 6,450 homeless people were counted in January.

There are bright spots, however. Since 2016, said state homeless coordinator Scott Morishige, the count of homeless military veterans has dropped by 24% (164 people). It’s encouraging to see that ongoing efforts to get homeless vets off the streets, involving steady local and federal assistance, are making strides.

Journalists in feds’ crosshairs

Julian Assange, who disseminated classified documents through his WikiLeaks site, is seeing more furrowed brows on the faces of conventional journalists with the advance of his case on espionage charges.

That’s more worry than sympathy showing. News organizations that similarly disseminate leaks they’ve received believe they could be next on the hit list.

The feds dispute that Assange could be called a journalist. But they don’t get to define “journalism,” or so says the Bill of Rights.