Dialing down those noisy mopeds

It’s the thought that counts — but sometimes it may not count for much. The Honolulu City Council passed Bill 53, seeking to include mopeds in Honolulu’s ordinance regulating noisy mufflers.

However, in order to hit offenders with the penalties (up to a year in jail or fines as high as $2,000), they have to be caught in the act first — which is hard, for a drive-by revving. Catch them, if you can.

Still, scofflaws had better steer clear of neighbors. Chances are, they know all about that moped.

Make most of shortest day on Saturday

On Saturday, which will mark the winter solstice — the shortest day of 2019 for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere — sunrise in Honolulu will be a few minutes after 7 a.m., and sunset, about 6 p.m. The actual solstice, when the sun will reach its southernmost point on the ecliptic path and start northward again, is slated for an instant at about 6:20 p.m.

In Honolulu, the day’s length is the same within one minute from Dec. 17 to Christmas Eve, about 10 hours and 50 minutes. Enjoy the yuletide.