Off the News: Civic service and parade fit for a King

The Hawai‘i Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition — actually, MLK Day organizers nationwide — would rather people see the holiday as a day on, not a day off. The preferred way of celebrating the life of the late civil rights leader is to do community service projects (a cleanup at Hamakua Marsh Bay by the youth nonprofit Kupu is just one example). There’s been a dinner on Friday already, too.

The parade starts at 9 a.m. today from Magic Island to Kapiolani Park. It’s hard to top that as the banner event.

Kealoha owes taxpayers $250,000 back

City attorneys last week filed a lawsuit against former Police Chief Louis Kealoha seeking return of $250,000 in taxpayer money that he received as an overly generous severance payment when he retired in 2017. A condition of the deal: repayment if he’s convicted or pleads guilty or no contest to a state or federal felony within seven years.

In June, Kealoha — along with his wife, Katherine Kealoha, and two other former police colleagues — was found guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice tied to an investigation by U.S. attorneys. Since then, the former top cop has failed to respond to demand for repayment. That’s unacceptable, of course. A deal’s a deal.