Few people will remember 2020 with affection, least of all Young Brothers, the beleaguered interisland freight barge service. Facing a crippling budget shortfall even before the pandemic hit, the regulated service was seeking $25 million to offset coronavirus-related economic losses.

Now a mishap has led to at least 21 shipping containers falling overboard off Hilo Monday. Whether or not it compounds company misfortunes, this requires an investigation, as state Sen. Kai Kahele has rightly demanded.

New life for Life Sciences at UH

Amid the clouds of uncertainty over U.S. college campuses due to the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Hawaii-Manoa is seeing a bright spot. Namely, it’s the new Life Sciences Building, a state-of-the-art facility that will enable researchers, faculty and students to collaborate on projects across related disciplines, such as genetics, genomics, microbiology and molecular biology.

The four-story, LEED-certified facility with rooftop solar panels cost $65 million. It is to be dedicated next month — so let’s hope UH’s hybrid classes will allow optimal hands-on use of this new building, as well as others on campus.