Editorial: Scofflaw bars hurt everyone

It was both good and bad that the city swooped in to close, temporarily, two bars that violated a midnight curfew for serving alcohol.

Good, since the violators were flouting a directive that’s necessary to help keep the number of coronavirus cases low and prevent the contagion from spreading. But bad, because the two swift clampdowns showed, clearly and very dishearteningly, just how casually some people shrug off the shared responsibility needed to keep us all safe.

It’s hard enough for establishments to stay afloat, even after being allowed to reopen. Bars, pubs and clubs violating the ground rules stand to make things even more difficult for all.

Teacher differentials welcomed

While teachers seemed pleased last week that “pay differentials” — annual boosts of up to $10,000 to keep educators in hard-to-staff areas — have so far been spared the state Board of Education’s chopping block, it’s unclear where the next round of funding will come from.

The Legislature passed on providing the extra money for special education, Hawaiian language immersion and geographically hard-to-staff areas. The Hawaii State Teachers Association, meanwhile, is holding onto hopes that Congress could allocate more federal funds to K-12 education for the coming school year, with a portion going to the differentials.