Off the News: Police reform will be law, finally

Gov. David Ige has said he would not veto House Bill 285, the measure mandating identity disclosure of police officers who have been fired or suspended.

That means this long-awaited reform, eliminating the shield unique to officers among government workers, will become law Sept. 15, with or without Ige’s signature. His overt support of the bill likely would draw fire from some among police leadership statewide; still, it would be good to see him take an affirmative stand, and sign it.

Unemployment hits Lanai hard

Despite Hawaii’s stalled tourism industry due to COVID-19, Lanai’s unemployment rate remained under 5% through July. Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino has rightly noted that mahalos should go to billionaire Larry Ellison, who bought most of the island in 2012, and provided full pay and benefits through July for roughly 1,250 workers at Sensei Lanai, the Four Seasons Resort Lanai and elsewhere.

But now, due in large part to postponement in lifting of the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine, and planned furloughs and layoffs affecting more than 750 workers, Lanai’s unemployment rate is expected to soar to the neighborhood of 55%.