Hawaii’s chronic teacher shortage has taken on a new dimension, as the state Department of Education (DOE) struggles to get more educators for distance- learning curriculum in these pandemic times. The very nature of remote teaching, and learning, means that teacher and pupils don’t need to physically be in the same class — let alone the same state.

While that would seem to be helpful for the DOE, if qualified educators can be hired from near and far, Hawaii residency rules might preclude such hires; tax implications and liability also might be issues. But at this point, it’s good that education officials are at least exploring the out-of-state option as well as mitigations.

Vacation discounts dilute Ige’s plea

What’s happening in the visitor industry illustrates the limitations of voluntary compliance.

Some visitors have heard Gov. David Ige’s plea to postpone travel and delay vacations — and that worries business leaders. Tourism is on its regular summer’s-end decline anyway, but the pandemic makes it worse.

So there’s a flood of travel discounts, confounding Ige’s efforts. Kamaaina could seize the moment by grabbing a deal and planning a socially-distanced, masked staycation here — a boost to both community health and local business.