David Shapiro: It’s a good week for some good news, and this is full of it

Public officials accuse me of never saying anything good about their hard work, so to prove them wrong I’ll have nothing but good to say this month as we “flASHback” on October’s news that amused and confused:

>> The state’s $160 million, 144-bed state-of-the-art psychiatric facility at the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe remains unoccupied five months after its unveiling because of bureaucratic snags and union problems. Good grief.

>> Large numbers of Honolulu police, firefighters and ambulance crews sought exemptions from the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with most of the first responders citing their religious beliefs. Good Lord.

>> The state is fast-tracking plans for massive private development of housing, hotel and retail projects at the Aloha Stadium site while slow-walking plans to actually build a new stadium. Good bait and switch.

>> The City Council appears poised to enact a 3% hotel room surtax for Honolulu, with a portion of the revenue expected to be designated to help bail out the bankrupt rail project. Let the good times roll.

>> Rail board Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa said a new accounting underway will show the rail deficit is smaller than the current $3.5 billion estimate. Nothing balances the books like good cooking.

>> Dissident state legislators are accusing House Speaker Scott Saiki of abusing the reapportionment process to get rid of his detractors. You can’t keep a good gerrymander down.

>> Former first lady Vicky Cayetano launched her campaign for governor as Lt. Gov. Josh Green kept his candidacy visible as a pandemic commentator and former Mayor Kirk Caldwell resumed fundraising. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (in no particular order).

>> Gov. David Ige said vaccinated tourists are welcome back to Hawaii, and he’s working with the visitor industry on a “more consistent message” for visitors. I’m sure it’ll be something good and clear like, “You stay come.”

>> Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he was worried about the “psychological health of the community” in the pandemic, and one of his first acts was to extend bar hours. It reminds me of a good toast: “Here’s to staying positive and testing negative!”

>> Test scores for Hawaii public school students in math, science and language arts dropped markedly as the Department of Education and the teachers union squabbled through the pandemic. Isn’t it good our keiki always come first?

>> Hawaii Republican Chairwoman Signe Godfrey resigned five months after taking the job from Shirlene Ostrov, who had resigned herself when the party posted controversial tweets favoring QAnon. Good help is hard to find.

>> The state designated October as “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaii, and agencies instructed residents on how to control the little pests. A good warm-up for the opening of the Legislature.

And the quote of the month … from lieutenant governor candidate Ikaika Anderson: “Now more than ever, we need a decisive and deliberate decision-maker as Hawaii’s next lieutenant governor.” The most consequential decision the LG makes is what’s good for lunch.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.