Off the News: Cautionary tale from Kapilina houses

What’s happened to civilian residents of Kapilina Beach Homes in Ewa Beach is a grim story about how this subdivision, formerly military housing, is struggling to cope since fuel contamination from the Navy’s fuel tanks reached its water taps.

But it’s also a cautionary tale for the hundreds of thousands of Oahu residents at risk in the event of a spill that reaches the broader aquifer. Would they get an offer to reimburse the costs of temporary housing, as Kapilina residents did? That seems doubtful.

Homeowners are paper millionaires

Last year a lot of homeowners became millionaires on paper, when housing prices skyrocketed. Sadly, being a paper millionaire doesn’t make groceries any more affordable, not unless you sell that house and go live in a hovel (but that will involve a big tax bill, so it’s not like you’ll have a million dollar bills to spend).

So who wins in “periods of irrational exuberance,” as one investment website calls it? Those who can sell and move somewhere cheaper. Which means leaving Hawaii, and is that really winning?