Off the News: From Central to Ke‘elikolani

Renaming a school can be difficult, even controversial, as the President William F. McKinley High School community can attest. McKinley presided over the annexation of Hawaii, a painful chapter for those who want a return to its original name, Honolulu High School.

But the rechristening of Central Middle as Ke‘elikolani Middle School this week was a happy celebration. Its namesake, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani, had her home there. And as school names go, “Central” is rather boring, let’s face it.

Navy lax on video monitoring

Adding to the many, many stunning disclosures about Red Hill, now comes U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele’s revelation that cameras set up to monitor the Navy’s underground tank system have been out of commission since January 2021. More than a year, for crying out loud. Who knows what they might have revealed about the fuel leak that has fouled the water in the area — and that’s just one disturbing point.

Another point is that the Navy let the system stay broken for months. Not a good look when you’re trying to prove you can maintain those far more critical tanks.