Seen around town: bumper stickers that read, “I (heart) Ernie Lau. Protect our water.” Lau, manager and chief engineer for the city’s Board of Water Supply, is the unlikely hero of the continuing drama “Us Versus the Navy.” Way back, when most local leaders were couching their concerns about Red Hill in the politeness of politics, Lau was cordial but straightforward: The aging underground fuel tanks are dangerous and must be shut down. For good and ever.

Oahu’s water supply is his singular priority. In this, he protects us all.

A normal day at the State Library

The Star-Advertiser photograph in Tuesday’s local news section of a man reading a newspaper seemed mundane, save for the circumstances. He was seated in the courtyard of the Hawaii State Library, which only recently reopened after a long pandemic shutdown.

Signs like this, once so common as to be unnotable, are an indication that the elusive state of “normalcy” is within reach.

The state Capitol is open again, the Royal Hawaiian Band is performing at Iolani Palace on Fridays again. Normal — we missed you.