It’s gratifying to see a next generation set sail on the Polynesian voyaging canoes, Hokule‘a and Hikianalia. The double-hulled canoes were expected in Hilo today and will push on to Tahiti, where the crew will join a global Blue Climate Summit to address climate change.

The sail precedes an ambitious plan to circumnavigate the Pacific next year in the Moananuiakea Voyage. More than 200 new crew members will become part of this great venture, carrying on the legacy of Polynesian voyaging and advocating for clean oceans. We wish them well.

Tussle at city over use of ARPA funds

Ideally, American Rescue Plan Act funds would be spent through normal budgeting. But in an emergency, executive orders are faster, so Mayor Rick Blangiardi took the helm of ARPA.

Now the City Council wants in, with Chairman Tommy Waters saying it had waived budget control only for the previous federal law, called the CARES Act. If that’s so, why did the legal language include “any other subsequent act or similar act … to address needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic”? Words matter.