Off the news: Better signage of dangers warranted

The river that winds through two state parks in Hilo — Rainbow Falls and Boiling Pots — is aptly named: “Wailuku,” which means “waters of destruction.” Twenty-seven people have drowned in the river over the past 29 years, due to conditions that can be deceivingly calm but change quickly.

So installation of enhanced warning signs is a good idea, alerting both tourists and locals alike of the dangerous conditions. As Fire Chief Kazuo Todd rightly says: There’s “never a reason to not have good signage telling people about the dangers they face at a beach or going into a river.”