It boils down to a question of how much more of this poop we can take as we "flASHback" on August’s news that amused and confused:

» Tourists were shooed away from Waikiki Beach after storm runoff and a sewage spill turned waters brown. The city had to post signs: "Please don’t feed the blind mullets."

» Hit by bad international publicity, the city clarified that the excreta in Waikiki waters weren’t from the Ala Moana sewage spill, but from runoff of Honolulu Zoo animal feces. That makes all the difference, doesn’t it?

» Mayor Kirk Caldwell hardly inspired confidence when he reopened beaches and said, "People can make their decisions based on what they see in the water and whether they want to go in." He made it sound like voting in one of our elections.

» City rail officials coordinated with lobbying group Pacific Resource Partnership on "talking points" to support the rail tax increase in the Legislature. PRP really has only one talking point for lawmakers: "Do as you’re told or get what Ben Cayetano got."

» Under pressure from City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, the Council’s Budget Committee voted to stick taxpayers with a $1.2 million landfill fee subsidy that primarily benefits Oregon-based scrap dealer Schnitzer Steel. Did they run out of local special interests to pay off?

» Caldwell gave in to public protests and decided to paint jogging paths at Magic Island brown instead of his intended bright blue. Now they’ll blend in perfectly when the next river of sewage runs through the park.

» Junketing Hawaii lawmakers led by Sen. Will Espero and Rep. Della Au Belatti toured legal marijuana shops along the Green Mile in Vail, Colo., for ideas on implementing Hawaii’s new medical marijuana law. They say they learned a lot, though they’re a bit hazy as to what it was.

» U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told a Kauai reporter she’s open to running for vice president next year, but later backtracked. In political parlance, she threw her hat in the ring and then pulled it out when it filled with laughter.

» Jennifer Sabas, former top aide to the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, said she was hired by Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. to "get their story out" in the controversial purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries. Their story will be written on checks to local political campaigns.

» Citing high demand, the Howard Hughes Corp. raised prices 43 percent for upscale condo units atop a planned Whole Foods Market in Kakaako. Upscalers can never pay too much for proximity to overpriced kale.

And the quote of the month … from state Tax Director Maria Zielinski on the Tax Department’s planned computer upgrade: "This department is the department that drives the bus." Only after the politicians throw us under it.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.