To our ears in Hawaii, Kaholo sounds nothing at all like Kahlua. But to the owners of the coffee liqueur, Absolut Co. Aktiebolag of Sweden, they both start with “Kah,” have an L, end in a vowel and contain three syllables. Presto! Instant trademark dispute.

Owen O’Callaghan, who was applying to market his Hawaii-based company’s coffee product under the Kaholo mark, disagrees, as would most of his neighbors. Based on those criteria, half the “K” section of the Hawaiian dictionary could be eliminated. Absolut is absolutely wrong here.

Online vehicle registration a better option

It seems like an easy choice: Drive to a satellite city hall and wait in line to renew your vehicle registration, or do it with a few clicks online?

The city is pushing the online option, and Oahu drivers seem to be getting the message, slowly: In 2014, 21 percent of renewals were done online; in 2018, it was 28 percent, according to the city’s Department of Customer Services. Given how commonly we conduct transactions through the internet, online vehicle registration should be standard practice by now. Not only is the process easier, it makes the lines shorter for those without online access.

Now imagine if driver’s license renewals could be done online. That would be a game-changer.