A new city law establishes a process to petition for a restricting parking zone, or RPZ, through which a residential neighborhood can rope off public street parking. The City Council will have the final say in establishing a zone in cases in which an RPZ is deemed more beneficial than not.

It should be noted, though, that Councilman Brandon Elefante, who cast the lone “no” vote, did so for a few valid reasons. He questioned the fairness of reserving parking for a specific set of motorists; and whether taxpayers would end up subsidizing the RPZ program. To break even, the city estimates that an annual permit would cost about $231; a visitor permit, $77.

Too much drama over UH job cuts

Putting the best spin on it, there has to be relief that the outcry from the University of Hawaii community over a proposed catastrophic budget cut was heard by the senator best positioned to correct it.

State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, who chairs the higher education committee, nixed her own planned cut of 121 employees from the payroll, as lawmakers work to finalize the spending plan.

A lot of this end game happens behind closed doors. We hope funds are restored, but was all this drama necessary?