Beware ‘gentleman farms’ on North Shore

The proposed subdivision of Dillingham Ranch into 70 house lots on ag land is getting some serious pushback — still — from North Shore residents. They are quite reasonably leery of the plan floated by Beverly Hills development firm Kennedy Wilson Inc.

Here’s one reason: Critics wonder how the city would be able to enforce the ongoing agricultural use of the land and suspect the lots would become nothing more than “gentleman farms” for the wealthy. The break-even price would be $1 million or more. Second reason: This is a company from Beverly Hills, not a place noted for ag. Just sayin’.

Don’t target homeschooling parents

Legislators often watch the headlines as indicators of social issues and attempt to address them in new laws.

But sometimes they end up coming up with a solution in search of a problem. Such was the case with a bill, now retracted, to require background checks for adults who homeschool their kids.

State Sen. Kai Kahele, the bill’s sponsor, said he wanted to prevent child abuse cases such as the notorious one in which young “Peter Boy” Kema died. But as opponents rightly observed, that was a problem of child safety, not education.

Homeschooling parents shouldn’t be singled out without cause.