Would you like a bag? That will be 15 cents

Many people wouldn’t even blink at losing 15 cents — but if that loss occurred on a regular basis of several times weekly, the blinking surely would start. So be warned that starting Sunday, Oahu’s businesses will start charging at least 15 cents for each bag — plastic or paper — they provide to customers to transport merchandise. (Exemptions apply for bags for such uses as dry-cleaning, prepared-food takeout and in-store loose produce.)

This is all part of the new plastic-bag ban, the ramp-up of which culminates 18 months from now: By Jan. 1, 2020, businesses will no longer be able to provide plastic bags with a thickness of 10 mils or less. Best start changing habits now, and remember to bring your recyclable bags.

Akana shouldn’t dodge Ethics Commission

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Rowena Akana on Wednesday took her fight against ethics charges filed against her to Oahu’s Circuit Court, where she filed suit accusing her accuser — the state Ethics Commission — of violating her constitutional rights and of exceeding its jurisdiction and authority in dictating how OHA trust funds can be spent.

Her attorney has said that once OHA approves an expenditure, that’s that. No second-guessing allowed. But while OHA is semi-autonomous, it is a state agency. And when a state ethics probe finds instances of questionable spending — in this case, infractions of the state’s Gifts Law, Gifts Reporting Law and Fair Treatment Law — such scrutiny is on the mark.