After months of recovery from April’s record rains and flooding that devastated Kauai’s north shore, Thursday promises to be an “O Beautiful” day in Hanalei. That’s when the U.S. Postal Service will be staging a bit of pomp and circumstance to unveil its new Forever stamp featuring a sunset photo of Kauai’s iconic Na Pali coast.

Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho and the image’s photographer, Tim Delavega of Hanapepe, will be on hand at 10:45 a.m. to dedicate the stamp, part of the “Oh Beautiful” series of 20 stamps depicting extraordinary natural landscapes in America. The event also celebrates the July 30 reopening of Hanalei Post Office, which had been closed since April’s natural disaster.

It’s not just about Chicago-style poke

That a mainland company would try to restrict use of the words “aloha” and “poke” has struck a deep, raw nerve among Hawaiians who have watched their culture appropriated ever since Captain James Cook landed in 1778. That anger reached the streets of Chicago on Monday, as Hawaii protesters marched on Aloha Poke Co., furious that the company has sent cease-and-desist letters to companies with names similar to its trademarked one.

In an editorial, The Chicago Tribune pointed out that there are plenty of Honolulu businesses with “aloha” in their names. True. But they’re not fighting over it — they’re sharing it, with aloha. Perhaps Aloha Poke Co., purveyor of the “kahuna” bowl, should back off. No one is trying to “free-ride” on Aloha Poke Co.’s “hard-won” reputation, as the Tribune put it. If anything, it’s the other way around.