Sally Jewell, secretary of the Interior, gave fulsome praise to the crew of the Hokule‘a after the Hawaiian voyaging canoe sailed into the nation’s capital last week.

And yet, something — or someone — was missing.

The vessel made quite a visual impression on Wednesday, gliding past the monuments of the National Mall, docking at the Washington Canoe Club. Official greeters included Jewell, who called the navigation accomplishment “something that will live on for generations to come.”

The Hawaii-born President Barack Obama could have done the same, either last week or when his Cuba visit coincided with the canoe’s, in March. His failure to show in either instance had to be a bit disappointing.

1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato, 4 …

You know rail transit is a political hot potato when there are few takers to replace rail board member Ivan Lui-Kwan, whose five-year term is set to expire June 30.

A Honolulu City Council member said the Council is not getting much interest to replace Lui-Kwan on the unpaid volunteer board that oversees the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART).

So far, no one on the Council has submitted nominees. Perhaps no one is jumping to fill the seat since HART has been in the hot seat over cost overruns. Federal transportation authorities recently estimated its price tag now will be about $8.1 billion.