The Legislature is warming up to tax our patience and spend our money as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:

» Revenues are up, interest rates are down and the state is running a surplus, but lawmakers say there might not be enough to avoid higher taxes to meet pent-up demand for state spending. Politicians are like dogs that never have enough toilet bowls to drink from.

» State legislators are scheduled to receive 25-percent pay raises after a salary freeze they grudgingly accepted during the recession ends next year. They’re the gift that keeps on taking.

» Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell and Ben Cayetano each spent more than $10 per vote in the Honolulu mayor’s race, and pro-rail groups spent more than twice that much. Voter turnout was too low for the bulk discount to apply.

» Outgoing Mayor Peter Carlisle made a rare visit to the City Council to thank members for their support. On behalf of the Council, Chairman Ernie Martin responded, "You’re welcome, whoever you are and whatever you do."

» The Council voted to accept $1.55 billion in federal funds for the city’s $5.26 billion rail project. The popularly dubbed "Train to Nowhere" has its destination in sight.

» U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he’ll run for re-election in 2016 at the age of 92 unless he’s run over by a truck. If that happened, he’d have to get a real job to pay for the damage to the truck.

» Honolulu police upgraded their website to help citizens file police reports online, see pictures of wanted suspects and hire special duty officers. In a major time-saver, criminals can make appointments to be handcuffed and fingerprinted.

» North Korea is trying again to launch a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to Hawaii. What does it take to get anybody to respect our ban on aerial fireworks?

» A federal lawsuit soon up for hearing could force the state to redo its legislative reapportionment plan for the 2012 election. What an inconvenience if our non-voters have to not vote all over again.

» Hungry sharks are showing up in Hawaii waters in record numbers this year, with the 11 bites reported so far in 2012 matching the total of the previous four years. At least we had one example of good turnout in an election year.

And the quote of the week … from consultant Tom Platt to the Board of Education on his company’s $109,000 study of Hawaii’s school bus system: "I don’t mean to imply that we have no information and no data. What I do want to imply is we don’t have the right information and data for you to be able to make difficult, impactful decisions." These days, $109,000 only buys easy, meaningless decisions.

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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.