After eight years and out $1 million in land rent and fees, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is getting back an unrealized construction zone at Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.

On Monday, a grand plan for the Waikiki Landing project — including a boatyard and fuel dock, shops, restaurants and two wedding chapels — was finally put out of its misery by a bankruptcy judge. Numerous stays and extensions had been granted, but a last-minute plea by developer Honey Bee fell short.

That leaves $5.3 million in debts unpaid, including $1 million owed to the state.

Now, it’ll be back to the drawing board for DLNR, which had hoped that the Ala Wai site would bring in money — not lose it.

Textbook moguls meet their match?

It could be that the textbook publishing industry has killed its golden goose at last — via the increasing popularity of textbook lending libraries.

There is, of course, the one launched by University of Hawaii graduate student Eddie Bond and girlfriend Crystal Clawson — the “Pueo Library” of some 2,000 volumes featured in a news story on Monday.

Their effort seems to be part of a growing phenomenon. Search for “textbook lending library” on the web and the trend is clear: This couple is not alone in thinking that rising college costs force university students into such improvisations.

Of course, educators keep insisting on new editions, so lightening the cost burden to students would require their cooperation, too.