Ultimately, the Electoral College exercise on Monday seemed without purpose. It was set up because the Founding Fathers did not trust pure democracy and struck a compromise that weighted rural votes more heavily. If it was meant as a fail-safe against an unsuitable candidate, few electors used it as such.

Hawaii elector David Mulinix said he cast his ballot for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rather than Hawaii winner Hillary Clinton, because he found her unqualified. He seemed to be relitigating the primary.

Electoral College: Worth keeping? Seems doubtful.

Cutting back on Hawaii island hooch

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim’s teetotal take on a policy for using public money to purchase alcohol will better serve taxpayers, who previously picked up the tab whenever a mayor deemed a booze buy in the so-called best interest of the county.

That practice became a focal point in former Mayor Billy Kenoi’s felony theft trial, which ended in acquittal last month. Kenoi had used a government-issued credit card to buy alcohol and make other questionable purchases. Under Kim’s new policy, a request must specify how the county would benefit from an alcohol purchase and be signed by a department director. Having a hard time imagining a legit benefit? That’s probably why Kim called the policy a “blanket prohibition.”