‘How about those Kealohas, huh?”

Every time a new development in the convoluted case of Louis and Katherine Kealoha hits the news cycle, the community tries to fit another piece into the warped puzzle of what was going on at the top of two top city agencies.

There’s way too much to handle over the morning coffee klatch or break room bag of Doritos so it often comes down to, “How about those Kea­lohas, huh?” to which the response is something like, “Crazy, yeah?” or “Hoo boy” or simply “Sheesh!”

The latest is the attempt by Louis Kealoha’s attorney to get city taxpayer money to pay for the former police chief’s legal defense in two separate criminal cases against him because at the time the alleged wrongdoing took place, Kealoha was a city employee.

It was one thing for the Honolulu Police Commission to pay out Kealoha’s severance settlement to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars just to get him to leave the Police Department. It’s quite another to be paying his legal bills now that he’s gone. That’s kind of what the $250,000 should have been used for, right? Sheesh.

While the mess keeps getting messier, involving more and more people, three women have emerged as unflinching protectors of essential functions of our community and have dared to plunge into the maelstrom.

Former federal prosecutor Loretta Sheehan has been a steady voice of reason on the Honolulu Police Commission, sometimes the lone voice, questioning the initial settlement with Kealoha and refusing to blink at the latest attempt to milk more money from the city.

State Attorney General Clare Connors was just weeks into her new job when she boldly asked the state Supreme Court to suspend city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro because he is the subject of a federal investigation. Kaneshiro had refused to step down from his job or to discuss anything connected to his former deputy, Katherine Kealoha. Maybe Kaneshiro thought he could keep his head down, hang on to his job and no one would challenge that. Connors challenged that. Yesterday Kaneshiro finally blinked.

Police Chief Susan Ballard came in after Louis Kea­loha’s ignominious demise and has worked to steady the ship at the department. The challenges she faces are difficult, but she has already shown herself to be willing to answer questions from the media, meet with the community, be accessible and upfront. That’s already a big difference.

This week veteran journalist Gayle King won praise for sitting calmly and managing the situation as R. Kelly raged and shouted. It’s probably not a good thing that we are still remarking that a woman can remain determined, focused and in control while chaos swirls around her. That should not seem novel or exceptional. Impressive, yes, but not surprising. It’s just too bad that there’s so much swirling chaos that needs fixing.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.