What a difference 30 years make. Or not.

It was 1989 when Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill opened, which the neighbors instantly loathed, perhaps because it wasn’t all that sanitary.

But even after various promises by politicians, the Honolulu Planning Commission last week voted down making a set closure deadline.

It’s hard to see how they’d persuade another part of the island to take it. So this went the way of most political promises — like the moratorium on vacation rentals. That happened in 1989, too.

Last-minute tax filers go to internet

For most of us filing annual tax returns, late-night runs to the nearest open-until-midnight dropoff are a relic from Tax Days long past. Due to the rise of online transactions, Honolulu’s Postal Service no longer extends retail hours or provides curbside service to last-second filers. The main post office, 3600 Aolele St., will be the only one in Hawaii offering late collection. There, blue mail collection boxes and an in-wall mail slot will be labeled with special bright orange signs for final pickup. Tax forms with correct postage must be dropped in before the stroke of 12 to secure the deadline’s postmark.