Would extending lifeguard hours at Oahu’s beaches improve safety? Of course — and Councilwoman Kymberly Pine’s proposed expansion deserves discussion. But water safety can’t rest entirely on a lifeguard’s shoulders.

About 43 percent of drowning incidents on Oahu in recent years have taken the lives of nonresidents, so giving tourists better instruction is crucial.

Perhaps this island can take a lesson from Kauai, which is doing outreach and has installed hundreds of flotation devices at the shoreline.

Hawaiian ali‘i take the stage

Ten years after a box-office film portrayed Princess Ka‘iulani’s effort to restore Hawaiian self-rule after the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy, the ali‘i figure is featured in a new musical being staged at Mamiya Theatre at Saint Louis School.

While the film unfolds as a sort of history lesson, “A Timeless Princess” is billed as a fictional love story based on true events. (Included in the fiction: a time-traveling modern-day suitor.)

Written by Hawaii musician Denny Miyasato, the new production is among scores of offerings in Oahu’s 2019-20 theater season, now underway. Go out and support the arts.