The 50th State is now poised to become the 49th to recognize Juneteenth officially. Here it won’t be a day off work, but lawmakers want it defined as a “day of observance.”

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in America, marking June 19, 1865, as the date federal troops reached Galveston, Texas, the last group in a slave state to be informed of their freedom — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Hawaii wasn’t part of the U.S. then — so perhaps understandable that we’d be late to this Juneteenth party.

Monk seals visit Kaimana Beach

With just 1,400 endangered Hawaiian monk seals in the wild — about 1,100 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and 300 in the main islands — this week’s arrival of a new pup at Kaimana Beach is a special occasion. The pup and mom, known as Kaiwi (or as RK96 to NOAA Fisheries), may linger at the Waikiki shoreline for weeks of nursing.

If you stop by for a look at the pair, stay behind fencing and heed signs and instructions from on-site officials. Avoiding disturbance helps ensure that the monk seals stay together, and pup gets the nutrition it needs. Plus, mother seals with a pup in tow are more likely to exhibit territorial behavior.