It is good to know that at least an assault rifle and three other weapons have been recovered, following the theft of 15 from a state Department of Land and Natural Resources base yard in Makiki. The entire haul, taken from a storage shed March 10-11, included handguns, shotguns and AR-15 rifles, used to cull invasive feral animals.

DLNR surely realizes now that its insecure storage setup was a grim mistake, considering what mayhem such guns can cause when they’re let loose among us human beings.

Kamaka Ukulele patriarch remembered

Samuel Kai‘ali‘ili‘i Kamaka Jr. died on March 15, three months short of turning 100. For nearly 60 years, visitors would find him inside the family business, Kamaka Ukulele, Inc., working on the assembly or repair of the company’s fine, coveted instruments.

Kamaka Jr. took charge of the company in 1953, designing a “KK” (double k) symbol used on the ukulele in 1958 to represent himself and brother Fred Sr. He is remembered as a man who loved his work, “always happy,” an exemplar of Hawaii’s culture of aloha who was dedicated to the craft of quality ukulele-making.