Name recognition counts for a lot in elections

As the debate over an appointed or elected school board goes on, it’s notable that the leading vote-getter in the primary for Oahu’s three at-large seats on the board was Pamela Young.

No, not that Pamela Young — although the TV anchor did appear at the candidate’s election night gathering and told viewers that she had been receiving congratulatory calls all night.

Candidate Young received more than 70,000 votes, 14,000 more than the runnerup. That her bid likely got a boost from mistaken identity isn’t a knock on Young as much as it is a clear case in point about the difficulties and responsibilities facing voters in this race.

Honolulu crime soars — on ‘Hawaii Five-0’

Former prosecutor and Mayor-elect Peter Carlisle has been calling Honolulu the safest major city in the country, but viewers of the new "Hawaii Five-0" may get a different impression.

At least 10 men were killed in the opening scene, fictionally set in Korea, during Monday night’s premiere episode on CBS. And that was even before the opening credits rolled with the iconic "Five-0" theme music. The body count on Oahu then quickly piled up as a truck ran over one bad guy, a car hit another, and eight others bit the dust by gunshot.

Luckily for incoming city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, such violence and mayhem don’t reflect real life in our Honolulu.