You, too, could maybe become a state senator

Have you ever wanted to be a state senator?

If you’re a Democrat and live on the Leeward Coast, now might be your chance: Colleen Hanabusa’s win against U.S. Rep. Charles Djou will create a vacancy in the state Senate, and Gov.-elect Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, will be the one to name her replacement, after reviewing a list of three nominees to be presented to him by the Hawaii Democratic Party.

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I left my Happy Meals in San Francisco

Unhappy days are coming to Happy Meals in the Bay Area.

Fueled by good intentions but questionable public policy, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has banned toy giveaways in fast-food children’s meals unless the food meets certain nutritional standards for calories, sodium and fat. The ban would go into effect December 2011, following in the lean footsteps of Santa Clara County, which OK’d a similar ordinance earlier.

Certainly, trying to get a handle on the alarming love-handles of America’s obese children is well-intentioned. But really, does a law against Happy Meal toys truly get to the cholesterol-laden heart of the problem? What about starting instead with parental choices on what, where and how to feed the kids?

Time to supersize some common sense.