State bar association steps up to the plate

The Hawaii State Bar Association concealed its reason last year for judging chief justice nominee Katherine Leonard as unqualified, but now agrees to be more open in the future. The individual votes by board members on judicial appointments will remain confidential, but the bar looked silly in rating Leonard as unsuitable but not saying why.

The change brings the association more in line with the American Bar Association practice of submitting its ratings of judicial nominees for the federal bench and explaining why, in detail — unless the nominee decides to back out to avoid the clash in the Senate confirmation process.

The ice just might melt before the coffee is gone

Got jitters?

If not, Starbucks has your back.

In the apparent belief that there’s no such thing as too much coffee, Starbucks now offers a 31-ouncer to supersize that caffeine buzz.

Introduced yesterday in Hawaii and 13 other states, the Trenta — Italian for "30" and just shy of a 32-ounce quart — will be offered for iced drinks only, not hot ones. The nationwide rollout should be complete by May 3.

And you thought the Venti (Italian for "20") was a big cuppa joe.

Now let’s all just calm down before the mind starts racing toward the Quaranta.