Tourism cruises back to Molokai, we hope

It’s good to see that cooler heads have prevailed on Molokai, where a truce is in the offing over a tour cruise boat’s stopovers.

Community meetings aimed at airing concerns and laying down some rules aimed at lightening the tourism footprint are under way, with cruises set to resume after the fifth meeting on Jan. 1. While it may be too early to proclaim a lasting victory, any discussion aimed at protecting one of the few remaining rural environments is preferable to harbor protests. Maybe Molokai can prove its "Friendly Island" moniker, after all.

Brokering a similar peace over the Superferry? Now that would have been a real feat of diplomacy.

Less trash can be a convenient thing

Residents for whom Mondays are usual trash collection days might be distressed that the holiday schedule means no pickup, either today or on Jan. 2.

Possible exceptions: People who participated in Kanu Hawaii’s "No Waste Challenge," which concludes this week, pledged to keep their household rubbish down to a bag each week of December. No pickup, no problem.

But for the more wasteful majority, don’t panic. The gray carts left out on the curb will still be picked up, only a day or two late. Can’t accuse the city refuse crews of being Grinches.