We’ll start and finish with a real political football as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:
» The NFL announced the Pro Bowl will return to Hawaii in 2013 with its lackluster play spiced up. The NFC and AFC will be joined in the competition by KFC.
» The Disney Store reopened at Ala Moana Center with interactive features such as a magic mirror. Squabbling mayoral candidates Peter Carlisle and Kirk Caldwell can’t wait to ask, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s Dan Inouye’s fairest of all?"
» Ben Cayetano likened it to "throwing one’s parents out of their own house" when Fire Department retirees were barred from stations after endorsing him for mayor against the wishes of the firefighters union. This family feud has a mean back-draft.
» A $450 million line of credit for Oahu rail is nearing City Council approval despite confusion about how the loan would be repaid. Welcome to the Alfred E. Neuman "What, Me Worry?" school of financial management.
» City planning commissioner Beadie Dawson proposed putting landfills all around Oahu, reasoning we’d be more careful about producing garbage if we had to live with it in our backyards. If that logic held true, we’d be more careful about who we elect to the City Council.
» Gov. Neil Abercrombie told delegates to the state Democratic convention that he’s not worried about the party’s disagreements because Democrats always find a way to unite. They just wait for the HGEA to tell them what to do.
» The teachers union board meets this weekend to plot its next move after teachers ratified a contract that the state says is nonexistent. Union strategists are divided between holding their breath and turning blue or sticking peas up their noses.
» The Omidyar Fellows program is offering 15 bright young Hawaii leaders a yearlong curriculum to improve their skills. Graduates will be eligible to be told by our 87-year-old U.S. senators, 73-year-old governor and 60-something congresswomen to wait their turn.
And a double quote of the week … from Abercrombie on Hawaii paying the NFL $4 million to host the Pro Bowl:
June 2011: "You’ve got this spectacle of these multimillionaires and billionaires out there arguing about how they’re going to divide it up, and then they come and ask us to bribe them with $4 million to have a scrimmage out here in paradise. … What do they do with all that? How many sandwiches can you eat?"
This week after the game was renewed: "This is wonderful news for football fans in Hawaii and elsewhere who love watching the game. It’s also great news for NFL players and their families who enjoy coming to our Aloha State."
He calls it "A New Day for Sandwiches."
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
