There’s cautious optimism about the state Ethics Commission’s decision to keep its executive director, Les Kondo, whom some powerful political forces wanted ousted due to his strict readings of state ethics rules.

But though Kondo wasn’t dismissed, after hours of closed-door evaluation Wednesday, the commission was noncommittal on his long-term future.

We urge the agency, and all others who strive for good government, to take to heart Article XIV of the state Constitution, which is posted on the commission’s website and says:

“The people of Hawaii believe that public officers and employees must exhibit the highest standards of ethical conduct and that these standards come from the personal integrity of each individual in government.”

Most hapa people are happy about it

Multiracial adults in the United State tend to consider their mixed ethnicity an advantage in life, a finding especially true among people of white and Asian ancestry, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.

Fifty-eight percent of biracial white and Asian adults consider their racial background an advantage rather than a disadvantage, a percentage higher than any other mixed-race group, and also higher than single-race whites (32 percent) or Asians (15 percent).

Hapa folk are a growing segment of the U.S. population, with the Asian and white blend making especially rapid gains.