A falling star in the solar business

Tuesday’s bankruptcy filing by Hoku Corp. brings to an end a local company that held so much promise when it was founded in 2001. Its demise is doubly disappointing: As a rising Hawaii company, Hoku saw initial success as one of the first local high-tech firms to raise capital via special-purpose revenue bonds issued by the state, using $10 million raised to build a Kapo­lei facility to develop fuel cells. And as a renewable energy firm, it held out potential for the industry’s future.

But now, dropping prices of polysilicon — the raw material used to make solar panels that Hoku had banked on developing in an Idaho plant — has led to the fall of the one-time corporate star. Hoku Solar, a photovoltaic subsidiary and the company’s lone profitable arm, is now winding down operations but aims to complete "all remaining work" for its customers and vendors.

Happy to be independent today

Today’s the day we break out the barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. Grills will be loaded with traditional Fourth of July fare — hot dogs, hamburgers, teri beef — and we’ll fly the flag, go to parades and watch the big fireworks at Ala Moana.

But it’s also a day of thanksgiving. We express our gratitude for the collective efforts of countless patriots before us who worked to defend and promote American ideals.

Among them were two bitter political rivals whose animosity toward each other foreshadowed today’s political vitriol in Washington. They died on this day in 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively.

Their legacy is ours, now in its 237th year.