Forbid some fishing off Forbidden Island? Maybe

The dwindling fish population off Niihau has triggered four bills in the Legislature that would protect the nearshore fishery for the Native Hawaiians who live on the Forbidden Island and subsist on what they catch.

The legislation would make it more difficult — or impossible — for outsiders to harvest there.

One of those bills, House Bill 1921, makes the point that "Western economic and environmental philosophies" such as "the commercialization of fishing stocks" are among the causes of a decline in the health of nearshore fisheries.

Commercial fishermen would disagree. And all the bills have now been deferred, to consider whether specific administrative rules would work more efficiently than a blunt statute.

Even so, the bills raise some uncomfortable questions about the preservation of Native Hawaiian culture and traditional practices, which are generally held in high regard, in word if not in deed.

Hawaii still in the running for Obama library

The nonprofit foundation that will develop President Barack Obama’s post-White House library is stacked with his Chicago friends, but that doesn’t mean Honolulu is completely out of the running.

Obama’s home state has become more closely associated with him during his presidency, thanks to his annual Christmas vacations here — on which the national media happily tag along.

For Obama, "home for the holidays" still means Hawaii — and that says a lot. He and first lady Michelle will make the final decision, to be announced early next year.