Time for a break in farming fight?

OK, so the "right to farm" proposal is going nowhere this session at the state Capitol, stalling this week in the Senate Agriculture Committee. It would have placed control of farming regulation squarely in state government, trumping ordinances passed by Kauai and Hawaii county councils. On those islands, opposition to genetically modified organism crops is heated and has pushed back against GMOs and pesticide use by agribusiness.

The farm bill failed despite support of the committee’s chairman, state Sen. Clarence Nishihara; the House version faces firm opposition from state Rep. Jessica Wooley, who chairs that chamber’s ag panel.

In the spirit of fair play, we suggest that a counter proposal — the GMO labeling bill, or Senate Bill 2736 — be shelved, too. If there’s going to be a truce in this battle, both sides should lay down their arms.

Give on-the-ground Mars fans more love

Speaking of what’s fair, not much about the Bruno Mars concert ticket sales can be described in those terms.

Almost half the tickets for the Hawaii-born singer’s three sold-out shows here were snapped up by people outside the state, almost all online. Considering that Mars made quite a splash as the Super Bowl halftime star, that is less surprising than the only 6 percent of tickets being sold in person.

The galling takeaway is that ticket resellers (aka scalpers) are the big winners, rather than fans. Surely the artist and his handlers should be concerned about how devotees feel when they’re turned away at the box office, scowling and still clutching their money.