Abercrombie gets a challenger

Perhaps he’s weary of the state Legislature after nearly three decades. Perhaps he was emboldened by Tulsi Gabbard’s out-of-nowhere win for the U.S. House. Or perhaps he sees real vulnerability in Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s anemic approval ratings.

Whatever the reason(s), state Sen. David Ige is challenging his fellow Democrat for the state’s top job. He might not be the only one, of course, but for now, Ige’s candidacy brings some intrigue to a 2014 governor’s race that until now had no opposition. At the very least, it will be a study in contrasts between the soft-spoken, methodical Ige and the extroverted, impulsive Abercrombie.

It remains to be seen if Ige can exponentially grow his name recognition beyond his Pearl City-Aiea base to give Abercrombie a real run for his money. And it’s a lot of money: Already, the incumbent has raised more than $2 million for reelection, on top of $1.3 million at the end of last year; meanwhile, Ige had just $73,980 in his Senate account.

Talk about your David versus Goliath scenario.

Letting go of the land line

Has the Age of the Land Line really come to an end?

Apparently its days are numbered. From Mantoloking, N.J., months after superstorm Sandy devastated coastlines and infrastructure, comes word that Verizon is balking at replacing some phone lines that were swept away and others that were waterlogged beyond repair.

It’s one of the first places in the country where the dominance of wireless phone use is seen as making land lines obsolete.

Nobody can say whether Hawaii will be next on the trend line. We’ll find out when (not if) the next hurricane does a number on the islands’ phone network. For now, old-schoolers had better cherish their vintage home phones.