Kudos to Honolulu Hale for acquiring and repurposing a former 30-unit student dormitory into an affordable rental building for single parents with young children with incomes at or below 50% of Oahu’s median. That tops out at about $48,200 for a parent with one child, according to 2019 federal figures. Making even a small dent in addressing the shortage of affordable rentals here marks progress.

Each Mohala Mai unit is equipped with a small refrigerator and sink; and tenants on each floor will share a bathroom. Also in the McCully building: community rooms with full kitchens and laundry facilities.

Merrie Monarch carries on traditions

The Merrie Monarch hula elders do hand off the baton to younger generations. Example: Maelia Loebenstein Carter, once a solo performer, is now a judge, having taken the lead of her halau from her grandmother, the late Mae Loebenstein.

But very little else ever changes. The contest will happen, as usual, the weekend after Easter. There is a familiar assembly of hula schools from Hawaii and California.

And familiarity is one of the things Merrie Monarch followers love best about it.