Chamber of Commerce Hawaii is working on a webinar format that aims to help connect cash-strapped small companies with a multibillion-dollar golden goose: military contracts.

Last year, the federal government issued about $2.3 billion in defense contracts here, with much of that funding going to local businesses for services ranging from construction and engineering, to ship repair. This year, spending is likely to increase, according to the chamber’s Military Affairs Council. Opportunity benefiting the struggling local economy is welcome — especially welcome would be more funding for environmental cleanup and aina protections at military sites.

Proposed sea wall needs deeper look

An environmental assessment finding that a sea wall at the Puuloa Range Training Facility in Ewa Beach will have no significant impact is not going to be the last word on the subject — and that’s good.

Surfrider Foundation O‘ahu, divers and others are challenging the study by Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The military says the 10-foot-high wall aims to stem erosion of berms, a safety feature of the training facility.

But opponents say they’ve seen fish stocks decline, for one thing. It’s hard to dismiss eyewitness accounts.