It’s the last Sunday of 2015 and time to review the year “flASHback” style:
>> Gov. David Ige declared in his maiden State of the State speech that “building a good home takes time, money and skill.” Lacking any of those, we had to make do with the Ige administration.
>> After development lobbyist Carleton Ching was rejected as state land director, Ige bemoaned the difficulty of finding “committed, qualified leaders.” Now he knows what voters feel like when we see the ballot.
>> State legislators said tight money forced them to be creative in their 2015 session. It was the same theory as burglary: If they can’t pick a lock, they break a window.
>> Senators deposed Donna Kim as president, griping she promoted too much openness and was too involved in committee work. There’s little margin for error in our Legislature; do a couple of things right and out you go.
>> Lawmakers grumbled that a new $2 million Capitol fire system set off false alarms and announced, “Please cease operations and leave the building.” Considering the mischief our Legislature is usually up to, it was $2 million worth of excellent advice.
>> After many costly computer glitches, the state launched a plan to better manage vital data. Hereafter, state officials will store data in the cloud, where their heads can access it.
>> A breakdown of the H-1 Zipper Lane stranded West Oahu commuters. When a critical system depends on a bunch of guys being able to intelligently control a zipper, what could go wrong?
>> Mayor Kirk Caldwell pressed the Legislature and City Council to extend the Oahu rail excise tax, but wouldn’t say how much he expects the train to end up costing. You can’t put a price on paying off your campaign donors.
>> City Councilman Trevor Ozawa pushed a bill to require diaper-changing stations in men’s restrooms. Finally, a problem our Council is qualified to handle.
>> The city planned to retrofit five retired buses into mobile homeless shelters. It’s a prototype for the ultimate use of the Oahu rail system.
>> The University of Hawaii paid a psychologist $200 an hour to help prepare new administrators. The way things are going at UH, the money would be better spent on an exorcist.
>> The Board of Education made sex education mandatory in Hawaii public schools. Now the poor kids have to learn sex from the same folks who have them testing below average in reading and math.
>> State Film Commissioner Donne Dawson trashed the Bradley Cooper film “Aloha,” saying filmmakers “should have asked permission to use a word that is sacred to us.” Without her vigilance, “aloha” might become as overused a word as “sacred.”
>> Hawaii’s biggest 2015 movie production, the King Kong thriller “Skull Island,” is filming on Oahu this month. Next month, the 2016 Legislature convenes for the sequel: “Numbskull Island.”
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
