Here we go again. More reports of street fights and brawls.

KHON reported last night on a growing problem of fights outside a particular set of Waikiki clubs. And KITV reported earlier on a brawl in the Zippy’s parking lot in Kahala “between groups of young men”.

Symptoms of a bigger problem? It certainly appears that way. Are we seeing the “Jaws” effect? Elected officials reluctant to put this on the public agenda because of possible repercussions on our visitor image?

The Advertiser reports that the Postal Service is considering closing smaller post offices and other cost saving measures in the face of a growing deficit.

It’s already hit Kaaawa. Our post office now does not open until 10 a.m. daily. Saturday it’s only open 10-12.

If we have a package or something to pick up, but have an appointment elsewhere on Saturday morning, there’s just no way for us to reach the post office while it’s open. That’s a problem for us and a problem for folks at the post office, who have packages and mail stacking up.

Letter mail, it seems, is a thing of the past, once a more secure and available system of emailing official documents and affixing electronic signatures is in place. And there are private alternatives for sending packages. So can we do without the postal service? Home mail delivery? On the latter–the answer is obviously yes. We haven’t had home delivery of mail since we moved to Kaaawa, where the postal service doesn’t service the interior roads. So if you live along Kamehameha Highway, you get mail delivery. Back streets? We go to the post office to pick up our mail.

Meanwhile, I was surprised by the factoid that Hawaii has more millionaires as a percentage of population than any other state, according to a story in PBN. It makes that tax boost on the highest earners look like the right move, doesn’t it?

I spent Saturday and a bit of Sunday gobbling up Garth Stein’s hovel, “The Art of Racing in the Rain“. It was a wonderful book that got me alternatively to tears and laughter. It takes place in the last day in the life of Enzo, an elderly dog who lives with a race car driver, as he reprises his life without thumbs. It’s hard to say more.

I had a much harder time with Michael Connelly’s latest, “The Scarecrow“. He’s a good writer when he’s “on”. In this book, though, he gives in to the silly crime plot on steroids that just turns the book into a cartoon instead of a well-plotted unraveling of a mystery. I wouldn’t recommend this one.

To help you start a new week, here’s the dawn as it looked in Kaaawa yesterday. Today is looking just as nice, but it’s still early.