Expect Mayor Mufi Hannemann to make his run for governor official this week in advance of the State Democratic Party convention.

And Hawaii’s been making the national news quite a bit these past few days.

There are, of course, lots of words about the election results. Do a quick run through Google’s Blog Search and you’ll see the range from left to right. Return to Google News for the more mainstream coverage.

But the election wasn’t all of it.

The New York Times editorialized on the issue of school furloughs (“Hawaii’s race to the bottom“).

The bottom line:

Hawaii, battered by recession, slumping tourism and the high cost of living and fuel, is as burdened by budget woes as any other state. By robbing its students of an adequate education, it is shortchanging its future.

The NY Times also reported on the stalled project to ship Honolulu’s garbage to the mainland.

It started out as a solution to the limited land available for a land fill.

But what was supposed to be a quick fix has turned into a long-running problem after the company that was hired to ship the trash failed to get necessary permits from the federal government.

Then there’s Governor Lingle’s decision about the civil union’s bill, where a Washington Post columnist calls for her to sign the bill.

Jonathan Capehart writes:

Gay marriage burst onto the American political radar and put the Aloha State at the forefront of a national debate in 1993, when the Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled that there was no compelling state interest in denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Since then, either by court order or by proactive legislation, same-sex marriage is now legal in five states and the District of Columbia. Another five states have approved domestic partnerships or civil unions.

Making HB 444 the law in Hawaii wouldn’t make Lingle a radical. It would put her in a growing mainstream. It would put her on the right side of history. And it would confirm her as a leader — which is how any aspirant for future elective office should want to be viewed.

The commentary continues to flow from opponents like the Catholic Church, which blusters about civil unions while failing to understand its own sad legacy of sexuality, as well as from a range of supporters.

Hawaii’s push into the fledgling electric car industry earned a story in DailyFinance.com by former Hawaii writer Alex Salkever.

Meanwhile, the slight improvements in Hawaii’s economic picture are getting a little attention, as is the film, Princess Kaiulani.

Several reviews are less than kind.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

But sadly, Ka’iulani is a perfunctory biopic of the sort one might encounter on television during Women’s History Month.

The film hops from incident to incident, emphasizing the princess’ education in Victorian England, at the expense of making clear the European and American business interests that unseated the Hawaiian royals.

And from the Boston Globe:

It can’t be easy to turn the story of Hawaii’s last royal into a waxworks parade, but writer-director Marc Forby has pulled it off. The film wants us to get good and outraged over the island kingdom’s annexation at the hands of US businessmen in the 1890s, and to cheer on the exquisitely poised young woman who swayed public opinion against them. It’s difficult to get stirred up, though, when the filmmaking’s this banal.

Is that enough to get the week started?