Lawmakers gather today in a session filled with more uncertainty than they have had in years.
Much of their uneasiness is of their own making. Sen. Bob Nakata, for instance, bemoans the Senate's inability to set priorities. If nearly every senator is a prince or at least a committee co-chairman, the list of important stuff grows from a manageable handful to more than half a hundred. And while the House and Senate both promise action on one of the state's most controversial, uniquely Hawaiian and ultimately trivial issues, regulating the popping of firecrackers, the real show remains underground. Acting one way or the other will give the appearance of action, but the political benefit is not as clear.