ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

The week ended on a terrible note: More than two dozen children and teachers dead in a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut.

As journalists, our first inclination is to try to make sense of it all for readers. I’m not sure that’s possible in this case.

But we did wonder if Hawaii’s strict gun laws play some role in keeping gun violence at bay here in the islands. It’s interesting that, compared to many communities on the mainland, you hardly ever hear about a shooting. We’ll be looking into that but in the meantime check out this summary of gun laws and gun statistics that might help put Hawaii’s situation in at least a bit of perspective.

On another somber note, Hawaii’s Sen. Daniel K. Inouye remains hospitalized in the Washington, D.C., area. He’s been in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for nine days now, and his office is saying little about how he is doing. The 88-year-old Inouye fainted on Dec. 6 and has been in the hospital since then.

On the other side of the Pacific, Civil Beat’s Joe Rubin is roaming Japan as part of an international journalism fellowship program. He is focusing on on how the nation, devastated by an earthquake and massive tsunami in 2011, is moving to put in place new sources of energy as debate over nuclear energy continues against the backdrop of national elections. Rubin is filing regular reports in his Japan Journal.

Lots of other news this week, too. Check out 10 more stories you won’t want to have missed:

• Can You Hear Me Now? Hawaii Tsunami Sirens Moving to Cell Networks

• $1.55 Billion Federal Rail Grant On The Line In Federal Case

• Say No More: Hawaii House Speaker Steps Down

• Hawaii Teacher Evaluation Concerns Keep State, Union From Agreement

• Superfund Designation Sought For Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

• Report: More Traffic Will Clog North Shore If Turtle Bay Expands

• Hawaii Lawmakers Report Receiving Twice as Much in Gifts as Last Year

• Bombs Away: Undersea Cable May Run Afoul Of WWII Munitions Dump

• Hawaii Teacher: Work To Rule Protests Highlight An Impossible Situation

• Hawaii Monitor: Demise Of Community Recycling Bins A Policy Failure