Philly to dim lights to protect birds

The lights of Philadelphia might not shine as bright in the coming weeks as a coalition in the City of Brotherly Love tries to prevent millions of migrating birds that pass through twice a year from slamming into skyscrapers and crashing to the sidewalk.

Bird Safe Philly on Thursday announced the Lights Out Philly initiative, a voluntary program in which as many external and internal lights in buildings are turned off or dimmed at night during the spring and fall.

The coalition formed after the city’s largest mass-collision event in 70 years was reported last October. Hundreds of dead birds were found.

Birds navigate during migration using celestial cues and when they cannot see stars on a cloudy night they get confused by bright city lights.

Scientists estimate between 365 million and one billion birds are killed by collisions with buildings or other structures in the U.S. every year.

When the statewide eviction moratorium comes to an end,

Maui’s landlords and tenants will need to find a way to resolve any issues surrounding outstanding payments that are owed. This is the time for those with impending disputes to begin looking for their preferred solutions.

Going to court may seem like an obvious answer, but mediation could offer a more attractive alternative.

For both parties, the risks of losing at trial are real and come with serious consequences. It doesn’t matter that you have a viable legal claim, what facts you cite or how certain your attorney is about your chances; landlord-tenant cases can take 30 minutes or less, and the final decision is made by a judge.

The direct financial costs of litigation are the biggest issue. On top of court costs, attorneys fees may average $225 an hour, and the eviction process is expensive for both landlords and tenants. This is why, even in the robust economy of recent years, 97 percent of summary possession cases in Hawaii had at least one party appearing without a lawyer.

While the court may order tenants to pay the landlord’s court costs and attorney fees, the reality is that landlords typically cannot recover those losses, nor back rent, or repair expenses from tenants without assets. Moreover,

a lawsuit can exacerbate the situation if tenants stop making any payments while continuing to reside on property for free. Tenant retaliation takes many forms, which are all problematic for landlords, and a history of evictions in publicly searchable court records can affect the landlord’s ability to attract quality tenants in the future.

Tenants should know that a loss in court could mean having to pay the landlord’s legal expenses, in addition to rent, utilities, repairs and interest, along with the loss of any security deposit. Following eviction, tenants must still cover moving costs, and application fees and security deposits for a new residence. Going forward, background checks may reveal the eviction records and a lower credit rating, which can disqualify them from future rentals.

Finally, in accordance with Hawaii law, if either the landlord or tenant misses the scheduled court date, the judge will issue a default judgment in favor of the party who did appear that day.

Given the unpredictability of trial and the time-value of money, settling the dispute outside of court is the most economically rational choice. The Hawaii State Judiciary strongly encourages mediation as an effective way to resolve matters without the emotional and financial costs of litigation.

Mediation is a dispute resolution process where a mediator helps guide the parties to resolve part or all of a dispute voluntarily, informally and confidentially. Unlike litigation or binding arbitration, the parties in mediation retain control over the terms of any agreement reached.

While courts are generally open to the public, mediation is a private process.

On average, mediation services cost half or less than what you will pay in attorney fees alone.

In court, a judge determines the outcome with one party usually losing, but mediation allows for a wider discussion of the issues, and searches for solutions everyone can accept. In this way, mediation maintains relationships, an advantageous situation for parties who may have regular contact after their dispute is resolved. To avoid future disputes, mediated agreements may also include provisions stipulating how the parties will deal with each other after mediation.

Mediation is widely accessible and can be faster to schedule than a court date. It is available through court referrals and there are private mediators who specialize in landlord-tenant issues.

During National Judicial Outreach Week, the Judiciary asks people to remember that our legal system is founded on the rule of law, which affirms that no one is above the law, and everyone is treated equally under the law. The preservation of our liberties depends on the preservation of this principal, and fair, impartial courts.

Our legal system also recognizes that court remedies are not best suited for everyone or every situation. For landlords and tenants, mediation can help resolve disputes by exploring creative solutions that ensure the rights of both parties are protected, while helping keep landlords’ units occupied and tenants from becoming homeless.

■ The Honorable Kirstin M. Hamman is a Judge in Hawai’i’s Second Judicial Circuit.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Confidence has never been a problem for Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham. That came in handy Friday. With the No. 12 Cowboys trying to rally from a secondhalf hole against secondranked Baylor in the Big 12 tournament, Cunningham calmly responded with backto-back 3-pointers to give his team the lead. Then, he stepped to the foul line and calmly made a series of free throws down the stretch that clinched an 83-74 victory in the semifinal round.

“I’m a confident player. I feel like every shot I shoot is supposed to go in,” said Cunningham, the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. “I try to shoot them with confidence and make plays that my teammates need.”

His teammates didn’t let him carry the load alone.

Avery Anderson III added 20 points, including the goahead three-point play with just over two minutes to go, and Rondel Walker had 11 as the No. 5 seed Cowboys (207) advanced to play No. 13 Texas for the title tonight.

While the Cowboys have two Big 12 tourney titles to their credit, Texas has never won the event in six appearances in the finals.

The Bears have never won a conference tournament title, either — and won’t this year. They’ll remain 0-3 in the Big 12 title game for at least another year after winning their first regular-season league championship since 1950.

MaCio Teague scored 17 points and Jared Butler had 16 for the Bears (22-2), who had won 10 of their last 11 against the Cowboys after sweeping them in the regular season.

Davion Mitchell also had 13 points for coach Scott Drew’s team.

“You have to give Oklahoma State a lot of credit,” Drew said. “They made a lot of bigtime plays.”

The top-seeded Bears struggled coming out of a three-week pause for COVID-19, beating Iowa State and losing their only game at Kansas, before getting on track with three straight wins over ranked opponents leading up to the tournament.

Baylor led 65-60 with just under six minutes to go when Cunningham hit back-to-back 3s to give Oklahoma State the lead. That began a back-andforth affair until Anderson drove for a layup and was fouled by Baylor’s Mark Vital with 2:09 to go. Anderson made the free throw to give the Cowboys a 73-72 lead, and they never trailed again.

They wound up going 21 of 26 from the foul line, making 13 of 14 when the game was on the line in the second half.

“Nobody thought we would get to this point right now,” Cunningham said. “We have fun on the court, we compete — everybody wants to win. We want to prove everybody wrong.”

Can you feel the intentions of last week’s new moon manifesting? Tomorrow brings the Mercury change that will have you witnessing your progress in a different way. If you were to, very scientifically, log recent happenings by writing them down, taking pictures, etc., you will have an accurate (and repeatable) record of your success climb.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Power depends on alignment. Misaligned values provide a friction-filled experience. But when belief, word and deed coincide beautifully, all rolls smoothly forward.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). When opportunity knocked confidently at your door, you answered. Opportunity’s current signal won’t be so easily detected; it’s the flicker of feeling across someone’s face, a clip of passing dialogue. It’s as subtle as a pulse.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Accept and enjoy what you’ve

made of things. Don’t let yourself obsess over what could have been different. That would only disempower you. It’s a tricky way of sabotaging the present. All good comes from loving what is.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You know what it feels like to be contractually obligated, and you know what it feels like to be in love. A relationship from one category surprisingly feels more like it belongs to the other.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Relationships get better when you slow them down a bit. Some strategies to consider: talking less, listening more, being slightly less available, making fewer, but more interesting, plans.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The fear you avoid worsens. Confront it, and it will be scary at first, and then gradually get a little better each time until you genuinely can’t relate to the “you” who was afraid of the thing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There are few indications of

character that are more defining than how a person responds to loss. As you learn about people, pay special attention to this aspect of their story.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). A group is going to help you with what you wish to accomplish. It will be up to you to seek these connections, to participate in different gatherings, to find the right fit or to cherrypick your team from different places.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You have the opportunity to redefine yourself. One small habit opens the gate. Amazing things will be accomplished with mundane but decisive acts that have been systemized to the point of being automatic.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Getting the right amount of sleep will make a huge difference in how the plot of your life develops this week. You can set yourself up for it with today’s thoughtful acts of self-care and planning.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.

18). While others turn the conversation back to themselves, you’ll be the first to say, “Tell me more,” thereby opening the door to deeper and more intricate knowledge. No wonder you’re so smart.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). To be warmed by a drink, by the sun, by the knowledge that you are loved. Just one of those temperature changes would be luxurious, but all three in a single radiant moment is to feel you are missing nothing.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY. You move inside a setting too familiar for you to see as glamourous, but others will. Entranced with how you work, they’ll want to join your scene. The making of adjustments and accommodations will be educational and emotionally fortifying. Financial moves are your summer forte — fortune will favor your boldness. Libra and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 10, 44, 3 and 15.