“The signs are coming down; the signs are coming down!” Lana’i's coconut wireless (aided by Facebook and text-messaging) was abuzz on Friday, as remnants of Castle & Cooke’s (now Larry Ellison’s) maintenance department began taking down the oxymoronic pro-wind signs: “Wind Power: To Keep Lāna‛i Green.” Since none of the power produced would stay on Lana`i, the signs’ message has been a source of much amusement for years. While only a handful came down on Friday, more are expected to fall this week.

This is a good sign. Murdock’s intimidating warnings that union members had to support his wind power plant or he would shutter the hotels, have been proven to be just his special brand of hot air. As he has threatened for years, Murdock has sold the island, but the new owner has already told hotel employees that their jobs are secure.

Hopefully two things will happen next: the remaining pro-wind power signs will ALL come down, as residents and workers realize there is no reason to support this destructive project, and second, Murdock’s plans to build an industrial-scale wind power plant will go the way of his wind power signs — into the rubbish.