Hawaii gas prices keep climbing past $5 a gallon, which is bad for drivers and good for bus and rail ridership, and it's shaping up as a big issue in next month's election.

• Gas costs $5.89 a gallon on Kauai and $5.56 on Oahu, and even Costco went up 10 cents in a week.
• More people are riding the bus and Skyline train to skip the pump, the traffic, and parking fees.
• Election ballots hit Hawaii mailboxes by Friday, with Oahu drop boxes opening Wednesday and voter centers October 20th; the high cost of living is expected to drive votes.
• AI-made music is a legal minefield for songwriters — you can't copyright the part a machine wrote, and record labels and Spotify are already tangled in lawsuits.
• AI voice-cloning robocalls are a new election worry, since fake calls can mimic candidates and give voters wrong instructions.

Outlook: Expect gas prices and the cost of living to dominate the final weeks before the November 3rd election.