To paraphrase the elder George Bush, a thousand points of light can spread like stars throughout Hawai'i, doing good. While it's uplifting to see them twinkle, as a new shelter project is doing on the North Shore, it is up to our elected leaders to provide the brightest illumination.

In a private partnership between a business and a Hau'ula house of worship — Roberts Hawaii Tours and Ohana Family of the Living God — three retired tour buses are being refitted for use as overnight shelters for the homeless. The church counts this as an extension of the help already provided to the homeless.

Both the church and the tour company deserve an ovation for seizing this opportunity to provide comfort to the neediest of O'ahu residents.

The initiative needs a conditional use permit and a zoning change. The final plans should outline ways to minimize any neighborhood disturbance through appropriate curfews. Once that's done, the city should approve the project.

This kind of innovation is welcome from everyone in our community, but it's needed most critically from lawmakers. Let's hope they can be as inventive in devising solutions on the grander scale this legislative session.