Why I’m Not Willing To Accept Low Voter Turnout
I disagree with Neal Milner’s recent take on participation in our state’s democracy (“Let’s Stop Worrying About Hawaii’s Low Voter Turnout”). Milner criticizes those of us who are trying to increase...
View ArticlePod Squad: Capitol Debate Series Takes On Pesticides
Listening to a debate is one way that Hawaii residents can learn about and understand issues that are important in Hawaii. To that end, Ian Ross and Jonathan Chang of Debate Hawaii join Pod Squad host...
View ArticleReader Rep: Why Isn’t The Star-Advertiser Open About Its Problems?
Since the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports about all sorts of other layoffs and buyouts, one might expect extensive coverage of its own “voluntary separation incentive program” recently offered (and...
View ArticleWe Had A Few Basic Questions For Candidates — Some Never Answered
Before Hawaii’s August primary, Civil Beat asked candidates for public office throughout the islands to respond to questionnaires designed to help voters get to know them better. Most of the candidates...
View ArticleNew Honolulu Police Commissioner Brings A Much-Needed Voice
If there were any doubts that former Assistant U.S. Attorney Loretta Sheehan would shake things up on the Honolulu Police Commission she quickly dispelled them last week in only her second meeting as a...
View ArticleHawaii Just Doesn’t Have Enough Public Housing For The Disabled
Lawyers and advocates for the disabled say public housing in Hawaii falls woefully short when it comes to providing enough housing that is accessible to those in wheelchairs and who need special...
View ArticleDemocrats Should Think Twice About Party Expulsions
When I was in college, I joined a fraternity. It was exclusive, and the organization could expel members. But that’s a college fraternity, not a political party. Look, I’m not afraid to say it: I’m a...
View ArticleHow Hawaii Plans To Make Sure It Doesn’t Run Out Of Water
The 2016 session of the Hawaii Legislature will not go down as one notable for its environmental achievements. On the whole, few bills having a significant impact on the environment made it through to...
View ArticleDenby Fawcett: City Still Allowing Illegal Vendors At Beach Parks
Honolulu law prohibits peddling in city parks. Yet the city continues to allow so-called First Amendment permit holders to sell merchandise in Oahu parks in violation of the city’s own rules. The city...
View ArticleLawsuit Against Homeless Sweeps Could Cost Taxpayers $1M
Honolulu taxpayers could be on the hook for nearly $1 million in legal fees involving a landmark lawsuit over how the city has been conducting homeless sweeps. It’s an expense that the city could have...
View ArticleHawaii Is A Paradise For Pay Phones
Hawaii – land of rainbows, world-class surf breaks and … pay phones? While the pay phone industry has been cratering on the mainland, the once-ubiquitous fixtures have held on in Hawaii. The result is...
View ArticleEdward Snowden Wants A Pardon
Edward Snowden is making his case for a presidential pardon in a new video interview with The Guardian. The NSA whistleblower argues that leaking tens of thousands of documents, many marked top secret,...
View ArticleDebates And The Importance Of A Well-Informed Public
It is time to end the tyranny of sound bites and talking heads yelling over each other. Today we have reached a point where oversimplified explanations and staying on message by not engaging with the...
View ArticleCity Leaders Have To Stop Turning Their Backs On Affordable Housing
Honolulu is far from meeting its enormous and growing need for affordable housing, so it’s frustrating to hear about the dynamics around development of yet another new luxury condo project that, once...
View ArticleIan Lind: The Sound Of Money Talking
There’s a lot of cynicism about money’s undue influence on politics, from the presidential level with its billionaire-funded super PACs right on down through to the donor base at the local level. And...
View ArticleFish Council Votes Against Ocean Protection Measure
Trophy hunting and tuna fishing made for interesting bedfellows at the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress last week. Delegates from more than 160...
View ArticleHawaii Prison Reform Efforts Look To Be On Conflicting Paths
When it comes to improving Hawaii’s aging stock of prisons and jails, all sides agree on one thing: One way or another, the crumbling Oahu Community Correctional Center, a century-old jail in Kalihi,...
View ArticleFeds Zeroing In On Targets In Police Chief Probe
Federal investigators appear to be closing in on Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his prosecutor wife, Katherine, in an ongoing public corruption investigation stemming from the 2013 theft of...
View ArticleFishing Conditions Alarm Lawmakers
U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard each said Wednesday that they were “disturbed” by the conditions that Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet is subjecting its...
View ArticleCivil Rights Complaint: Pesticides Are Harming Native Hawaiians
Two Hawaii community groups have filed a civil-rights complaint against the state Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Development Corporation for not doing enough to protect Native Hawaiians...
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