OHA Chair Says Allegations Against Her Are Unfounded
The chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Tuesday addressed dozens of allegations of human resource violations filed against her by OHA employees. Rowena Akana told reporters at OHA’s...
View ArticleScientists See ‘Glimmer Of Hope’ For Hawaiian Monk Seals
Scientists and government officials delivered some rare good news Tuesday about one of the world’s most endangered animals, the Hawaiian monk seal. The latest population estimate shows their numbers...
View ArticleWill Police Reform Finally Gain Traction In The 2017 Legislature?
Hawaii lawmakers are once again seeking to make the state’s police agencies more transparent and accountable to the public. The question is whether high-profile scandals, most notably the ongoing...
View ArticleA Clear And Present Danger
Our President stands before of a wall of names of people who have died anonymously for the nation and says, “I’m smart.” He preens before that wall and claims he had the largest adoring crowds in...
View ArticleHawaii Dispensaries Can Start Growing Medical Marijuana Soon
Hawaii residents who have been waiting 16 years for a legal place to buy medical marijuana will have to wait at least several more months. But as of next week, their medicine can start growing. The...
View ArticleDenby Fawcett: I Helped Count The Homeless In Honolulu
One of the first questions people asked when we gathered to get our two-hour training last week to participate in the annual Homeless Persons Point-In-Time Count was, “Is this dangerous?” Safety was a...
View ArticleLau Spent Much More Money Than Kim In Mayor’s Race
Money may be the mother’s milk of politics, but it’s no guarantee of victory. Just ask Wally Lau, who lost by a 2-to-1 vote margin to Harry Kim in the primary battle for Hawaii Island mayor. Lau, a...
View ArticleHawaii Judiciary Launches Mobile App
Have trouble understanding Hawaii’s court system? On Wednesday, Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald announced that the state judiciary is trying to make it easier to obtain information. During his State of...
View ArticleGabbard Acknowledges Meeting With Syrian President Assad
WASHINGTON — Back from her mysterious trip to Syria during inauguration week, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard confirmed reports Wednesday that she had met with Syrian President Bashar Hafez...
View ArticleCouncil Votes To Curb Commercial Acitivity At Waimanalo Beaches
A bill to prohibit most commercial activity at five Waimanalo beaches was approved by the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday. Waimanalo residents have complained of an increase in crowds of tourists...
View ArticleBe Like Seattle: Services Not Jail For Minor Offenders
In 2015, more than half of the people arrested by Honolulu police were mentally ill. Close to half were homeless, according to police department statistics. Many of them were arrested for low-level,...
View ArticleTeachers Union Seeks Constitutional Amendment To Fund Schools
The Hawaii teachers union is asking the Legislature to approve a constitutional amendment that would establish a statewide surcharge on residential investment property and visitor accommodations. If...
View ArticleCan One Attorney Sue The Chief And Defend Him At The Same Time?
Last year, as it became increasingly clear that Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine, a city prosecutor, were suspects in a federal criminal investigation, the couple turned to...
View ArticleIan Lind: Hawaii Lawmakers Needlessly Renew Assault On The Judiciary
“We have a lot on our plate for this session,” House Speaker Joe Souki said last week at the start of the annual 60-day legislative session. And it’s true. Legislators face a laundry list of big issues...
View ArticleGambling Measures Surface At The Hawaii Legislature
Joe Souki, the speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives, has tried for years to make gambling legal in the state. As he lamented recently, it seems he’s one of the few lawmakers that support...
View ArticleMeasures Aim To Help Domestic Violence Victims Get Help
County police departments require that complaints against police officers be in writing and notarized. That concerns female lawmakers in the Hawaii Legislature, who want to do away with the...
View ArticleMoney Sought To Protect Watersheds And Grow More Food
Gov. David Ige and key state department heads made a public pitch to legislators Thursday for resources to implement the administration’s broad Sustainable Hawaii Initiative. The governor is seeking...
View ArticleLawsuit: Police Commission Broke The Law With Secret Meetings
The Honolulu Police Commission violated state law when it met behind closed doors to discuss Chief Louis Kealoha’s employment, including agreeing to allow him to retire with an added payment of...
View ArticleWhy Trump’s Wall With Mexico Is Popular, And Why It Won’t Work
Donald Trump tweeted on Jan. 6 that “any money spent on building the Great Wall (for the sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later.” The Economist reports that 40 countries have built fences...
View ArticleA Witness To History
My witness to history began as I left Hawaii on Wednesday evening to attend the inauguration of Donald J. Trump who was to be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America. To be...
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