Opinion and analysis by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Editorial Board. Get informed with columns and commentary, and submit a letter to the editor.
It’s a reminder of how dependent Hawaii residents are on air travel: On Wednesday, Mokulele Airlines temporarily suspended all its flights to conduct maintenance, out of “an abundance of caution” — interrupting plans for interisland travelers. Read more
In the mix of hundreds of bills that the 2025 Legislature will consider is another try at raising the mandatory retirement age of state judges, from the current age 70 to 75. Read more
Hawaiian Electric (HECO) submitted its 2025-2027 Wildfire Safety Strategy (WSS) to the Public Utilities Commission this week, outlining its intention to protect the electric grid from being damaged or causing damage during wildfires, hurricanes, tsunami and flooding, and recognizing the growing threats that are exacerbated by climate change. Read more
Your stories on the New Year’s Eve tragedies have made the point that enforcement of fireworks laws has been inadequate. Read more
Gov. Josh Green needs to work with Hawaii’s legislators to totally ban all fireworks in Hawaii. Read more
Much has been written lately about the need for a new Oahu landfill site. Unfortunately, no mention has been made of the reason we need landfills to begin with: overconsumption of material goods. Read more
The United States is a strange nation, where a sentenced felon and former president becomes the president of our nation once again. Read more
I recommend that all of us wake up, take a Valium if needed, and see if a narcissistic, pretentious, pompous, hyperbolic entertainer and successful businessman can do better with his cadre of brilliant billionaires. Read more
I am certain that deep down, alone inside his mind and away from all the sycophants, he hates himself more than I could ever dislike him. He knows that he is lying. Read more
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The 2025 Hawaii Legislature began its 60-day session on Wednesday, and the public must see good-government reforms that should have been enacted years ago. Read more
Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono made her presence known during the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for former “Fox and Friends” co-host Pete Hegseth, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense. Read more
The 2020 U.S. Census showed that Hawaii is the most diverse state in the nation. Most foreign-born persons in Hawaii are from the Philippines and then China, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Pacific Island countries. Read more
I am confused about the vital need to become more food-efficient and the need to put our new landfill on agricultural land. Read more
Although increased enforcement of fireworks laws will encourage some to give them up, it is not enough. We must also respect the strong tradition of fireworks in Hawaii. Read more
Donald Trump’s hush money case reached sentencing on Jan. 10. The 34 guilty verdicts were decided by a jury based on evidence and testimony under oath. Read more
I see a lot of hatred for President-elect Donald Trump and MAGA from the Democrats, mass media and people, including those living in Hawaii. Read more
Israel has controlled Gaza as a virtual prison for 18 years. Gaza is a small area (141 square miles, same as Lanai) with an extremely dense population of 2.1 million. Read more
The pressure is on the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) to scale back its spending aspirations, and that’s coming straight from the top — the governor’s office. Read more
Earlier this year, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago made the difficult decision to transition away from 75 government contracts, beginning this past summer. Read more
It’s encouraging that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to stay out of the lawsuit filed by the City and County of Honolulu against oil companies over their role in global warming. Read more
The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) is upgrading ePlans, its electronic permit review system, moving operations to a cloud-based system and installing speedier, more responsive software that streamlines communication between permit applicants and city reviewers. Read more
