Hawaii’s state and city lawmakers may not be so sharp at taking care of public concerns such as affordable housing, gridlocked traffic and rundown infrastructure, but they’re wizards at taking care of themselves. Read more
UH is no stranger to managing sports venues; it fought for the 10,300-seat SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center and runs it capably, and also owns Hawaii’s premier baseball stadium Read more
The state Senate missed a chance to reset its increasingly toxic culture when it voted down Gov. Josh Green’s nomination of Alapaki Nahale-a to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, where he served as interim chair. Read more
But state and county politicians are already fighting over who will get the bounty from the surcharge when its dedication to rail and county roads ends in six years. Read more
All we really need to know about the latest move in the Legislature to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis is that the measure was crafted by an attorney general who doesn’t support it. Read more
It’s hard to keep looking at the haunting news photo of Geanna Bradley, the 10-year-old Wahiawa girl found dead Jan. 18 from unspeakable abuse allegedly at the hands of her foster family. Read more
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
There are few better markers than the Super Bowl of how much bigger, louder, connected and exhibitionist the world has become during my lifetime. Read more
You’d think the Legislature has enough new bad ideas that they don’t need to recycle oldies. Read more
With half the city’s rail line running from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium and the final construction phase through Honolulu starting, directors of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation are plotting HART’s future. Read more
State Rep. John Mizuno’s appointment by Gov. Josh Green as state homelessness coordinator was applauded by many, including me, because of the experience and passion he brought to the job. Read more
Writing in December’s Hawaii Bar Journal about the massive local corruption exposed by federal law enforcers, University of Hawaii emeritus law professor Randall Roth derided the persistent inaction of state and county authorities as “willful blindness.” Read more
Offending those in power is sometimes a necessary part of my work. Read more
Despite the official bumbling so prevalent here, there were players who stepped up with noble efforts in 2023 and are worth watching in the new year. Read more
For Christmas Eve, we’ll leave the troubles of the world aside and share some of my favorite holiday quotations: Read more
I got to know Pam Burns, longtime driving force of the Hawaiian Humane Society, when we were volunteer judges at Scrabble tournaments for the kids at Kuhio Park Terrace. Read more
The only thing reflected by the reflecting pools around our state Capitol is the futlessness of our local government that keeps us from becoming a better Hawaii. Read more
I’m a cultural illiterate when it comes to Taylor Swift and the millions of screaming “Swifties” flocking to her “Eras Tour,” which celebrates the phases of her career. Read more
The celebrations at the end of the year used to be known simply as the Christmas break. Read more
Amid the gloominess about the health of the newspaper industry, I’m occasionally heartened by signs of hope. Read more
To understand why it’s so hard to change things for the better in Hawaii, just look at the list of nominees the Maui Democratic Party sent Gov. Josh Green to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Gil Keith-Agaran. Read more
Perhaps the greatest failure of our state government during the COVID-19 pandemic was the breakdown of the unemployment insurance system. Read more
