In its frenzy to show concern after the bribery scandal involving state Sen. J. Kalani English and Rep. Ty Cullen, the House named an advisory commission to suggest improvements to the state’s ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws. Read more
Hawaii U.S. Attorney Clare Connors had quite the introduction after a month on the job, presiding over the announcement of a federal wire fraud and bribery case she inherited against former state Sen. J. Kalani English and state Rep. Ty Cullen. Read more
State leaders talk about affordable housing, but each time there’s a chance to achieve it, their gaze turns to shiny distractions. Read more
It’s the last Sunday in January and time to “flASHback” on the month’s news that amused and confused: Read more
Every five or six years, my writing day falls on my wedding anniversary, and it doesn’t feel romantic to ruminate about my usual topics. Read more
Video of former city Corporation Counsel Donna Leong being handcuffed and perp-walked into FBI offices to be served a federal conspiracy indictment epitomized a sorry period of city governance. Read more
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Hawaii’s 1954 Democratic revolution has been well documented, marking the ouster of the ruling business oligarchy by returned nisei World War II veterans and others seeking a more equal society. Read more
January is a time for fresh starts, and we at Volcanic Ash observe a tradition of clearing the air each new year by offering public officials we may have offended the year before inspiring quotes from the world’s great minds to lift our leaders to bigger and better things in the year ahead. Read more
It’s the last Sunday of 2021 and time to “flASHback” on the year’s news that amused and confused: Read more
Mayor Rick Blangiardi gave as close as any city leader has come to a candid assessment of Honolulu rail finances in an appearance last week on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii.” Read more
Eulogies of the late Republican Sen. Bob Dole noted the personal civility and spirit of political compromise he and his generation of lawmakers represented. Read more
Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the City Council have written yet another blank check to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation despite its repeated malfeasance in handling Oahu rail money. Read more
It’s the last Sunday in November and time to “flASHback” on the month’s news that amused and confused: Read more
The rail agency’s projections of funds needed to complete the 20-mile commuter line from Kapolei to Honolulu miraculously shrank from $12.5 billion estimated in March to $11.48 billion, while the projected deficit dipped to $1.97 billion Read more
The new mystery novel by Chip Hughes, “Barking Sands,” features a character loosely based on our mutual friend, the late jazz pianist Les Peetz. Read more
Years ago, when I was managing editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, a local high school yearbook published a photo of Black students with a caption making a clearly racist crack about watermelons. Read more
Public officials accuse me of never saying anything good about their hard work, so to prove them wrong I’ll have nothing but good to say this month as we “flASHback” on October’s news that amused and confused: Read more
In my last year of Babe Ruth League baseball, I was catching a game, and the other team’s catcher — a large, muscular fellow who would soon become an all-state high school football lineman — was on third base representing the tying run. Read more
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is set to pay millions more in legal costs to obtain 2 acres of Kakaako rail easements from the Howard Hughes Corp. than it originally expected to pay for the property itself. Read more
Last week Colleen Hanabusa told Hawaii News Now the top priority of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation she chairs is “building public confidence.” Read more
From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been inundated with numbers. Read more
