Peter Yee: The volunteer moderator helps Hawaii’s jobless residents navigate the trials of filing unemployment claims

• By Maureen O’Connell
• March 26, 2021

What is Hawaii Unemployment Updates & Support Group, exactly? And what’s a hot topic of group discussion? Read more

Rhonda Loh: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rebounds from the 2018 Kilauea eruption and the pandemic

• By Maureen O’Connell
• March 5, 2021

The park closed during Gov. David Ige’s stay-at-home order. Since summer, we’ve implemented a phased reopening of outdoor areas. Read more

Dr. Libby Char, Hawaii’s health director, is heartened by vaccinations but warns that much about COVID-19 remains unknown

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Feb. 19, 2021

Five questions with Dr. Libby Char, director of the health department. Read more

John De Fries: The Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO wants isles’ visitor industry to be sensitive to Hawaiian culture and kamaaina ways of living

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Jan. 22, 2021

Thoughts on state House Speaker Scott Saiki’s intent to push for a statewide Safe Travels Hawaii program (no opt-out) that would apply to all counties? Read more

Q&A: Halona Norton-Westbrook, Honolulu Museum of Art CEO

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Jan. 1, 2021

What’s in the works for 2021 exhibitions and programming at HoMA? Read more

Kumi Macdonald: The head of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Hawaii helps people struggling with pandemic-related stress

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Dec. 11, 2020

What does NAMI Hawaii do? And how have restrictions/worries tied to the pandemic affected your work? Read more

Angela Keen: Former TV journalist helps track down quarantine scofflaws through her Kapu Breakers Facebook group

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Oct. 30, 2020

I’m a former TV news reporter. In my days at KGMB News (now Hawaii News Now), I often would dig up information for colleagues simply because I enjoyed being a super sleuth. For quarantine breakers, if a checked name comes back as someone who should be in quarantine, I then do a deep dig online. Read more

Q&A with Alphonso Braggs, president of the NAACP in Hawaii

• By Maureen O’Connell
• June 19, 2020

Alphonso Braggs, president of the NAACP in Hawaii, takes the lead on social justice advocacy in the islands. Read more

Q&A with Department of Health psychologist Lesley Slavin

• By Maureen O’Connell
• May 29, 2020

Q&A with Salvation Army officer helping to deliver meals in Hawaii during COVID-19 pandemic

• By Asked by Maureen O’Connell
• May 8, 2020

Maj. Phil Lum helps The Salvation Army deliver thousands of meals to those in need during the pandemic. Read more

Gearing up to go green in Hawaii

• By Maureen O’Connell
• March 1, 2020

Hawaii’s count of registered electric vehicles topped 11,000 last month, a mere 1% of the overall passenger vehicle tally. But over the next few decades, if local government clean-energy pledges hold, we’ll eventually see far fewer gas guzzlers. Read more

Name in the News: Daniela Spoto Kittinger, Hawaii Appleseed’s anti-hunger director

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Jan. 17, 2020

Hawaii Appleseed’s anti-hunger director focuses on resources, nutrition and resiliency. Read more

Name in the News: Norm Baker, Aloha United Way’s interim CEO

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Dec. 27, 2019

Aloha United Way’s interim CEO guides the agency’s programs to improve challenged lives. Read more

Bill 25 standoff reveals difficulty in requiring greener energy as part of Oahu’s building code

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Oct. 27, 2019

Opposing the latest draft of Bill 25 are some housing industry groups and the developers of Oahu’s two largest new residential projects. Read more

Work on Hawaii’s $3.2B airport modernization project hits halfway mark

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Aug. 25, 2019

Spending on the $3.2 billion modernization effort underway across Hawaii’s airport system is at the halfway point, and most of the big-ticket capital improvement projects are slated to wrap up by December 2021. Read more

Aging Hawaii: Saving for the silver years

• By Maureen O’Connell
• March 24, 2019

Advocates for the elderly push for legislation to create another way to save for retirement. Read more

Heather Lusk: HHHRC’s leader directs help to those with HIV

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Feb. 8, 2019

In tandem with her work at the nonprofit, which took shape last summer, Heather Lusk is active on more than a dozen task forces and groups tackling community issues. Read more

Courses that teach high schoolers about money are few and far between

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Nov. 25, 2018

Lessons in money management are useful, especially in a state where high school grads face daunting cost-of-living issues, not to mention the nationwide rising price tag for a college education. Read more

Christine Sakuda wants to modernize state’s IT infrastructure

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Nov. 23, 2018

Hawaii still lags decades behind other states in tapping information technology as a means to step up transparency and speed responsiveness in state government operations. But progress is in the works. Read more

Insight: Hawaii has long history of strict firearms laws

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Sept. 30, 2018

While a recent court ruling tests “open carry” here, Hawaii’s history of strict firearms laws is assessed. Read more

Hawaii Opioid Initiative: Remedy for relief

• By Maureen O’Connell
• Aug. 19, 2018

Unlike cases soaring across the U.S., Hawaii’s rate of opioid misuse is low — and an action plan is working to keep it that way. Read more