Welcome to Hawaii, the pessimist’s delight. If you don’t like our economy, wait, it can get worse. Back in 2011, former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie was the new governor, winning on a campaign of “I can handle this economy.”
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If there is any political relevance left to Hawaii’s Republican Party, Donald Trump and the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters last week destroyed it.
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Today’s question: What is a six-letter word ending in a double vowel that describes a place that is also the site of multiple dilemmas?
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Eleven years ago, Hawaii was plunging into financial desperation.
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Yes, the warning signs are all pointing to a rough 2021. You can be assured that times are never good if what everyone’s idea of hope is deliverance by the federal government.
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As 2020 ends, so does Kirk Caldwell’s final term as mayor. He has been mayor since 2013, also serving briefly before that as interim mayor.
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There are political institutions and then there is Ann Kobayashi, the Honolulu City Council chairwoman, who in two stretches has served for 17 years on the Council.
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If there was good news for the local Republican Party coming out of the just-concluded presidential election, it is that the Hawaii GOP got 67,755 more presidential votes in 2020 than in 2016.
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Rick Blangiardi is starting his City Hall career with an astounding success: He won with 58% of the vote, with a whopping 224,218 voters saying “yes” to his candidacy.
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In 1975, it was Rick Blangiardi’s eye for details that made him stand out.
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The late Hawaii lobbyist John Radcliffe was fond of advising clients and colleagues to “have a plan.”
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The state plans to start processing ballots on Oct. 24 so they will be able deliver a first report shortly after 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, with a second report around 10 p.m. So go vote.
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As speculation increases that the half-finished, nearly $9 billion project is going to run out of money, neither man has been able to say what they will do if that happens.
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Ige is able to listen to critics and adjust; the remaining question is, why must it be so difficult?
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We have two politicians with a demonstrated ability to talk and and talk, struck mute when the question is, “What will you do about rail?”
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If Brian Schatz is now learning how to use those federal tools and has the interest in doing so, it will open a new era in federal leadership.
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Once, we could worry about king tides and whether we should build a 30-meter telescope on Mauna Kea. We fretted over the city’s much-fumbled rail project or if the city and state could mash up some coherent COVID-19 crisis plans.
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In the time before COVID-19, back in January, Hawaii’s government leaders were looking at what they called “a historic collaboration.”
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