On Monday, a Circuit Court judge ordered that 85-year-old Beverly Shimabukuro, a Liliha resident charged with first-degree arson, be transferred from an Oahu Community Correctional Center jail cell to the Hawaii State Hospital for a mental health examination. Read more
State legislators have their heads in the clouds with a renewed bid to make Hawaii the 26th state to legalize recreational cannabis. Read more
The “soft opening” last week for a state-run Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC) in a city-owned Iwilei building is a positive step for the state and city governments, a cooperative arrangement that increases reach and efficiency for both. Read more
Isle residents who were around some 30 years ago would remember just how combative the same-sex fight in Hawaii was. Read more
Hawaii’s high housing costs are major hurdles for the state’s public school and charter school teachers, and hamper the Department of Education (DOE) in recruiting new teachers. Read more
Critics charge that Kim and the HRE overstepped their authority by wrongfully seeking to control UH administrative decisions, ousting a regent just as the board prepares to choose a new UH president — and they’re right. Read more
The State of the Union address may not be the must-see-TV it once was, at least among political junkies, but this year’s edition had more than the usual draw. Read more
The state Legislature is fielding a first-pass measure that aims to stanch what is expected to be a rising tide of deepfakes in the run-up to November. Read more
Mayor Rick Blangiardi has proposed a $3.63 billion operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year, beginning July 1. Read more
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Hawaii leaders have been contemplating the enactment of a “green fee” for several years to enable better care of the state’s natural and cultural resources, many of them under duress from increased use by island visitors. Read more
Climate change has brought enormous cause for worry about impacts on the environment and property. Read more
Construction will grow in Hawaii over the next few years, fueled by major federal and state projects. Read more
Hawaii’s governor has certainly not gone looking for a fight with West Maui’s short-term rental (STR) owners over Maui fire survivors’ need to secure longterm housing — but an increasingly desperate search for housing near now-incinerated Lahaina homes has pushed the state and Maui County to a breaking point. Read more
Without any doubt, the Honolulu Police Department needs to deploy every means to train the next generation of officers. Read more
Build Beyond Barriers (BBB), a working group formed by Gov. Josh Green to streamline bureaucratic procedures, cut costs and speed creation of affordable housing here, is finished after only seven months. Read more
The decline in Hawaii’s population due at least in part to the out-migration of young working adults has been well documented. Read more
The value in Senate Bill 3328, if there is any, is that lawmakers would use it to hold the state Department of Education accountable to correct the floundering school construction process — and that they would insist on a plan before putting the DOE back in total control of facilities. Read more
More than a smattering of skepticism has greeted news that the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) plans to restart a program of issuing undivided interest lease awards, aka “paper leases.” Read more
Potential costs to the state for recovery from the Maui wildfires is drawing intense scrutiny from the state Senate, and for good reason. Read more
When children go to school, the employees assume responsibility for keiki safety and well-being. That temporary custody should mean that, collectively, the adults working there must account for behavior that falls short of that standard. Read more
On a graph, the track of Japanese visitors to Hawaii would trace a clear “V” outline. For years soaring along at high levels, it would start cratering in 2020 at a point aligning precisely with the COVID-19 global lockdowns. Read more
