Opinion
Talking story about values.
The staff reporters at Aloha State Daily have a clear mission on the news side of the house: to tell you what happened, not what to think or how to feel about what happened. Here in the opinion section, we want to talk story about values — what we think Hawai‘i should do, or should not do, and why. This is where we welcome informed debate and where people can argue for their perspective.
Community Voices: Idle Land and Natural Resources funds
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has racked up some unencumbered balances from its State Parks Special Fund, the Special Land and Development Fund, the Turtle Bay Conservation Easement Special Fund, and more.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 10, 2026
Community Voices: The kind of playbook Hawaiʻi lawmakers need
State and county lawmakers have started taking small steps to lift some of the many regulations that have stifled homebuilding in Hawaiʻi, but bold action is needed to pare back decades of bad policy.
Keliʻi Akina & Ph.D.February 10, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Remembering Bob Krauss
Krauss had influence on Hawaiʻi politics, culture and more, including family.
Letters to the EditorFebruary 10, 2026
Community Voices: Maintaining Hilo's Keaukaha Beach Park
A recent cleanup at Puhi Bay was initiated to utilize community resources and ʻike to support the park's transition into community-driven management. Discussions remain ongoing between Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Keaukaha Community Association, which helped organize the event called “People for Puhi,” along with the group, Kānewala.
Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi February 10, 2026
Community Voices: Beyond the poverty line: Why income alone doesn't tell Hawaiʻi's economic story
Several states and regions have created multidimensional poverty measures tailored to their specific contexts. Hawaiʻi could do the same.
Corey IdleburgFebruary 07, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Economic diagnosis déjà vu
Something about the new report from UHERO about Hawai‘iʻs weak economy seemed awfully familiar ... namely, everything. Here are things you need to know about what's been going on for decades and what you can do about it.
A. Kam NapierFebruary 06, 2026
Hamada: Look after your heart for American Heart Month
Three guests on my show recently shared personal and professional stories of how heart disease impacts all of our lives in Hawai‘i.
Rick HamadaFebruary 04, 2026
Residual spirits at Morgan’s Corner
Arguably the most famous haunted place on O‘ahu is Morgan's Corner in Nu‘uanu. Do you know the real story behind it? Turns out, there's more than one possible explanation for the things seen and presences felt where life and death intersect on Nu‘uanu Pali Drive.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiFebruary 04, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Shopping Carts II — This time, it's buy-back!
The bill to punish businesses when their shopping carts get stolen and abandoned moved forward, and got weirder.
A. Kam NapierFebruary 04, 2026
Community Voices: Bringing hula to Kentucky
As an alakaʻi of Kumu Kawika Keikialiʻi Alfiche, Kaila Chung has led Hui Kaululehua in Louisville since 2022.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonFebruary 04, 2026
Community Voices: Tax versus Judiciary
There are two Hawaiʻi Supreme Court cases pending that involve fights over the extent to which courts can get involved with the Department of Taxation.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 03, 2026
Community Voices: Honolulu’s economic revitalization office has revitalized very little
Ultimately, this should come as a shock to no one.
Keliʻi Akina & Ph.D.February 02, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i’s proposed anti-ICE laws mimic Minneapolis in the worst ways
On Tuesday, Gov. Green and Hawai‘i lawmakers stood in front of some wild allegations about ICE, and they're about to rush legislation as if every horror story on display were true.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 31, 2026
Whispers in the holding cells
If trauma and intense emotion can lead to hauntings, it's no surprise that a former police station, once home to holding cells, would harbor lingering echoes of the past.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJanuary 28, 2026
Hamada: Something important happened at Honolulu's anti-ICE protest
No violence at all. What we see happening on the Mainland isn't the way things need to be.
Rick HamadaJanuary 28, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Legislature to clamp down on ... shopping carts!?
House Bill 1636 wants businesses to pay $500 fines when their shopping carts are stolen and dumped. There's an entire mindset at work behind the idea that the way to solve a problem — abandoned carts — is to rob the store a second time with a fine.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 27, 2026
Community Voices: New year, new variance
One way agencies can continue striving for improvement in their service to Hawaiʻi’s people is by filling out variance reports, and for legislators to facilitate that improvement.
Tom YamachikaJanuary 27, 2026
Community Voices: Finding her niche in repatriation
Sarah Sissum serves as the repatriation fellow at the Field Museum’s Center for Repatriation, Tribal Relations, and Provenance Research in Chicago. There, she helps facilitate the return of human remains and sacred objects to their respective Indigenous communities.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonJanuary 26, 2026
Hawai‘i’s evolution, as related by Tom Coffman
“Statehood wasn't the end of history, but a transition to a new history,” Tom Coffman once said. “Statehood allowed Hawai‘i to open up, and to let people assert themselves more, and allowed the genie of the Hawaiian movement to get out of the lantern.” Here, our political historian examines Coffman's life in the Islands as an investigative journalist, historian and filmmaker.
Perry ArrasmithJanuary 26, 2026
Community Voices: Alternatives to ‘pausing’ Hawai‘i’s income tax cuts
A Grassroot analysis of the governor’s proposed budget shows that rather than walk back the tax cuts, the Legislature could simply identify and reallocate about $350 million a year in current state funding to make up for the governor’s projected expenses.
Keliʻi Akina & Ph.D.January 26, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Confusion reigns at Legislature opening day
Attendees spent the morning asking "Where do we go? What do we do?" No one seemed to know.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 22, 2026
The haunting history of Kualoa
Long regarded as sacred, Kualoa was originally a special place reserved for chiefs and it was once a place where ali‘i from O‘ahu and Maui wrestled for control. With legends dating back to ancient times, and more modern tragedies as well, spirits of the past make their presence known.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJanuary 21, 2026
Aloha State Daily Turns One
This site went live a year ago as the new news for Hawai‘i. Our editor talks about the site's growth since then and about the team who makes it all happen.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 21, 2026
Hamada: Word salads on the menu this Legislative session
Politicians have their own language, and Hawai‘i's politicians have perfected the art of sounding like they're doing something when they're really ... not. Check out these statements from the Hawai‘i Senate Majority Outlook for examples, as the Legislature kicks off this week.
Rick HamadaJanuary 20, 2026