Opinion

Community Voices: ‘Diversified ag’ rhetoric often doesn’t match reality

Hawai‘i's farmers often feel like their crops have to fight their way through a thick blanket of regulations, but there's some good news on that front from Maui County.

Keliʻi AkinaJune 11, 2025

Hawai‘i's forgotten governor

He served two terms at a pivotal moment in Hawai‘i history, now his official portrait is in storage. Who was he and what happened to his legacy?

Perry ArrasmithJune 09, 2025

Community Voices: The Unseen Stopper Committees

The recently concluded Legislative session highlighted an undemocratic trend at the Legislature — finance committees gaining power over legislation of all kinds, whether there's a financial impact or not.

Tom YamachikaJune 09, 2025

Beware Nu‘uanu Pali Drive

Lush and beautiful as it may be, Nu‘uanu Valley also has a dark side as the site of the battle that defined King Kamehameha's Hawai‘i and as the home to infamously haunted Morgan's Corner.

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 04, 2025

Community Voices: Bills from the 2025 legislative session that will most impact Native Hawaiians

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs aims to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians through advocacy, research, funding and more. Here is a breakdown of the measures that would advance its mission, if approved by Gov. Josh Green.

Michèle McCoyJune 03, 2025

Community Voices: Light at the End

While previous laws put a 15-year statute of limitations on uncollected tax debt, the state Department of Taxation had been finding legal workarounds to chase the money past that point. Act 68, recently signed into law by Gov. Josh Green, requires the state Department of Taxation to release tax debt that it hasn't been able to collect.

Tom YamachikaJune 02, 2025

Community Voices: No, we don’t have low property taxes

Property tax bills are based on assessed values, and Hawai‘i has extremely high property values. So when you calculate the actual money owed, we’re closer to the middle of the pack. In addition, Hawai‘i is the only state that does not use property taxes to fund public education, so of course you would expect its county property tax rates to be relatively low.

Keliʻi AkinaMay 30, 2025

Smoke and Whispers at the State Capitol

Something more than the memory of thousands of failed bills haunts the State Capitol, possibly including a gubernatorial ghost.

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 28, 2025

Community Voices: Legislators ignore rules for special funds

The state Office of the Auditor analyzed 86 proposed special and revolving funds proposed by the Legislature in this past session. Not a single one of them met the legal criteria for establishing such funds.

Tom YamachikaMay 26, 2025

Community Voices: Cleaning up Hawai‘i’s permitting mess

A new report from the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization shows that Hawai‘i permit delays in 2024 were at some of the worst levels ever. But I’m glad to report policy changes at the state and county levels that could make a real dent in these delays.

Keliʻi AkinaMay 22, 2025

Community Voices: Economic prosperity rises from the bottom up

Special for ASD, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice looks at the recent Legislative sessionʻs hits and misses.

Will CaronMay 21, 2025

Strange occurrences at Diamond Head

The legend of Hawaii’s night marchers has endured over time, and the ghostly procession is still seen today all around the islands, even at Lē‘ahi, the Hawaiian name for Diamond Head.

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 21, 2025

Community Voices: 2025 Legislative Also-Rans

This week, we will be looking at a few bills that passed both houses of the legislature, but did not make it through conference. Those bills may come back to haunt us next year, including capital gains taxes, "green fees" on Hawai‘i visitors and more.

Tom YamachikaMay 19, 2025

Community Voices: Another chance to make things right on civil asset forfeiture

A plea for Gov. Josh Green to sign into law HB126, which would limit civil asset forfeiture to only cases in which the property owners have been charged with a crime.

Keliʻi AkinaMay 14, 2025

The Haunting Legacy of Ali‘iōlani Hale

The Massie Case may still haunt this building — literally!

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 14, 2025

Pipikaula Corner: Sen. Schatz drops f-bomb, contradictions

The senator is mad, folks, really mad!

A. Kam NapierMay 12, 2025

Uncles and Aunties: Barbara Tinius, Ikenobo sensei

Kailuaʻs Barbara Tinius first explored the Japanese art of flower arrangement when woking in Tokyo in the ’80s. She has since achieved 16 levels of certification in the art and teaches classes that you can take yourself.

Cheryl Chee TsutsumiMay 10, 2025

Community Voices: Your Zip code shouldn’t determine your access to mental health care

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we must confront the reality that where you live can define whether you receive life-saving care or none at all.

Amanda Pump and Michael Young & Child & Family ServiceMay 08, 2025

Community Voices: Partnering is a proven process for building stronger teams, securing better outcomes and preventing disputes

For organizations looking to improve internal alignment, stakeholder engagement, and/or internal or external collaboration, this structured, facilitation-based process offers a compelling alternative to traditional problem-solving and strategic planning models.

Gerald “Jerry” ClayMay 08, 2025

Mysterious Whispers at Kawaiaha‘o

Spectral experiences at Kawaiaha‘o Church and its neighboring cemetery, which sit on lands in use by Hawaiians since before Westerners arrived.

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 07, 2025

Community Voices: Legislature on a housing-reform streak

Bills were passed this session that would cut back on the school impact fees, permitting delays, and layers of rules that impede housing.

Keliʻi AkinaMay 07, 2025

Community Voices: The major raid that wasn’t

The state Legislature came close to raiding nearly $320 million from 97 different special funds this session.

Tom YamachikaMay 05, 2025

Pipikaula Corner: The kids need more ... indoctrination?

A case study in how goofy ideas trickle down from New York to Honolulu. The latest argument? Hawai‘i's public schools need to be turned into factories of "resistance." Someone dust off the Pink Floyd albums!

A. Kam NapierMay 03, 2025

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