Opinion

The budget that doesn't grow

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi did something remarkable early this month in releasing a city budget that came in $133 million under the previous year's budget. ASD columnist Sterling Higa looks at all four county budgets to see which counties are living within the means of their citizens.

Community Voices: Where’s your second tax return?

If passed, HB2429 would require you to file not just one tax return but two — and one of them will be open to the public.

Pipikaula Corner: Who says “Honolulu wants an anti-ICE police chief?”

Advocacy journalism from Civil Beat last week asserts that the whole city wants the next HPD chief of police to be a political warrior. Does it? Seems the next chief has their work cut out for them on improving the basics. Here's data on how HPD performs at clearing crimes.

Community Voices: The first coconut grove planted on Maui in over 100 years

The idea for Uluniu o Kapuawailana emerged about two years ago when Collier crossed paths with Niu Now members Indrajit Gunasekara, Kekaula Hanohano and Jesse Mikasobe-Kealiinohomoku. Together, they envisioned a way to reconnect people with coconut as a cultural responsibility and a foundation of food sovereignty.

Community Voices: The Legislature found $150 million. So where’s our tax relief?

Gov. Josh Green kicked off this year’s session claiming the state’s budget crunch is so bad that it justifies “pausing” the phase-in of the historic income tax cuts he signed into law in 2024. If that’s true, why has the Legislature put forth a budget that blows past his suggested spending by more than $195 million?

Hawai‘i's celebrity politicians

From Duke Kahanamoku to Herman Wedemeyer to Augie Tulba, there have been local celebrities who have added one more role to resume — politician. ASD columnist Perry Arrasmith walks us through the legends.

Who controls the rain?

Conspiracy theories fell like raindrops, even as the Kona Low system pummeled the Islands. ASD columnist Sterling Higa digs into what it means as people search for answers to calamity.

The Mana of King Lunalilo

On his deathbed, King William Charles Lunalilo expressed a wish to be buried among his people rather than among the kings and chiefs and so he was interred in a tomb at Kawaiaha‘o Church. That's where the author personally had a profound experience of an otherworldly nature.

Hamada: Beware the scammers who take advantage of bad times

In the wake of a calamity like the Kona Low floods, people generously step up to help — while others wickedly step up to steal. ASD columnist Rick Hamada has advice for how to avoid charitable giving scams.

Pipikaula Corner: The climate change dodge

Hawai‘i lawmakers are advancing a bill that would allow insurers to sue fossil fuel companies when they have to make big payouts for disasters allegedly caused by climate change. What they really aim to do, however, is shield local government and powerful interests from accountability for any role they themselves may have played.

Community Voices: Building pilina on the Continent

Oregon- and Washington-serving nonprofit Olekona Hawaiian Civic Club's vision continues to center on Prince Kūhiō’s call to uplift the lāhui beyond the pae ʻāina. This is accomplished through scholarships, support for Native Hawaiian artists and businesses, increased access to health and traditional food services, the opening of spaces to learn mele, hula, oli, and traditional crafts, and culturally immersive summer programs.

Community Voices: Halftime report on tax bills

Gambling and recreational marijuana bills are dead but plenty of other new tax increases and incentives are still alive as bills cross over in the Hawai‘i state Legislature.

"Puh, Puh, Punahou"

ASD columnist Sterling Higa has three words for kama‘āina who hide their private school background — cut it out!

Community Voices: Is the Jones Act finally sinking?

President Donald Trump recently issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act and within 24 hours, foreign ships were being chartered to carry essential goods. When nearly every emergency, from hurricanes to military action, raises the need for a Jones Act waiver, it is time to stop issuing temporary waivers and start looking at permanent reform. 

Uncles and Aunties: Diane Harding, president of the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle

In a journey that has taken her from Kāne‘ohe to Boston and back, Diane Harding spent 40 years developing geophysics software for such projects as undersea cable across the Pacific. Now, as president of the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle, she tends to the beauty of the Islands.

Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i is hypocritical about vice

Yesterday's rally at the State Capitol against disposable vapes is an example of how lawmakers approach vices with a dazzling mix of inconsistency, hypocrisy and amnesia over the laws they've already passed.

The ghost dog at Kukui Plaza

Sightings, decades apart, of a ghostly dog suggest that an enduring presence roams the area of Downtown Honolulu that now houses Kukui Plaza.

Hamada: Anyone up for "Singin' in the Rain?"

Our recent roundup of Hawai‘i films to watch when kept indoors had ASD columnist Rick Hamada reflecting on his own favorites.

What the Carpenters couldn't buy

ASD columnist Sterling Higa writes that the PAC of the Carpenters Union has spent millions opposing candidates who have opposed rail spending, including Sylvia Luke. Now that she's politically vulnerable and facing challengers, the union might be getting what it wants.

Community Voices: Housing bills looked like winners, until they didn’t

This is regrettable not just because of what it means for Hawaiʻi’s ongoing housing crisis, but also because of the way it happened.

Community Voices: Threats to Greenland recall the annexation of Hawaiʻi

In Nuuk, the capital of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), thousands gathered in what the Naalakkersuisut (the Greenlandic government) described as the largest protest in the country’s history. Similarly, Kanaka Maoli march annually to mark 133 years since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. For both island homelands, foreign powers attempt to determine their futures.

Community Voices: A taxing debate

House and Senate bills in motion, if adopted, will define our state income taxes for the next several years. Letʻs take a closer look.

The ladder and the helicopter

ASD columnist Sterling Higa finds a lot to admire in how people responded to the weekend's storm and flooding. Not just among professionals such as the Honolulu Fire Department and the work crews of Hawaiian Electric, but among everyday citizens whose own preparations meant that they could help each other.

Aloha State Daily passes 10,000 Instagram followers

Social media is just one of the ways to keep up with us. Here are some of your options for being part of the Aloha State Daily story.

The not-so-harmless fun of ripping Pokémon packs

A gambling aspect has crept into even childhood diversions, writes ASD columnist Sterling Higa, as if nothing can be enjoyable if it doesn't contain a chance to win big.

Pipikaula Corner: Invisible Legislators

People take time out of their lives to participate in the democratic process by testifying before committee hearings. Too often, the committee isn't there.

Hamada: The SAVE America Act is important, and sensible

ASD columnist Rick Hamada finds Rep. Ed Case to be the only voice of reason among Hawai‘i's congressional delegation in voting in favor of the SAVE America act requiring that voters show ID to prove their eligibility to vote.

Early morning ghosts at Wahiawā General

Wahiawā in central O‘ahu has long been at the center of things. It once boasted extensive taro lo‘i. It was important to the sandalwood trade. As a modern community grew up around its agriculture, so did a town with a school that became a hospital. That's where this week's ghost story takes, in the wee hours, in the waiting room.

"The Rep from Bethlehem"

ASD columnist Sterling Higa explores how a recent exchange on the floor of the House of Representatives between House Majority Leader Sean Quinlan and Rep. Elijah Pierick went so wrong.

Community Voices: Fighting to save Hawai‘i's income tax cuts

Bills before the Legislature to claw back tax relief were met with stiff opposition from voters. These proposals to abandon announced tax relief have eroded public trust — and raised a lot of questions about our government’s commitment to reducing Hawai‘i’s cost of living.

Community Voices: Rental car loophole

Various bills in the Legislature propose to require car rental companies to pay 4.5% when they buy or import cars.

Community Voices: Understanding Blood Quantum

It was not until the 1921 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was passed by the U.S. Congress, with language defining “natives” as those individuals having 50% or more Hawaiian blood, that the idea of “blood quantum” to determine our Hawaiian-ness was introduced into the consciousness of our people.

The best Youtube videos on Hawai‘i’s problems

Content creators from outside the Islands have made compelling, long-form videos about conditions in Hawai‘i, observes ASD columnist Perry Arrasmith. Here are some of the best, plus a call for Hawai‘i's own filmmakers to get in the game.

Hamada: Hawai‘i needs to get serious about stopping sex-trafficking

The crime should be considered a capital offense, but Hawai‘i doesn't go that for in dealing with even the most heinous crimes, writes ASD columnist Rick Hamada.

The spirit at Plantation Hale

The Kaua‘i area now known as Waipouli was formerly known as Kololoku or Kaloloku Swamp, a former wetland where Native Hawaiians once thrived. For half a century it's been developed for modern tourism, but the spirits remain and make themselves known.

Community Voices: A quiet pillar of the Polynesian voyaging renaissance

Milton “Shorty” Gervin Bertelmann (Aug. 15, 1947 – Nov. 26, 2025) was an extraordinary leader of Hōkūleʻa, who sailed twice from Hawai'i to Tahiti. Across his journeys, he raised the bar of excellence for voyaging, establishing rigorous standards of training, safety, preparation and conduct that remain foundational today.

More money won’t fix what’s broken in Hawai‘i’s schools

A bill before the Legislature would give the state powers it has never had to tax property, arguing it would give to money to education. The state wants us to forget that Hawai‘i's public schools already have enormous tax funding available to no other state — direct access to our income taxes and the GET we pay on every purchase we make. ASD columnist Sterling Higa has a counter proposal.

Community Voices: The Cruise Fee Quandary

The state argues that the Green Fee isn’t a tax on maritime traffic but the cruise ship industry says otherwise.

Community Voices: The hidden problem with emergency powers

Bills currently before the Legislature would put some much needed restrictions on Hawai‘i's emergency powers law, which grant the governor and mayors extraordinary control with little accountability. They would also provide the Legislature with the means to end a declared emergency.

Hamada: State of the Union — fractured

We're looking at a Congress in which one party would rather sit on its hands than stand or applaud the most basic decencies or functions of government.

The growth we say we want in Hawai‘i (but really don't)

Hawai‘i constantly says it wants economic growth but has been allergic to one thing necessary to make that happen: More people. We need bigger families, not smaller, and to be more welcoming to people moving to the Islands.

More paranormal activity at Paradise Park

Paradise Park stands suspended between memory and mystery. On one hand, the visitor center reasons open and lively, even if the majority of the park closed years ago. As for the rest of the property, what was once a place of celebration and song now rests quietly beneath a canopy of trees, overtaken by the forest. Whether the strange occurrences are echoes of the past or simply imagination, the valley has always carried a spiritual weight that demands respect.

‘Ōkolehao gets a hearing (or two)

Modern-day local distillers of ‘ōkolehao, the Hawaiian spirit distilled from ki plant roots, are before the Legislature this session, looking for the sort of legal protections afforded to such local products as Kona coffee, in competition with outside brands trying to capitalize on the name. It's the latest chapter in Hawai‘i's 200-year on-again, off-again love affair with what has been called Hawai‘i's brandy or moonshine at different times. Here's a look at its colorful past — King David Kalakaua loved it, Queen Lili‘uokalani tried to curtail it — and the present-day quest to define and preserve ‘ōkolehao as a uniquely Hawai‘i product.

Community Voices: Time to tackle Hawaiʻi’s health care crisis

There are several significant health care bills still making their way through the Legislature. Perhaps the most important are those that would reform the state’s medical “certificate of need” regulations.

Community Voices: Reviving Hawaiʻi’s extreme sport

Tom Pōhaku Stone, a waterman, cultural practitioner and educator, brought back heʻe hōlua, or land sledding, and is considered to be Hawaiʻi’s foremost expert in the sport. For the last 30 years, Stone has ridden his papa hōlua (sled) on ancient hōlua slides and grassy hills across the pae‘āina.

Community Voices: Use that hoarded tuition and fees now

If this special fund – almost $429 million as of June 2025 – cannot be deployed now by The University of Hawaiʻi, lawmakers will try to beat it out of the taxpayers, now.

Pipikaula Corner: State government is the hazard

The Legislature said it was going to tackle Hawai‘i's affordability crisis. In killing tax relief on our grocery purchases, it's doing the opposite. Meanwhile, it's commandeering hundreds of millions to pay its own workers hazard pay for the Covid years.

Community Voices: More local food starts with housing

A look at several measures that have been introduced during this year’s state legislative session that could actually make a difference for Hawaiʻi’s farmers and ranchers, and for Hawaiʻi residents and consumers as a whole.

Paranormal activity at Paradise Park

If you want to understand why Mānoa Valley is filled with spirits and strange occurrences, consider that even the beauty of its endless rainbows has a dark side in the tragic story of Kahalaopuna, the famed “Rainbow Princess” of Mānoa.

Hamada: Hawai‘i's classrooms should be politically neutral

A quality public education used to include a solid grounding in civics — a neutral understanding of how the government works and how to participate in the democratic process. Now it includes activist teachers using the classroom as a pulpit for their personal politics.

Uncles and Aunties: How John Rampage first got into theater and is shaping performers today

Over his 54-year career in theater, Rampage has acted in, directed and/or choreographed more than 90 different shows, including Tony Award winners “Evita,” “Cabaret,” “The Producers” and “A Chorus Line.” Since 1995, he has served as Diamond Head Theatre's artistic director.

Community Voices: Civic engagement does not negate nationhood

In the 19th century, organizations such as Hui Kālaiʻāina and Hui Aloha ʻĀina mobilized tens of thousands of Kānaka Maoli to defend constitutional governance, national sovereignty and the authority of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Community Voices: Pause versus stop

Amid a $3 billion budget shortfall, here's a proposal: no changes to tax cuts in 2026 and pause the tax cuts planned for 2027 through 2029.

Letter to the Editor: Mediation plays a major role

A reader shares a past example when mediation worked for evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, renters unable to pay rent will have more resources to avoid eviction through the state's Pre-Eviction Mediation Filing Program.

The Incredible Shrinking Voter of Honolulu

The voting power of the average O‘ahu resident has declined over the past century, to where each of the nine city council members now represent more than 112,000 people across multiple neighborhoods. That's twice as many people as a Hawai‘i state senator represents. There are some efforts underway to change that.

Echoes of The Willows

Generations of kama‘āina have warm memories of The Willows restaurant in Mō‘ili‘ili. Here's the real history of the location, and the reasons why people who worked there heard singing when no one was present and saw the footprints of ghostly children.

Hamada: Super Bowl shenanigans

The selection of Bad Bunny seemed calculated to provoke more than entertain. Why can't entertainment just be ... entertaining?

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.

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.

Letter to the Editor: Remembering Bob Krauss

Krauss had influence on Hawaiʻi politics, culture and more, including family.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Community Voices: Bringing hula to Kentucky

As an alakaʻi of Kumu Kawika Keikialiʻi Alfiche, Kaila Chung has led Hui Kaululehua in Louisville since 2022.

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.

Community Voices: Honolulu’s economic revitalization office has revitalized very little

Ultimately, this should come as a shock to no one.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Community Voices: Kuleana to care for whales as living ancestors

Traditionally, koholā (humpback whales) are acknowledged as ancient beings and considered to be a kinolau (manifestation) of Kanaloa, the god of the ocean – which is why they may be referred to as “Kanaloa” by cultural practitioners.

Community Voices: More idle special funds, this time in ag

Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi takes a look at the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity's 2026 Report on Non-General Fund Appropriations, and some projections aren't adding up.

Uncles and Aunties: What Darren Ho can do with a chainsaw and a block of ice

An internationally acclaimed ice sculptor, Darren Ho began his ice-carving career as a cook at what was then the Intercontinental Maui in Wailea, inspired by the work of a colleague. Still a Valley Isle resident, he now also owns the state's only business that makes the giant blocks of ice.

The Pilgrimage of Bob Krauss

A half-century ago, legendary journalist Bob Krauss joined a 300-mile trek across Hawai‘i island, inspiring his 1975 book, "The Island Way." In it he explored "an Island approach to our global future" that was influential on local politics at the time and very much worth revisiting today.

Hamada: Hawai‘i to get democratically stoned. Maybe.

State Representative David Tarnas is proposing a legalization of recreational marijuana initiative to appear on the November election day ballot. Since failure is the calling card in the legislature, he believes he can succeed if there is a direct binding vote from the people. 

Community Voices: How to achieve a policy trifecta

What if we could help farmers, ease the housing crisis and improve Hawaiʻi’s economy all at the same time?

Community Voices: The Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana celebrates 50 years of aloha ʻāina

“Laʻa, Maʻa, Paʻa; Sanctify, Sustain, Solidify,” is an ʻōlelo noʻeau from Aunty Alice Kuloloio of Maui that has been adopted as the ʻOhana’s 50th Anniversary slogan. It provides vision for their aloha ʻāina work.

Community Voices: No need for idle DOE funds

Will the state Department of Education spend its money or just keep asking lawmakers for more?

Pipikaula Corner: Schatz, Tokuda, Hirono, fanning flames over ICE

Three of our Congressional reps have spent years participating in a narrative that America is occupied by an illegitimate, authoritarian regime. It's getting their followers killed.

Community Voices: Complete this Word Find for a hidden message

A creative recap of the past year by the Tax Foundation of Hawai‘i with 26 key words and phrases having to do with government.

Hauntings at Honolulu's Yokohama Yokai

On the corner of Merchant and Bethel Streets in Downtown Hotel, you'll find the Yokohama Special Bank Building. It's a storied site, once home to the hale pili of ali‘i. After the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army took over the bank building as a military police station. Is it any wonder occupants have reported strange occurences?

Hamada: Hawai‘i not immune to antisemitism

What has been called "The Longest Hatred" is intensifying around the world, with incidents even here in the Islands.

Community Voices: OHA’s 2026 Legislative priorities

"The state legislative session that opens on the third Wednesday in January is particularly important for advancing policies that improve the conditions of Native Hawaiians and defending against attacks on Native Hawaiian rights."

Community Voices: Three simple resolutions for Hawaiʻi lawmakers in 2026

And if they stick to them, this year could be a great one for everyone who lives and works in Hawaiʻi.

Pipikaula Corner: Minnesota fraud vs. Hawai‘i taxpayers

It may seem far away, but if you want a sense of how massive the theft of federal dollars in Minnesota is, compare it to how much we in the Islands pay in federal taxes.

Pipikaula Corner: Honolulu drinking, by the numbers

Honolulu Liquor Commission data details a billion-dollar business.

Disembodied voices at Queen Kapi‘olani Hotel

Spirits ancient and modern have been heard and seen in the hallways and kitchens of this hotel, named for King David Kalākaua’s gracious wife.

Hamada: Remembering the late John Henry Felix and Cliff Slater

Both men, whom we lost this year, were passionately engaged in civic life. Felix as a longtime politician; Slater as a rail critic who brought facts and research to bear on the issue, back when it was projected to a cost a mere $1.8 billion.

Community Voices: The tax side of charitable giving in Hawai‘i

Is your giving deductible, or not? It depends. The Tax Foundation of Hawai‘i has advice.

Community Voices: Gaming this year?

Gambling that the Hawai‘i state Legislature just might explore legalized — and taxed — gambling in the upcoming session, here are some of the complications lawmakers will have to keep in mind.

Residual energy manifests at Ali‘i Place

More than a century ago, the site hosted stables that were burned down during an outbreak of bubonic plague. Now, it's home to the Ali‘i Place office tower. One tenant, the Prosecuting Attorney for Honolulu, is the kind of place where strong emotions leave a mark on their surroundings, resulting in eerie experiences.

Hamada: Why you should vote, especially if you think it doesn't matter

Through taxes and regulations, government touches your life 24/7, from your morning coffee to the clothes on your back. Voting is one way you can stand up for yourself — and with the number of races that are quite close, your vote really does matter.

Pipikaula Corner: Missing details on charter schools

Civil Beat has launched a three-part series on Hawai‘i's charter schools that seems to want to write them off as underperforming. There are some big caveats to that conclusion, however, that haven't been explored.

Community Voices: Uplifting Indigeneity on Turtle Island

Kēhaulani Vaughn, a professor based in California, was taught about Native Hawaiian values and her roots from her mom growing up. Today, she continues to perpetuate her culture and pursue academics, while taking care of her own ʻohana and helping to support the lāhui in the diaspora.

Community Voices: Collaboration, not controversy — the real story of genki balls and the Ala Wai

A Civil Beat article a few months ago looked at Hawai‘i Pacific University research suggesting that Genki Balls are ineffective. Since then, volunteers for Genki Ball days have dropped by 70%. Here, Genki Ala Wai Project leaders discuss the shortcomings of the HPU study and call for scientists and community members working together as the way forward.

Community Voices: There’s a new kids’ market in town

The Children’s Entrepreneur Market aims to help keiki learn about entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership through hands-on experience.

The dark history beneath Blaisdell Center

The Kewalo area where this entertainment complex now stands was once home to a pond called Kawailumalumai, or Drowning Waters. Members of the kauwā, the outcasts who were often used as sacrifice, were drowned there. People have reported seeing faces in the water of the present-day pond, including our ghost column author.

Op-Ed: Hawaiʻi’s regulation of humorous political speech is no laughing matter

Mathew Hoffmann is legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents satire site The Babylon Bee in its lawsuit challenging Hawaiʻi’s law that criminalizes the distribution of “materially deceptive media” that may risk harming “the reputation or electoral prospects” of politicians. He argues the law violates the First Amendment by targeting speech, including political memes, humor and satire.

Hamada: Trump steps in it over Reiner

The late director Rob Reiner was a harsh and dramatic critic of the president, but Trump's statement on the murder of Reiner and his wife, Michele, allegedly by their own son, was completely unnecessary.

Community Voices: Who decides what is historic?

A personal essay discovering how parts of Hawaiʻi’s past — houses and the land they sit on — are preserved, and a recommendation to the state for its future.

Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i's confidence crisis

People are not just packing their bags because Hawai‘i is expensive. They’re packing their bags because they don’t believe any institution can do anything about that, least of all the politicians and bureaucrats who set policy.

Community Voices: Lessons from Lahaina could help Hilo recover

Although the scope of the Lahaina and Hilo fires differs, the lesson is the same: Inflexible regulations can severely delay or even prevent rebuilding. Hawai‘i County could act now to identify and work around those barriers.

Huaka‘i Pō at First Hawaiian Center

First Hawaiian Center remains the tallest building in Downtown Honolulu. The property on which is stands is home to an amazing — and sometimes frightening — history. Long before there was a bank, a house stood on the property, known as Haleʻākalā. Bernice Pauahi lived there, as did the future Queen Liliʻuokalani. Duke Kahanamoku was born there. And some say Huaka‘i Pō, the Night Marchers, still make their presence known there.

Hamada: Debate on Hawaiʻi's taxis and rideshares

Some thoughts about the Honolulu City Council's legislation aimed at giving traditional taxi services an even playing field against Uber and Lyft. Plus, tips for drivers and riders.

Community Voices: Restoring abundance along our Skyline

The city’s new vision to bring food, culture and connection through food access hubs.

Community Voices: Making a federal case out of the Green Fee

The Cruise Line Industry Association has taken the unusual step of filing suit against Hawai‘i's new Green Fee in federal court.

Community Voices: Culture and imagination at play

How this group of creatives united to form Theorycraftist Games, a company that makes entertaining games, while integrating Hawaiian culture.

The Spirit of Kamakahonu

Hungry spirits and haunted history surround the King Kamehameha Hotel on the Kona Coast of Hawai‘i Island. The area of Kamakahonu was home the royal compound of Kamehameha I, where he worshipped at Ahu‘ena heiau and where the most influential figures in Hawaiʻi gathered nightly.

Hamada: Why I'm done with shopping in stores

’Tis the season to hit the malls ... or not!

Community Voices: Pitfalls in Hawai‘i tax appeals

When the Hawai‘i state Department of Taxation audits taxpayers, it sends them guidance about the legal process. But the guidance is 20 years old, and could lead taxpayers to do the wrong things in protecting themselves.

Community Voices: State-funded marketing is not the answer to low tourist turnout

Tourism is a competitive, global business. Someone needs to pay for advertising to keep Hawai‘i top of mind, but it shouldn't be local taxpayers.

Spooky shadows at the Pink Palace

The Royal Hawaiian Resort Waikīkī is nearly a century old, and at least three centuries of history and legends predate it at its seaside location. Is it any wonder guests have reported otherworldly experiences?

Hamada: Hard lessons about Iremamber Sycap

The City & County of Honolulu is poised to settle a lawsuit with Iremamber Sycap's family over his fatal shooting by Honolulu police in 2021. Are we doing everything we can to set young people on the right path before they get into trouble that could cost them their lives?

Community Voices: Bringing ‘ike kūpuna to genome sciences

Follow the path of human geneticist, Keolu Fox, a Native Hawaiian who aims to advance the lāhui in his field while on the Mainland, with hopes of returning home in the near future.

Community Voices: Lighting the way to safer streets in Waipahu and ‘Ewa

Residents in these Leeward neighborhoods are about to make their bus stops and crosswalks safer in a project led by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, aided with federal grant money.

Community Voices: Many of the proposed Honolulu Charter amendments actually make sense

Among the 250 charter amendment proposals submitted by the public were four from Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i aimed at speeding up permit approvals and improving cost-of-government accountability.

Uncles and Aunties: Meet Steve Butler, AKA Santa Claus

Wahiawā Heights resident Steve Butler has been appearing as Santa for 15 years. Looking the part helps, but he's also perfected his performance by attending the world's oldest Santa school.

Ups and downs of haunted Harbor Court

Long ago, the land under Harbor Court in Downtown Honolulu hosted a heiau and generations of Native Hawaiians. Layers of landfill and modern architecture may have covered the area, but they can't erase the lingering traces of the past.

Community Voices: Startup founders aim to make clean energy affordable in Hawai'i, beyond

Honolulu-based Shifted Energy was created in 2016 by co-founders Olin Lagon and Forest Frizzell "to enable widespread access to energy solutions," particularly for renters and underserved communities. Learn how the business has grown from a garage to thousands of installs in the Islands, Mainland and Canada.

Hamada: Government shutdown showed Hawai‘iʻs vulnerabilities

Groceries cost a "thrifty" family of four nearly $1,000 per month on the Mainland. In Hawai‘i, itʻs more like $1,500.

Community Voices: Student loan forgiveness gets complicated

Student loan forgiveness has been tied to working for the government or for certain nonprofits. Under new federal rules, that might depend on whether the state or local government, or nonprofit, engages in "substantial illegal activities" in the eyes of the federal government

Community Voices: Hawaiʻi’s rising child poverty is a policy choice — and we can choose better

New data suggests public programs work to meet basic needs for Hawaiʻi’s keiki. Here's how.

Haunted halls of Honolulu Hale

Honolulu's city hall, Honolulu Hale, is nearly a century old — old enough to acquire a reputation for sightings of a supernatural nature. Here's the history of how the building came to be, and what people have experienced in its hallways.

Hamada: Weighing emotions versus pragmatism on illegal immigration

Feelings to the contrary aside, nothing about the enforcement of immigration law contradicts America's ideals as a place the welcomes newcomers or that helps people escape oppression.

Pipikaula Corner: I am an AI hallucination!

"Don't let Hawaiian Kam Napier fool you," the closed captioning said. That's not what the speaker said, however. Welcome to the hallucinatory reality of current AI.

Community Voices: Health care providers might be overcharging on Hawai‘i taxes

Here's how some medical bills might run afoul of Hawai‘i tax laws in overcharging on the GET.

Community Voices: Kapa, ready to wear

Maui-born kapa maker turns traditional clothing into "pieces that people can wear every day.”

Pipikaula Corner: How the City keeps Honolulu afraid

On the issue of homelessness, it's as if the people and their government live on different planets. As an exchange at a recent Neighborhood Board meeting shows, everyday people are expressing real fear that goes unacknowledged by officials spouting jargon.

The bones beneath the Contessa

The Contessa condominium in Mo‘ili‘ili stands where Kamo‘ili‘ili Church and its mainly Hawaiian graveyard had served the community since 1850. The remains of nearly 500 people were moved for the condo, but workers and residents over the years have reported chilling tales of the spirits that remain.

What endures in Palaka?

Palaka — the fabric — has passed through many hands and generations to become a distinctive fabric of the Islands, reflecting its multicultural history. So, too, has Palaka Power, the political philosophy that took its name from the working-class history associated with the humble cloth. Is there a place for that philosophy now?

Community Voices: A life of service and advocacy for Native Hawaiians

Remembering Louis "Lui" Hao (Jan. 2, 1935 – June 20, 2025), a lifelong community servant, social justice advocate, and two-term OHA trustee.

Hamada: Awareness and compassion needed for mental health issues

People don't hesitate to get help if they catch a flu or sprain an ankle. Looking after one's mental health should be just as natural and free of shame or stigma.

Community Voices: The TATmas Tree

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is the latest state entity looking for dedicated funding via yet another increase to the Transient Accommodations Tax — but there are problems with both raising this tax repeatedly, and using it for automatic spending that never goes through the normal budgeting process. Here are some solutions.

Community Voices: Lahaina rebuilding inches toward progress

Maui County lawmakers have succeeded at removing some of the barriers to speedy reconstruction.

Ages of unrest at Windward Mall

The former Sears store in particular had been a nexus for unexplained activities — staffers and shoppers pushed by unseen forces, clothes flung along their racks.

Hawai‘i Then and Now: Kealakekua's Aloha Theater

Built in 1932 for movies by the Tanimoto family, this South Kona landmark started offering live theater performances as early as 1939. Now it's the full-time home of the Aloha Performing Arts Company, where, Artistic Director Sarah Athens says, "Anyone can be an actor. Anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is want it.”

Hamada: What I love about "Community Matters"

Here are just a few of the many worthy nonprofits in Hawai‘i that I've gotten to know through my years in talk radio. All of them do important work and deserve our support.

Community Voices: Spend that money, Vought is watching

It's going to be hard to defend federal block grants for Native Hawaiian housing from budget cuts when state officials are leaving tens of millions of dollars unspent.

Community Voices: With housing, let's have an intergenerational conversation

On Oct. 28, Housing Hawai‘i's Future will host a conversation among the seven living generations who call Hawai‘i home, because housing — and Hawai‘i's lack of affordable housing — affects everyone. Come join the conversation.

Unseen visitors at the Mission Houses

Between 1821 and 1832, missionaries built three houses on what was then a dry and dusty plain. A city has grown up around then since then, but eerie shadows of the past have been seen at these Honolulu landmarks.

Hamada: "No Kings" anything but grassroots

A well-funded, Washington, D.C., organization supports these protests and while we can all applaud the right to free speech being celebrated in the streets, it's worth pointing out that the content of that "No Kings" speech borders on defamation and libel.

Community Voices: Rail is a fail; who’s going to hit the brakes?

We don't know yet just how late and over budget the Honolulu Skyline rail system will be. We do know that its annual budget is growing by nearly 10% a year and city officials are talking about any number of rail extensions. Maybe it's time to let the public drive this train and put such decisions to a vote.

Community Voices: Even More TANF Hoarding

While federal cuts to spending on the states for social service gets headlines, the fact is, Hawai‘i has been letting federal money sit unspent — more than $400 million so far. Here's what the money could help with in the Islands if the state would only use it.

Ghosts of the past at the Navy Exchange

The building rests on the slopes of Āliamanu and Āliapaʻakai, places bound to the legends of the goddess Pele and her sister Hiʻiaka. Shoppers and staff alike have shared eerie tales of what they've seen and felt here.

Japanese Breakfast — Teshima’s and a Century of Change in South Kona

Teshima's Restaurant is a South Kona landmark dating back to 1929. Here is the family story behind the landmark, with then-and-now photos.

Community Voices: Rebelling against the culture of silence

Too often, state government operates behind walls of consensus and secrecy that leave the public in the dark.

Hamada: In the shutdown showdown, you are a pawn

It's divide-and-conquer gamesmanship, reaching all the way to the Islands.

Community Voices: Erasing progress not the way to move forward

Last year, state lawmakers passed Act 39, a major piece of housing reform — but the state's most populous county is trying to get that legislation overturned.

Hauntings at Honolulu’s “Ghostbusters” building

At the corner of Kapiʻolani and Ke‘eaumoku stands a modern building with some possibly ancient nighttime visitors, according to people who have worked there late at night.

Community Voices: Nonresident withholding, six years later

State legislators passed a law six years ago impacting any partnership, estate or trust operating in Hawai‘i to withhold taxes for nonresident partners. Now the state Department of Taxation has finally issued the rules to start collecting. Here's what you need to know.

Hamada: Golf gets a black eye

Nearly 100,000 Hawai‘i golfers take to local courses every year, so a lot of kama‘āina likely saw what went down at the Ryder Cup. Not much aloha spirit on display in Farmingdale.

Uncles and Aunties: Robert Castro keeps plantation history alive

Through his years of volunteer work at Hawai‘i’s Plantation Village in Waipahu, Castro pays his respects to Hawai‘i's history and to that of his own family.

Hawai‘i's bizarre legacy of population control (and why it's still here)

In the 1970s, Hawai‘i gave in to fears of overpopulation, so much so that population control was put into the State Constitution.

Community Voices: Do we really want a ‘rubber stamp’ Legislature?

Hawai‘i's legislators vote "yes" on bills a staggering 98% of the time. Where is the debate on issues that affect us all?

Disembodied eyes at Mānoa Falls Trail

If you look out into the dark of night at this storied trail, something just might look back at you.

Hamada: Hawaiʻi’s General Excise Tax — helping or hurting the cost of living?

You may not enjoy an ever-increasing cost of living in Hawai‘i, but thanks to the pervasive GET, rising prices are very good for state government.

Community Voices: What's happening with state and local tax deductions

What Hawai‘i taxpayers need to know about changes to the SALT deductions.

Community Voices: Empowering the diaspora in the Pacific Northwest

“No matter how long you’ve been away from home, it’s still home,” says Leialoha Kaula.

Pipikaula Corner: Dr. Gov. Josh Green, patron saint of perpetual pandemic

A deep dive into Gov. Josh Green's recent emergency proclamation defying federal rules on Covid vaccines.

Kaukonahua’s Haunted Drive

The tree-lined two-lane connecting Wahiawā to the North Shore just might be home to the ghostly presence of a doomed bride.

Hamada: Should students be allowed to use their cell phones in school?

Sweden just banned cell phones in school, Hawai‘i is talking about doing so. Who should make the call?

Community Voices: Your money stays in Vegas — then the IRS wants some

A trip to Hawai‘i's Ninth Island could have tax ramifications, if you're writing off gambling losses to offset gambling gains. Here's how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is changing those equations, and a look at what the State of Hawai‘i will have to consider regarding its own gambling taxes.

Community Voices: Geothermal energy — solution or sacrilege?

The subject of geothermal energy has long divided the Native Hawaiian community. Proponents cite energy sovereignty and decreased reliance on foreign oil. Opponents point to the genealogical, cultural and spiritual ties that many Hawaiians have to Pele.

Letter to the Editor: 'We're already fighting a civil war'

"Even if you don't believe in God, how can you argue against these 10 basic rules for living?"

The mana remains at Pu‘u o Mahuka

Above Waimea Bay on O‘ahu stands the island's largest heiau, Pu‘u o Mahuka. Dedicated to the war god, Kū, the place still holds special power. Is it any wonder people have had some intensely strange experiences there?

Community Voices: Hawaiʻi Legislature sued over ‘blank’ bills

The League of Women Voters of Hawaiʻi contends that this practice of passing a measure with boilerplate language is unconstitutional. Learn also what lawmakers claim.

Hamada: Fixing what's wrong in America

A lot of people feel like America is running off the rails, following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last Wednesday. The solution could be as simple as getting back to some basic rules we all agree on — don't kill anybody, don't lie about them, don't covet.

Uncles and Aunties: Joanne “Cookie” Fujio's fight against ALS

When Gary “Black” Miyashiro was diagnosed with ALS, he and his wife, Joanne “Cookie” Fujio immediately became champions of the ALS Network. It's work Joanne has continued to do, a decade after his death. The next Hawai‘i Walk & Roll to Cure ALS is coming up on Saturday, October 11, at Kapi‘olani Park

Community Voices: Charitable giving under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Hawai‘i's nonprofits rely on charitable contributions from generous individuals. Here's what you need to know about the new tax rules for writing off these donations on your taxes.

Community Voices: Kudos to the counties for considering housing reforms

Maui and Hawai‘i counties are both looking into ways to make housing more plentiful.

Hauntings at Hawai‘i’s Biggest Mall

With a long history of Hawaiians living in the area prior to Ala Mona Center's development, the shopping center has been home to many strange and eerie sightings.

Hamada: Thinking twice before calling 911

Act 259, signed into law this month by Gov. Josh Green, is meant to curb the use of 911 calls to discriminate against people. Not only is there no evidence of this happening in Hawai‘i, there's plenty of reasons to think the law will intimidate people out of using 911 at all, now that doing so risks legal liability.

Whatever happened to the Lei of Parks?

For more than a century, planners have dreamed of tying together the parks of Urban Honolulu into a Lei of Parks, but all the seems to remain of that effort now are street signs.

Community Voices: Time to retire the Jones Act’s U.S.-build requirement

The Jones Act was supposed to protect the American shipbuilding industry, but the industry has withered away despite that support. New legislation by U.S. Rep. Ed Case of Hawai‘i proposes changes to the act that could ultimately reduce shipping costs to the Islands.

The Haunting of Kinau Hale

Is it ironic, or fitting, that the government office that hands out death certificates may be haunted by multiple spirits? Strange things have been experienced at the corner of Punchbowl and Beretania.

Community Voices: No tax on tips

A closer look at what "no tax on tips" in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act means for Hawai‘i's workers and employers.

Community Voices: Canoe clubs, guardians of our nearshore fisheries

Hawai‘i's canoe clubs can take a tradition up a notch by leveraging their expertise to guide fishing practices in the Islands.

Watchful eyes at Makiki Temple

Only Hawai‘i can claim to have had two monarchs who sat as masters of a Masonic lodge during their reign: King Kamehameha IV and King David Kalākaua. Freemasonry offered brotherhood and a moral code — and a sense of mystery, with a strange tale emerging about the Makiki Temple.

Community Voices: Are you ready for another boondoggle?

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has a history of rightfully targeting Honolulu’s rail project for its wasteful spending. Which brings us to the planned Aloha Stadium project...

Community Voices: Classroom heat

The Department of Education spent $100 million on classroom air conditioners. Now the Hawai‘i State Auditor finds that the DOE has no idea where the money went.

Community Voices: ‘New’ HTA board taking off with same old baggage

A government entity tasked with both promoting and limiting tourism is always going to be compromised.

Community Voices: Remembering a life steeped in peace

Dr. Genshitsu Sen, a former WWII kamikaze pilot trainee who turned to the Way of Tea, practicing harmony, respect, purity and more, died last week at age 102. Since the early 1950s, he had deep ties to Hawai'i, including spending time with University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's faculty and students.

Ali‘i are ever-present at Mauna ‘Ala

In October 1865, a solemn procession of ali‘i moved 21 sets of royal remains from the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace to a then-new final resting place in Nu‘uanu Valley, Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum.

Pipikaula Corner: Making elections elections again

President Donald Trump is talking about an Executive Order to end mail-in voting nationwide. Hawai‘i's Legislature voted to adopt mail-in voting in 2019, starting with the 2020 election. Arguably, we have not had a real election since then.

Community Voices: No tax on overtime

Here's what the "no tax on overtime" provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will mean for your pocketbook.

Beneath the moon at Alakoko

Historians say that on certain nights, the Kauaʻi fishpond is not so still, and the riverbank not so empty.

Two years later, too little rebuilding in Lahaina

Hereʻs how federal, state and county policymakers could go about speeding up the process for displaced residents and business owners.

Community Voices: Encumbrance for the stadium

Under the State of Hawai‘i's constitution and accounting rules, the $350 million budgeted for a new stadium has lapsed, and yet authorities are proceeding as if it hadn't.

Community Voices: Grassroot views on housing reform going mainstream

You might be surprised which U.S. Senator is taking the YIMBY approach — yes, in my backyard.

Heap of Misfortune in Mō‘ili‘ili Cemetery

Nearly a century ago, the Islands were stunned by the case of Myles Fukunaga, who kidnapped and murdered 10-year-old George Gill Jamieson, and was executed for his crimes. Does his guilty spirit haunt his gravesite?

Pipikaula Corner: Government got lucky last week

The tsunami traffic jam can't be a surprise when local government has made driving more and more difficult since the last time a tsunami warning put Honolulu in gridlock.

Hawai‘i’s lurking nuclear dilemma

Hawai‘i pushes to decarbonize, but also pushes away nuclear energy. But maybe that's starting to change as state officials move to open a nuclear energy conversation.

Community Voices: Constitutional expenditure controls

Over the past 50 years, the Hawai‘i state Legislature has steadily whittled away at constitutional controls over its spending.

Community Voices: New cottage food rules can unleash innovation in Hawai‘i

The state Department of Health is about to release new rules to make it easier for cottage food entrepreneurs to sell their products.

Echoes of the Past at Poli‘ahu

The remains of this keiau on Kaua‘i carry a heavy burden of the past.

Community Voices: Career Connections launches Hawai‘i high school students into the trades

Interns make $15 an hour while learning essential skills to become carpenters.

Community Voices: Pay for no work

In Hawai‘i's broken civil service system, hundreds of state workers are getting paid to do nothing while investigations into their job performance linger.

Vanishing lights in the Tunnel of Trees

This week's ghost tale comes from Kaua‘i, where the Tunnel of Trees near Kōloa, while beautiful by day, is home to eerie experiences by night.

Community Voices: Hawai‘i climate policy going overboard on cruise ships

The new climate roadmap from the state Department of Transportation calls for reducing cruise ship visitors to Hawai‘i by 2030 and possibly eliminating them completely by 2040.

Community Voices: Nonprofit Blankety Blank bill

In a rush to help nonprofits that are losing federal funding, the Hawai‘i state Legislature pulled together Senate Bill 933, now Act 310 of 2025, putting $50 million in the hands of a four-person committee that will meet in secret. And the Legislature could not have known what it was voting for — this was yet another Blankety Blank bill devoid of financial details.

Community Voices: Permitting progress prevails

Starting in 2026, new laws signed by Gov. Josh Green go into place to expedite home construction throughout the Islands.

These gates can’t keep the ghosts out

The gates of ʻIolani Palace, each with its own name and purpose, are decorated with gold painted finials and adorned with the Hawaiian Kingdom Coat of Arms. While accounts of mysterious disturbances related to the gates have been shared, it is evident they still hold mana.

The most important speech in Hawaiʻi’s history

It was the "subtle inferiority of spirit" speech by then-Gov. John A. Burns that came to define the mission of the Democratic Party — and modern Hawai‘i.

Community Voices: SNAP cliffs are coming

The federal government will have fully funded the cost of food for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through 2027. But now that the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act is law, that is going to change — potentially putting Hawaiʻi at least $36 million in the hole.

Community Voices: Built through brotherhood and meaningful moments

A personal essay by Makawao Eagle Scout Noah Kalehuawehe, who recently received the 2025 John Henry Felix Leadership Through Service Award.

Community Voices: Why I think the governor and Legislature deserve praise

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature has concluded the 2025 regular session, still more work to be done

An East-West Center tailored for Hawaiʻi's needs

How this institution came to be and what it will need to become to survive.

From haunted hotel to haunted museum

Spooky stories shared by staff at the No. 1 Capitol District Building, which was originally the Hawaiian Hotel that opened in February 1872.

Community Voices: Ending 'the turf war' around building schools

Until HB422 gets passed into law, the Hawai'i Department of Education has been urging lawmakers to spend general fund money on building new local schools.

Uncles and Aunties: Malia Davis, inspired to be an animal caretaker by her grandparents

National Zookeeper Week is July 20-26. We spotlight an aunty who has spent half her life taking care of the elephants at Honolulu Zoo.

The women who march at night in Kaimukī

A little place history, as well as stories of "a female procession of spirits" at Puʻu o Kaimukī.

Community Voices: Twenty years of nickels

You buy your bottled beverage. You pay your five cent deposit. What happens next is a mess, and has been for decades.

Community Voices: ʻRespect and teamworkʻ drives these Hawaiʻi auto technicians

Find out why these three Servco Pacific Inc. employees got into the automotive industry and what keeps them servicing some of Hawaiʻi’s most popular car brands.

Pipikaula Corner: How 13 teenagers and some California lawyers rule Hawai’i

State officials are set to unveil new rules to decarbonize the transportation sector. No one voted for this. It wasn't discussed. They committed us to this plan by settling a lawsuit last year that compels state government to protect us from the entire planet.

Pipikaula Corner: Sen. Mazie Hirono teaches us a lesson

Only it's not the lesson she might have had in mind. The senator recently went off on a Republican plan to introduce nationwide vouchers. Here's why she — and Republicans — are wrong about how to fix education.

The Statue That Watches

At Diamond Head Memorial Park, a statue of Jesus takes on a completely different feel after dark. What many people don't remember now is that the park was born out of crisis in Honolulu cemeteries at the turn of the last century — too few of them for the growing city, and often in poor condition.

Letter to Editor: Important to remember Gov. William Quinn

Thanks for the reminder of "Hawai‘i's Forgotten Governor."

Letter to the Editor: Lahaina's path to rebuilding

Maui County’s obsolete zoning code is making life difficult for our community.

Letter to the Editor: My own eerie Topa Tower experience

Odd things can happen at 3 a.m.

Community Voices: That Dam Special Fund

With the help of the Hawai‘i state legislature, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources turned an appropriation into a seemingly permanent special fund. It may be for a good cause, but it's not how special funds are supposed to work under the state constitution.

Community Voices: A blue wave is helping rock the boat on Jones Act reform

Bipartisan support is growing in Washington and among different states to update the Jones Act and reduce the cost of shipping.

Community Voices: How local nonprofits can practically support each other's mission

Have you ever thought about hiring a nonprofit for professional services? Maybe it's time to, especially if you're a nonprofit reliant on donations. Here's one way we're turning business expenses into "a built-in impact multiplier."

Haunted History of Hilton Hawaiian Village

Over the years, staff and guests alike have reported seeing, even speaking with, mysterious lone figures who then vanish without a trace.

Community Voices: Intent to Veto

Among the 19 bills on Gov. Josh Green's veto list are two concerning taxation. Did you know that Hawai‘i still offers certain tax credits for sugar cane — and that in 2025, there are still people interested in them? A bill to eliminate such credits is among the possible vetos.

Pipikaula Corner: Schatz goes for the Oscar

Another fine performance given by Hawai‘i's senator.

Uncles and Aunties: Dr. Martina Kamaka brings Hawaiian practices to medicine

Dr. Martina Kamaka comes from the Kamaka family noted for music but medicine has been her muse since childhood. Now she is a professor in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. Part of her kuleana is the māla lāʻau lapaʻau (medicinal garden) of native and Polynesian-introduced plants used for healing that grow in a 3,300-square-foot oasis — which you can visit yourself on an upcoming public work day in the garden.

More than mail at this post office

Does the spirit of a postmaster still haunt these halls?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Haunting Legacy of Ali‘iōlani Hale

The Massie Case may still haunt this building — literally!

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

The senator is mad, folks, really mad!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Lost Time at Topa Tower

Weird experiences at the site of the former Honolulu Fort suggest that the boundaries between past, present and future might be porous.

Community Voices: Small victory

This session, the Legislature eliminated a procedural trap that kept taxpayers from being to appeal to the Tax Appeal Court. Here's what that issue was all about.

Uncles and Aunties: Melvin Matsuda, the karate farmer of Kahuku

Kahuku-born and -raised, Melvin Matsuda decamped to California in the early ’70s with his black belt and ran successful martial arts schools in San Bernadino and Palm Springs for five years. But when his father asked if he would come home to look after the family farm, he signed on, came home, and never looked back.

Pipikaula Corner: UH joins the Resistance

But I have questions about its claims that it was ever politically independent.

Community Voices: Backyard Kuleana 2025 – When the systems fail, we must return to each other

We are looking at a collapse of many systems that our communities rely upon to sustain themselves. We will all need to step up our service going forward. Here, I share more about that forward-looking evolution.

Community Voices: Fearing federal cuts, state looks to axe tax credits

Renters, landlords, business owners and more should watch out for House Bill 1369, which the Tax Foundation of Hawai‘i has dubbed the "Category Killer," for the categories of tax exemptions and credits it seeks to eliminate.

Community Voices: Apply rebuilding waivers to all Lahaina fire victims

When disaster strikes, people want to rebuild what they lost. If that property is in a Shoreline Management Area, however, the law can get in the way, as hundreds of Lahaina homeowners have found out. A bill before the legislature would waive such restrictions, freeing people to rebuild their homes.

Community Voices: Presidential proclamation balances ocean protection and sustainable commercial tuna fishing

This viewpoint from the Hawai‘i Longline Association makes a case that President Donald Trump's reopening of commercial fishing grounds around Pacific islands is good for local consumers and industry, which use more sustainable methods than do foreign fishing fleets.

Pipikaula Corner: Downtown Honolulu 100 years ago (Updated!)

Do you recognize anything in this aerial view of Honolulu taken in April 1925?

Community Voices: Persistence amid permit issues to hold services at Waikīkī Beach

Waikīkī Beach Chaplaincy has served the community surrounding the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waīkikī Beach Resort for 55 years. Last month, the chaplaincy received a “Cease and Desist Order” from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for its Easter and weekly services. Pastor David “Waxer” Tipton, director and president of the chaplaincy since 2021, shares how the organization is handling permitting pitfalls this year.

A Haunting at a Princely Hotel

Hospitals, and the places where they once stood, can be a source of strange experiences. Here, our columnists share a firsthand account.

Community Voices: Supporting Government’s Central Services

Hawai‘i's state Department of Transportation pays the most among all departments in internal fees back to state government for its shared expenses. Here's why it may be stuck with that arrangement.

Community Voices: Turns out you can fight city hall — and win!

Trapped in Hawai‘i County permitting limbo, Shahzaad Ausman could neither live in his home nor renovate it. So he took officials to court. “If the government can wrongfully revoke my permit, it can revoke many other permits. We must hold officials accountable and stand up for our rights,” he said.

Hawaiian History Meets Feng Shui

Looking into the eerie energies surrounding the Mānoa Chinese Cemetery.

Community Voices: Taxing Capital Gains

The Hawai‘i state Legislature wants to change taxes on capital gains by some as yet unstated amount by taxing, for example, the money you gain selling your house at rates comparable to state income taxes. For individuals, this could amount to as much as a 52% increase to the rate someone would pay on capital gains.

Readers respond to "Bringing Pork Over the Pali"

On Instagram, we asked readers to share their own stories in response to Lopaka and Tanya Kapanuiʻs history of why itʻs considered unlucky to bring pork over the Pali. Here are some of the replies so far, from funny to eerie.

Community Voices: We can do more to help Hawai‘i businesses rebound

Hawai‘i’s anemic economic growth — the second slowest in the country — should be a sign that we haven’t done enough to help local business rebound since the Covid-19 lockdowns. If anything, it seems we’re doing the opposite. The major tax hikes that are still alive in the current legislative session all promise to be significant burdens on local businesses.

Pipikaula Corner: Did stocks just "plunge" and "tumble" after tariff announcement?

Here's an important skill to develop when decoding the news put in front of you — look at the scale. Now let's walk through today's headlines about the stock market, including taking a look at some of Hawai‘i's publicly traded companies.

Bringing Pork Over the Pali

Kama‘āina know itʻs bad luck. Even visitors have heard itʻs bad luck. But do you know why?

Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green annexes Las Vegas

April 1 declared "Ninth Island Liberation Day"

Community Voices: You Want to Raise the TAT by HOW Much?

Two bills would raise the Transient Accommodations Tax, but won't openly state the new rate, in a process leaving little time for public input.

Community Voices: Lahaina future brighter, but keep pedal to the metal

The cave of an ancient shark god

On the Wai‘anae Coast near Mākua is Kāneana Cave. In distant ages, the cave was underwater and the home of the shark god, Kāmohoali‘i. His romance with a mortal woman produced a son with a terrifying nature.

Community Voices: The new tax cuts website

The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie has gone online to check it out and has a few quibbles.

Community Voices: Legislature poised to fix a state wrong?

First, local government shut down restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic. Then the federal government offered them relief money to partially make up for their losses. Then state government taxed that relief as revenue. A bill in the Hawai‘i state legislature would undo that last step.

Eerie Impressions in Iwilei

The land beneath the Iwilei Salvation Army building has a dark history.

Community Voices: Universal vax for Hawai‘i

A new bill would tax health plans so that the state can buy bulk vaccines for people not otherwise entitled to receive free vaccines. It also immunizes the state itself — against lawsuits.

Community Voices: Let’s close the book on school impact fees

It's not just big developers who have to pay these fees, which add to the cost of housing, even individuals adding an ADU have to come up with thousands of dollars.

Haunted Hānaiakamalama

This storied house in Nu‘uanu Valley was well known more than a century ago for its many frightening experiences, from the sound of footsteps to visions of a disembodied head.

Community Voices: Taxpayers need a break from old liens

Why the Tax Foundation of Hawai‘i drafted a bill to stop the state Department of Taxation from leaving liens on taxpayers on the books past their 15-year statute of limitations.

Community Voices: Kōloa Rum challenge could be what kills the Jones Act

Recently, there has been momentum in Congress to revisit the law, which for more than a hundred years has been limiting shipping competition between U.S. ports and had an outsized negative impact on the residents of Hawai‘i and other U.S. states and territories who rely heavily on waterborne transportation for their imports.

The eerie history of Chinatown's Hocking Hale

This week, ASD launches a weekly column by Robert and Tanya Kapanui, historians and co-owners of the popular ghost tour, Mysteries of Hawai‘i. Together, they'll take readers on a journey into the historic, spiritual and supernatural dimensions of Hawai‘i places.

Community Voices: A Stealthy Tax Hike

Employers could be hit with a 42% increase in what they pay in state unemployment insurance taxes under a bill being considered by the Legislature.

Community Voices: Political problems not the same as true emergencies

Hawai‘i is operating under multiple emergency orders from the Governor's office, often extended over years, for pressing problems that can and should be handled by the ordinary democratic process.

Community Viewpoint: This Hawai‘i tax break could be a tax hike

Any increase to the GET, such as the one proposed, falls hardest on people with the least income.

Community Viewpoint: New tax proposals piling up at Legislature

At least 60 potential tax hikes could be on the table.