Opinion
Community Voices: When do judges have free speech?
Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justices must follow federal interpretations of federal laws and the U.S. Constitution, but are in no way subordinate to the U.S. Supreme Court on issues of state law or the state constitution. That is part of the way our government was set up.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 01, 2026
Community Voices: A Denver dad carries his kūpuna with him
Timothy Lot Kamaka Kamanā grew up in Honolulu connected to music through his family's ʻukulele business, Kamaka Hawaiʻi, with dreams of becoming a professional athlete. He traveled to the Mainland for greater opportunity and now with a second keiki on the way, is hopeful to return to the ʻāina.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonSeptember 01, 2026
Community Voices: What nobody tells you before you buy a condo in Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi condominium prices may look manageable compared to single-family homes. The carrying costs are another story.
Corey IdleburgSeptember 01, 2026
Hawaiʻi meth deaths and the wrong account of human nature
A state planner earning $139,860 a year was found dead on his apartment floor, a glass pipe in his lap. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on how every remedy for meth rests on some account of the man being remedied.
Sterling HigaAugust 28, 2026
Close cover before striking: Advertising matchbooks in Hawai‘i
When cigarette smoking was ubiquitous so were matchbooks. These were handed out by the thousands by Hawai‘i businesses, each serving as a portable advertisement. Here's a tour of the businesses, and the printing art form, emblazoned on Hawai‘i matchbooks.
DeSoto BrownAugust 27, 2026
Hawaiʻi doesn't have a condo crisis, it has a missing law
Tens of thousands of people in Hawai‘i live in apartment towers that are now a half-century old, or older. Owners face sometimes ruinously expensive assessments to repair or replace aging building systems. Under Hawai‘i law they're stuck. There's no provision for owners to take the radical step of collectively selling their units and handing the building off to someone else to redevelop. Other places have such laws, here's how they work.
Ray TsuchiyamaAugust 27, 2026
Community Voices: It’s time to fix how Hawaiʻi rebuilds
Current state and county laws make it difficult to rebuild homes, lives and communities after natural disasters. Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi recommends some flexibility in how government officials craft and enforce regulations.
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 26, 2026
Haunted Banyans at Ali‘iolani Hale
The two banyan trees next to Ali‘iolani Hale were planted in the 1880s. Such trees carry a wealth of symbolism throughout Asian cultures — enlightenment, divinity, magic, longevity, strength, and more. Legends also surround banyan trees as the abodes of ghosts and mysterious spirit beings. That was the experience of one Hawai‘i sheriff, who shared a frightening encounter with our authors.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 26, 2026
Where's our Legislative Analyst?
An Office of the Legislative Analyst was created by law during Gov. Waihe‘e's administration, and was meant to be a non-partisan, data-driven office that could inform legislators about the potential benefits and harms of the laws they pass. And yet, the office has never actually been staffed — it's a phantom, existing only on paper. Yet as lawmaking gets more complex, we need someone to do this work and some lawmakers having been trying to make the office finally happen.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 26, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Kumu Hula Pattye Wright to participate in Aloha Festivals Floral Parade
Wright, 91, founder of Nā Puakea o Koʻolaupoko in Kailua, is keeping busy teaching seven weekly classes across the globe, while volunteering at church. Come September, this will be the hālau's fourth year entering a float in the parade, which allows them to share their culture with spectators and grow closer with one another, says Shiori Kaʻimilani Koehler, another kumu for the hālau.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiAugust 25, 2026
Community Voices: Clean energy schizophrenia
Our state does a lot of giving and taking when it comes to energy use; when all the giving and taking is considered together, legitimate questions can be asked about who is benefiting and who is paying the price.
Tom YamachikaAugust 25, 2026
Ige wasn’t an insurgent. He was next in line.
A senator who chaired the most powerful committee in the Capitol waited quietly while a governor burned through every ally he had. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on what Hawaiʻi’s most famous “insurgency” proves about governing.
Sterling HigaAugust 25, 2026
Hawaiian martial arts master inaugurates “Warrior Women” exhibit at L.A. Museum
Michelle Manu presides over new exhibition paying tribute to female protectors, defenders and combatants at world’s only museum honoring international self-defense disciplines, including ancient Hawai‘i’s lua. She resides in California but returns to the Islands next month to lead a women's retreat on Hawai‘i Island.
Ed RampellAugust 25, 2026
Hamada: The hands that help when disaster strikes
In the wake of Hurricane Lala, we saw professionals who went above the call and neighbors who stepped up to help neighbors. Let's take a moment to appreciate the best of the aloha spirit.
Rick HamadaAugust 24, 2026
Community Voices: Waimea Valley, a cultural treasure preserved for community
Waimea is a wahi kapu with a storied history that dates back a thousand years. An understanding of this is what its stewards hope to share with those who visit the valley — and what they hope that those who visit will take home.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineAugust 24, 2026
What Pennsylvania and Florida know about sports tourism that Hawai‘i doesn't
Hawai‘i has plenty of sporting events that are, individually, successful and well known: Paddling, surfing, golf, triathlons and more. Here's how to take that collection to the next level and really elevate the Islands' sports stature.
Ray TsuchiyamaAugust 21, 2026
The $88 billion bill we agreed to ignore
Seven years ago, a room full of Hawaiʻi’s most powerful executives agreed the state faced an $88 billion problem in investing for the future. Then everyone went back to work. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the maintenance never comes.
Sterling HigaAugust 21, 2026
Changing Kaka‘ako: The ocean connection
The hundred-year-old Kewalo Basin was originally made to move fishing sampans out of busy Honolulu Harbor. At one point, 1,000 people worked in the adjacent Hawaiian Tuna Packers facility, producing up to 65,000 cans of tuna per day under the Coral brand for sale locally and on the Mainland. In time, the famous Fisherman's Wharf restaurant appeared, thrived, then shut down as well. It remains a harbor for fishing boats, but of the recreational variety, as well as for boat tours and "booze cruises."
DeSoto BrownAugust 21, 2026
Community Voices: Will sky-high Skyline costs ever stop climbing?
"So far, every request for more money or an extension of the county’s general excise tax surcharge has come with detailed justification," writes Keli‘i Akina. "What we haven’t seen is any attempt to reassure taxpayers that fiscal accountability is an important part of the plan."
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 19, 2026
Hamada: Lack of investment in infrastructure taking a toll
This state has never had a money problem, it's had a problem setting priorities to deliver the basics and we pay the price every time a storm strains the system.
Rick HamadaAugust 19, 2026
Among the Graves at Kawaiaha‘o
Nearly 200 years ago, American missionaries at Kawaiaha‘o Church introduced the Western practice of graveyards with tombstones. While the living carry on with church services and wedding receptions and happy occasions, grief seems to bind some spirits to the graveyard — unhappy souls who make their presence known.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 19, 2026
Election ties and the game of a box
In Hawai‘i's recent primary elections, two tied races were decided with, essentially, a lottery. ASD political historian Perry Arrasmith explains how this came to be legal and when it's been used in the past.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 18, 2026
Hurricane Lala was a warning: Is Hawaiʻi ready for a direct hit on Honolulu?
In Nāʻālehu, floodwaters swept homes off their foundations; in Kaʻū, bridges were destroyed. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why a storm that spared Honolulu should serve as a warning.
Sterling HigaAugust 18, 2026
Community Voices: Honolulu Special Funds
Agencies that can spend money from special funds tend to spend them with little or no legislative oversight, and it becomes harder for the Legislature and the public to keep track of the money the more special funds there are, according to Tom Yamachika, president of Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi.
Tom YamachikaAugust 18, 2026