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: Grassroot still stands with Lahaina, three years later
"I’m not sure I believe Hawaiʻi residents are losing interest in Lahaina," writes Keli‘i Akina on the day of the three-year anniversary of the Maui wildfires. "As president of the Grassroot Institute, I promise you that our team remains as committed as ever to Maui’s recovery."
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 11, 2026
Maui Police corruption case shows why Hawaiʻi needs federal law enforcement
A Maui police lieutenant allegedly arranged his bribes over burner phones and Instagram, certain no one could read them. The FBI read every word. ASD columnist Sterling Higa on why corruption is only ever answered from the rung above.
Sterling HigaAugust 10, 2026
Community Voices: Punahou student raises concerns about Palantir Technologies in Honolulu
Zane Dalgamouni, a 15-year-old student at Punahou, fears a future where his every move is watched and free speech is threatened. He concludes, "We do not have to accept a future dictated by unaccountable tech giants," including Palantir Technologies, a Miami-headquartered corporation that is hiring now in the Islands.
Zane DalgamouniAugust 10, 2026
The breakthrough that Hawai‘i needs: Measuring what leaders do
It’s time for a change. Leadership is more than charisma or slogans; it requires choosing real problems and acting with enough integrity and reasonableness that the public can judge results fairly. ASD introduces a new data-driven opinion column to help readers understand what works in Hawai‘i, what doesn't, and how we stack up against other states.
Peter S. Adler & PhDAugust 08, 2026
Community Voices: How Hawai‘i's latest bribery scandal blocked healthcare access
Rep. Ryan Yamane, recently indicted for bribery, allegedly killed a bill that would have exempted certain critical categories of health care facilities from the state's onerous Certificate of Need requirements. As a result, treatments like dialysis remain in short supply.
Malia HillAugust 07, 2026
Changing Kaka‘ako: The first on Kaka‘ako’s Automobile Row
Shiny, new high-rise condos are popping up all over Kaka‘ako, and it isn't the first time a trend changed the neighborhood. In the 1950s, the new kids on the blocks were car dealerships. The first of these, in 1958, was for Volkswagen.
DeSoto BrownAugust 07, 2026
In Hawai‘i, where are the multimember districts?
Election season is a good time to ask — why doesn't Hawai‘i go back to having multimember districts? In a such a system, more of Hawai‘i's voters would have representation in the state Legislature.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 05, 2026
Her daughter was murdered in 2014 — now she’s dedicated to helping other victims
Charli Scott was a Maui woman who was murdered in 2014 at age 27 when she was five months pregnant. In the 12 years since her daughter’s death, Kimberlyn Scott has dedicated herself to helping families of missing persons.
Christina O'ConnorAugust 05, 2026
The races to watch
ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada talks about the races he's most closely watching in the upcoming Primary Election. Is it going to be Case or Keohokalole? Tokuda or Awa? What about the LG's race? And he has questions for you about the elections and politics in Hawai‘i for further discussion.
Rick HamadaAugust 05, 2026
Beneath the Sand at Hūnānāniho
Waimānalo is one of the earliest human settlements on O‘ahu, dating back as much as a thousand years. For Native Hawaiians, it was a pu‘uhonua, a place of refuge. Later the area hosted a sugar plantation then a military airfield. In 2021, the City and County of Honolulu restored Waimānalo Bay Beach Park's traditional name, Hūnānāniho. Some say that's not the only presence from the past that walks the beach when the moon is just right.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 05, 2026
Reddit advice, AI chatbots, and the counsel of strangers
A YouTube ad promised answers from “parents who get you.” ASD columnist Sterling Higa on why the counsel of strangers, now trained into our machines, is no substitute for a friend who knows you.
Sterling HigaAugust 05, 2026
Community Voices: Seattle artist reclaims culture through kapa making
“I’m not trying to gatekeep knowledge,” she said of her school and work experience both on the Mainland and on Oʻahu. “I’m trying to share it as much as possible.”
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonAugust 04, 2026
David Shapiro hits a triple bogey
A freshman legislator is handed a budget the size of a phone book and told to master it. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the cure for corruption is shrinking the prize, not rewriting the rules.
Sterling HigaAugust 04, 2026
Community Voices: Giving Kūpeke Back to Itself
Located on the east end of Molokai, the ahupuaʻa of Kūpeke includes about 300 acres, from the top of the mountain to the shoreline and out to the fishpond wall. Laʻa Poepoe’s stewardship of Kūpeke is the confluence of his Molokai lineage, aloha for his community, a passion to mālama ʻāina, an unshakable work ethic, and his foresight.
Puanani Fernandez-Akamine & Hannah Kaʻiulani CoburnJuly 31, 2026
Aloha State Daily named 'Best Overall News Site'
The Hawai‘i Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists held its annual awards Wednesday night. For our work throughout 2025 — our first year —Aloha State Daily won 14 awards, including best online news site.
A. Kam NapierJuly 30, 2026
Honolulu's restaurant corner
With its high traffic and visibility, the corner of Kapi‘olani Boulevard and Kalākaua Avenue has attracted a series of legendary eateries over the decades. ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown revisits them all — Kau Kau Korner, Coco's, Hard Rock Café (much of the latter's building now serving as the home of Chick-fil-A's only sit-down restaurant).
DeSoto BrownJuly 30, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Reader thanks ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa for ʻike
A reader from Lāʻie writes in to Aloha State Daily to thank Higa, who has opined on the stateʻs "increasingly steep slide into societal suicide."
Letters to the EditorJuly 30, 2026
Hamada: Hot takes on bribery, Tommy Waters, Hāna Highway confrontation
With so much in the news, ASD opinion columnist weighs in on the state's bribery scandal, Tommy Waters' attempt at a third term and a recent ugly confrontation between locals and tourists in the Hāna Highway.
Rick HamadaJuly 29, 2026
Secrets of the Scottish Rite Cathedral
ASD's ghost and history columnists themselves had a very strange experience giving a tour of Makiki's Scottish Rite Cathedral. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry was welcomed into the Islands in 1874 by King David Kalākaua and John Owen Dominis, husband of Queen Lili‘uokalani. Its members have a long history of service to community, with an air of Masonic mystery.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 29, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Fauci revealed as fear-mongering, fame-loving fraud
It's not getting much media attention, but the private diaries of Dr. Anthony Fauci have been published online by Sen. Rand Paul in advance of his hearings this week into Fauci and Covid-19. What they reveal across thousands of pages is man in love with the adulation he received, who privately knew that many of things he said publicly about the pandemic were wild exaggerations.
A. Kam NapierJuly 29, 2026
Tommy Waters term limits ruling: Why the Council Chair should step aside
A judge ruled Monday that Tommy Waters has already served his two terms — while voters were filling out ballots bearing his name. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on the difference between fighting for the people within the law and fighting the people with it.
Sterling HigaJuly 29, 2026
Community Voices: The one-dollar solution
Under the state constitution, surpluses are supposed to be returned to Hawai‘i's taxpayers. Here are some of the games lawmakers and governors play so that the amount returned is always, somehow, just a dollar.
Tom YamachikaJuly 28, 2026
Community Voices: Empty homes tax just empty promises
Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i helped persuade the Honolulu Charter Commission to not advance a poorly conceived empty homes tax to the ballot. Instead, as GIH proposes, improvements to zoning and permitting could speed the supply of housing.
Keliʻi AkinaJuly 26, 2026
Hawaiʻi population decline: How George Ariyoshi’s managed growth policies shaped today’s crisis
George Ariyoshi dressed for the office he held and trusted the most respected experts of his age — and the experts were wrong. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on the population prophecy that failed twice.
Sterling HigaJuly 25, 2026
Changing Kaka‘ako: The first high-rise
Perhaps no urban Honolulu neighborhood has changed more over the past 50 years than Kaka‘ako. ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown looks back on the changes, starting with the skyline, which used to boast but a single high-rise building. That has certainly changed! The condo 1350 Ala Moana once stood as a landmark and now is lost in the crowd.
DeSoto BrownJuly 23, 2026
Hawaiʻi millionaire tax: Why the new 13% bracket won’t be the last
The millionaire tax passed with barely a murmur. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the measures nobody argues about deserve the second look.
Sterling HigaJuly 23, 2026
Hamada: Thirty years of infamy for our business climate — when does that change?
Hawai‘i was just ranked worst in the nation for business. Again. Mainland and local observers have been pointing this out consistently since the 1990s, even, at times, as far back as the 1970s. Well, asks ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada, who has been in charge all this time?
Rick HamadaJuly 23, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Vicky Holt Takamine, legendary kumu hula
“My mother was my inspiration,” Takamine told ASD. “I used to watch her dance on the ‘Lucky Luck’ TV show in the 1950s. I begged her to let me go to hula classes, but she said I was too young and that I would quit after a year. I proved her wrong!” In 2025, she was recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawai‘i for her accomplishments — one of several accolades, both local and national, she has received over the years for her contributions to hula and Native Hawaiian arts and culture.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJuly 22, 2026
Night Marchers at the Naniloa
Babe Ruth and President Franklin D. Roosevelt are among the Mainland luminaries who planted banyan trees along Banyan Drive. The history of the Hilo area surrounding the Naniloa Hotel goes back to ancient times, and as hotel staff tell it, on some nights the old days come marching through in a mist.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 22, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: The company they keep
Hawai‘i Democrats invited a special Mainland guest to their annual convention in late May, as keynote speaker. If this is their role model, ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier opines, Hawai‘i is in trouble.
A. Kam NapierJuly 22, 2026
Community Voices: Why care about the Dam Special Fund
Special funds have proliferated in Hawai‘i state government, to now more than 1,800. It's to the point that the Tax Foundation of Hawai‘i says it's impossible to know how much money state government actually has. The foundation sued over one of these funds for failing to follow state constitutional limits. Here's what happened to that case.
Tom YamachikaJuly 22, 2026
The return of Hawai‘i’s Marine Affairs Coordinator
ASD political historian Perry Arrasmith noticed that the state of Hawai‘i has just created a Marine Affairs Coordinator — and it's not the first time. What will the person who gets this position do, and how is different from the last time that Hawai‘i state government created, and eventually abandoned, the same role?
Perry ArrasmithJuly 22, 2026
NBC, ABC and the Trump speech: The century-old idea behind the networks’ decision
The anchors couldn’t wait for the speech to end. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why the press acts like a priesthood — and why no reform will fix it.
Sterling HigaJuly 21, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i's election amnesia
A Civil Beat op-ed this weekend freaked out over Pres. Trump's election security speech and the SAVE Act. Memories have gotten pretty short in the Islands; however, because voting in person and showing ID to vote were uncontroversial good-government reforms that Hawai‘i Democrats themselves put in place in 1970. These reforms governed our elections reliably until Democrats changed the laws again in 2019.
A. Kam NapierJuly 21, 2026
Hawaiʻi Act 11: Why the corporate campaign spending ban can’t fix our politics
Hawaiʻi’s new ban on corporate election money assumes the voters are ready to govern themselves. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why self-government can’t be legislated.
Sterling HigaJuly 15, 2026
Hamada: Airport carjacker skating on kidnapping charge
Lawrence and Rose Ching are stunned that the man who carjacked them at Honolulu International Airport — driving off with their teen daughter in the back seat — isn't getting charged with kidnapping. ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada agrees and takes a close look at the definition of the crime.
Rick HamadaJuly 15, 2026
Silent Spirits at the Hilo Hawaiian
Life thrived along Hilo Bay and Waiākea Peninsula, with abundant taro lo‘i, fish ponds, for centuries before Western contact. Spiritual life was ever-present and the landscape was dominated by the towering Kūakaʻananuʻu heiau, where men were sacrificed in elaborate ceremonies. Now the site is home to Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, and guests share stories of spectral visitors from long ago.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 15, 2026
Kooky Rental Cars!
ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown takes us on a spin behind the wheels of the wacky, colorful rental cars that tourists loved in 1960s Hawai‘i. Open-air jeeps and dune buggies, these vehicles came from such exotic places as England, Italy, France and Toledo, Ohio. They all promised a fun time in the Islands.
DeSoto BrownJuly 14, 2026
Community Voices: Planting the seeds for progress
Two laws supported by Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i have passed, allowing farmers to run home kitchen operations on their properties and build on-site housing for much-needed workers.
Keliʻi AkinaJuly 14, 2026
Community Voices: Empty homes tax won’t go away
Legislative attempts to pass the tax have failed, so proponents have a new idea — make an empty homes tax a charter amendment that people can vote on in the next election. The proposal is making headway, even as the draft amendment contains all the same conundrums as the failed bills.
Tom YamachikaJuly 14, 2026
Community Voices: Molokai is ready for another option
Lānaʻi Air will begin flying between Oʻahu and Molokai in September.
Philamer FelicitasJuly 14, 2026
Hawaiʻi attacks on parents: What the Liliha, Hawaiʻi Kai and Waikīkī cases share
A blood-soaked man stood in the middle of a Liliha street and answered police with his father’s name. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on three attacks on parents in a single year — and the commandment written for ordinary homes.
Sterling HigaJuly 11, 2026
Community Voices: The luxury tourism myth
Many voices call for Hawai‘i's tourism industry to attract fewer, wealthier customers. Hospitality industry veteran Dan Wacksman explains why Hawaiʻi can't simply replace millions of visitors with millionaires
Dan WacksmanJuly 10, 2026
Community Voices: By Restoring Our Reefs We Restore Ourselves
When corals are ripped out, we lose more than coral — we lose shelter for reef life, habitat for fish, and part of the reef’s natural ability to take the punch out of waves before they reach our shoreline. That loss affects our food systems, livelihoods and community health, says Alika Peleholani Garcia, executive director of Kuleana Coral Restoration.
Alika Peleholani GarciaJuly 08, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i's fraudulent vape ban
On Tuesday, Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green signed into law a ban on "99.9% of disposable vapes." It's a move totally at odds with the harm reduction strategies the state uses for all other vices, argues ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier. And it's in response to a non-existent crisis, in that teen smoking and vaping is the lowest it's ever been in a quarter century.
A. Kam NapierJuly 08, 2026
Hamada: Hawai‘i not to blame for losing Sony Open
We fret locally about what Hawai‘i might've done wrong to lose major golf tournaments, but ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada says that changes within the golf industry itself made the loss inevitable.
Rick HamadaJuly 08, 2026
What 1,800 words can’t tell you about the OHA lawsuit
The disputed court filing at the center of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ board war runs 42 pages and costs $4.31 to download. Almost no one will ever read it. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on why we meet every public story halfway through — and why we have to judge anyway.
Sterling HigaJuly 08, 2026
Huaka‘i Pō at Pu‘ukoholā
It is said that Kamehameha himself helped build the Pu‘ukoholā heiau, a massive undertaking that involved a human chain 20 miles long passing stones from Pololu Valley to Puʻukoholā. Once completed and consecrated, Kamehameha's kahuna had said, the heiau would mean the successful end to Kamehameha's wars of conquest. Naturally, tales of night marchers — Huaka‘i Pō — still haunt the area.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 08, 2026
Community Voices: SNAP disaster imminent
The good news is that we don’t have the worst error rate, and Hawaiʻi was just slightly above the national average. The bad news is that our error rate was 10.92% in 2025. Double digits mean triple penalties, and don’t expect anyone to cut us some slack when they take effect.
Tom YamachikaJuly 08, 2026
Sony Open joins the seniors’ tour — and so has Hawaiʻi
A pension check arrives in Hawaiʻi untaxed; a young family’s groceries do not. ASD columnist Sterling Higa on the golf rebrand that tells the truth about who these Islands are built for.
Sterling HigaJuly 07, 2026
Aloha Tower at 100 years old, Part 2: It seemed like a good idea at the time ...
In the early 1960s, the State of Hawai‘i invested millions in harbor upgrades that included modernizing Aloha Tower as a terminal for passenger liners. But jet planes soon replaced passengers liners, rendering the terminal obsolete. In the 1990s, those structure were torn down to create Aloha Marketplace, a shopping and dining destination that would never draw the anticipated crowds. ASD history writer DeSoto Brown brings us to the present day as Aloha Tower celebrates its centennial.
DeSoto BrownJuly 06, 2026
Community Voices: Are your trees ready for hurricane season?
As hurricane season unfolds, it's worth remembering that preparing for storms isn't only about what we store in our closets or garages. It's also about caring for the living infrastructure that surrounds us.
Daniel Dinell & Carol KwanJuly 03, 2026
From Waipahu to Italy: Remembering Staff Sgt. Grover Kazutomi Nagaji
Born and raised in Waipahu, Nagaji joined the U.S. Army on March 25, 1943. He became a proud member of the 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), 34th Infantry Division, and trained at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. One year later, he was deployed to Europe, where he saw action in Italy as part of the Allied campaign against German forces.
John DekhaneJuly 03, 2026
Community Voices: Now you see it, now you don’t
There’s no magic involved here, only taxes. Taxes you can see, and taxes you can’t. Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi revisits the barrel tax.
Tom YamachikaJuly 03, 2026
On the Fourth, read the Declaration
If you really want to understand why we're celebrating Independence Day, go back to the source and read the Declaration of Independence, says ASD political historian Perry Arrasmith. It's only one of the most important documents in history!
Perry ArrasmithJuly 02, 2026
Community Voices: Commercial fishing is not a cultural practice
Rather than framing ocean protection as a burden, we should instead ask why Pacific Island peoples, and our protected and sacred oceans, are forced to bear the unfair burden of industrial fishing, write two members of the Papahānaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group.
Hau‘oli Lorenzo-Elarco and Kenika Lorenzo-ElarcoJuly 01, 2026
Hamada: Why I'm happily celebrating the Fourth of July
ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada remembers firsthand the tumultuous year of 1968 — and how Americans nevertheless united to celebrate the Fourth of July. He's keeping that spirit alive this year, even if some people seem determined to sit the party out.
Rick HamadaJuly 01, 2026
Moanalua’s Haunting History
If an old Hawaiian woman asks you to cut a cord for her in Moanalua Valley, be very, very careful what you do next. That's just once of the eerie tales of this part of O‘ahu where many battles have raged, from the invasion of Kahekili from Maui to the dispute over the route of H3.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 01, 2026
Aloha Tower at 100 years old: Part 1
A hundred years ago, Aloha Tower was built as an intentional landmark for the bustling harbor where all visitors to O‘ahu arrived, and that plan worked, as it quickly became synonymous with Hawai‘i itself. In part one of our look back at the tower's history, ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown takes us from the creation of the tower to just after WWII.
DeSoto BrownJuly 01, 2026
Community Voices: When licensing goes too far
Highlights from Grassroot’s annual legislative wrap-up visits, including how a hair braider in Hawaiʻi got their license to open a small business.
Keliʻi AkinaJune 30, 2026
Community Voices: Why homeownership matters for Hawaiʻi's future
As affordability challenges continue to shape the housing conversation, expanding access to education, resources and pathways to ownership remains critical for local residents — and the Realtors who represent them.
Suzanne YoungJune 30, 2026
America’s religious founding: Revival came before the Republic
A child earns a gold star this spring for writing that the founders wanted church and state kept apart. ASD columnist Sterling Higa on the founding we no longer teach — and the revival that built it.
Sterling HigaJune 29, 2026
Hawaiʻi says ‘No can’ to Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C.
Hawaiʻi government officials will not be present at the Great American State Fair, put on by Freedom 250 now through July 10, along with at least 10 mostly Democratic-led states citing cost, staffing and for some, political reasons. Gov. Josh Green says no funds were earmarked for the fair by the state or Congress and instead, has thrown support behind local celebrations.
Kelsey Kukaua MedeirosJune 29, 2026
Hawai‘i at 250
Hawai‘i's celebrations for the 250th anniversary of America's independence seem muted compared to those for the Bicentennial in 1976. That's a shame, argues ASD columnist Perry Arrasmith. Can't we set aside our complaints for even one day to celebrate?
Perry ArrasmithJune 29, 2026
Family, friends continue to seek justice for Amber Jackson 16 years after Kaua‘i murder
For 16 years, the murder of Amber Jackson on Kauaʻi has gone unsolved, but in December 2025, the Kaua‘i Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Gregory Glaser, wanted for second degree murder in connection with the case. ASD crime writer Christina O'Connor spoke with Amber Jackson's family and friends to learn about Jackson's life and their tireless pursuit of justice for her.
Christina O'ConnorJune 29, 2026
RIMPAC 2026: Hawaiʻi, China, and the Question Underneath
The children have soccer practice while, a few miles offshore, 31 nations rehearse a war. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on what Hawaiʻi trusts to keep it safe.
Sterling HigaJune 26, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i’s crappy priorities
The state just announced a process for Hawai‘i’s businesses and nonprofits to apply for funding out of the new $120-million “green fee” fund. ASD editor in chief A. Kam Napier opines that we could be aiming all of that money at a single very significant environmental problem we made for ourselves right here in the Islands. Instead, it will get diluted.
A. Kam NapierJune 25, 2026
Hamada: Let me be a warning to you
ASD columnist Rick Hamada gets personal with some health news, in hopes that you'll be inspired to take better care of yourself.
Rick HamadaJune 25, 2026
Community Voices: The art of the tax deal
We, the people, have an interest in the deals that our government is making. Especially if tax money, or government resources paid for by tax money, is part of the deal.
Tom YamachikaJune 24, 2026
Legends and Spirits of Polihale
At the end of an unpaved, 5-mile road on Kaua‘i's west side is Polihale Beach. It is many things — a treasured local hangout, a visitor attraction that's gaining popularity, and, in ancient Hawaiian tradition, it is a jumping-off place for souls seeking the afterlife. Eerie stories abound about it.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 24, 2026
Turtle Bay Resort vs. a bee: Why the rules keep choosing luxury
An endangered bee could stall a Turtle Bay resort, writes ASD columnist Sterling Higa. A few miles down the coast, homes that start at $5.9 million are going up untouched.
Sterling HigaJune 24, 2026
Community Voices: Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi turns 25, same year U.S. turns 250
A personal invite to Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi's 25th Anniversary Gala on Sept. 4. The theme of the evening is "The Freedom to Thrive," and will bring together Grassroot’s friends from around the Islands and the country to enjoy a meal, open bar, entertainment and more.
Keliʻi AkinaJune 23, 2026
Community Voices: Legislative outcomes underscore the need for continued advocacy
Only one of the six OHA package bills introduced to directly benefit the Native Hawaiian community was ultimately transmitted to the governor for signature. Here's a rundown of the victories and losses from the 2026 legislative session, per the organization that aims to protect Native Hawaiian rights.
Leināʻala LeyJune 22, 2026
Why Hawaiʻi locks up the honey
The honey is locked up and cameras watch the lot. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa on what Hawaiʻi bought when it stopped paying for justice.
Sterling HigaJune 20, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Hawai‘i dodged a library bullet
Hawai‘i tried very hard to be the home of Barack Obama's presidential library. Now the thing exists in Chicago, open to the public, over budget and overwrought. ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier recaps Hawai‘i's doomed quest to secure this building and gets into what the architecture of the finished project tells us.
A. Kam NapierJune 19, 2026
Beyond Tax Relief: Delivering Real Housing Solutions for Hawaiʻi
While tax relief puts vital funds back into the pockets of working families, the state cannot stem the tide of out-migration without taking aggressive action on housing.
Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, Sen. Sharon Moriwaki & and Sen. Troy HashimotoJune 18, 2026
The saga of the fountains
The fountain we all know and love near the Diamond Head end of Kapi‘iolani Park is not the first fountain in the area, nor is it in the original location of the first fountain. ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown takes us through the fountain's story, all the way back to its original source — Imperial Japan.
DeSoto BrownJune 18, 2026
Can Kauaʻi feed itself? Why food independence won't work
Food independence is a luxury belief, says ASD columnist Sterling Higa, and it is most affordable to those who have never gone hungry.
Sterling HigaJune 17, 2026
Community Voices: 'Finding landfills is never easy'
Counties face growing landfill challenges. “It’s just regular language, ʻthrow it away,’” said Allison Fraley, Solid Waste Division chief, County of Kauaʻi. “There is no ʻaway’ here on the island.”
Donalyn Dela CruzJune 17, 2026
The Choking Ghost at OCCC
As if prison wasn't scary enough, prisoners and guards alike at O‘ahu Community Correctional Center have many tales of a choking ghost stalking the facility, as well as other apparitions.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 17, 2026
Hamada: Commemorating Honouliuli
Events coming up this weekend recognize the 80th anniversary of the closing of the Honouliuli Internment Camp, where up to 1,800 Japanese and Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada gives an overview of the history of the site, and the steps taken in the years after to attempt to right that wrong.
Rick HamadaJune 17, 2026
Community Voices: Defending the First Amendment
New law, known as Act 11, will prohibit groups you might normally think of as representing you from saying anything about candidates for public office, ballot measures or political parties. Learn more about the lawsuit filed by Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi.
Keliʻi AkinaJune 16, 2026
Letter to the Editor: 2019 newspaper clipping confirms pronunciation of Molokai
An ASD reader writes in to say mahalo and share the newspaper clipping she keeps in her own Mary Pukui Hawaiian Dictionary.
Letters to the EditorJune 16, 2026
Community Voices: Medicaid Fraud Control
Hawaiʻi's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was recently called a “complete disgrace" by Vice President J.D. Vance and was decertified. In response, Gov. Josh Green announced that he would create an “independent Medicaid Fraud Strike Force” whose mission is "to help identify waste, fraud and abuse, recommend corrective actions, assist in the recovery of taxpayer dollars where appropriate and strengthen systems designed to protect Medicaid recipients and public funds.” Let's hope this action catches the bad actors.
Tom YamachikaJune 16, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: State blowing it on convention center
Hawai‘i lawmakers seem to think they own the only convention center on Earth, because their approach to investing in the Hawai‘i Convention Center ignores any sense of the marketplace. Towns the size of Hawaii‘i, in terms of population and visitor counts, are investing hundreds of millions in their facilities just to keep up with what the convention market wants, while we cheap out on the cost of fixing leaks.
A. Kam NapierJune 16, 2026
Molokaʻi or Molokai, and why? ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi speakers, community share manaʻo
Aloha State Daily revisits the Molokaʻi or Molokai debate over the spelling and pronunciation of the place name — with or without an ʻokina — initially for our own house style guide used across the website. Here’s what we learned from community members statewide.
Kelsey Kukaua MedeirosJune 13, 2026
Coming soon, for six years
Maui County promised a new zoning code on a six-year timeline, notes ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa. The six years are up, the website says “coming soon,” and the County is calling for a fresh start.
Sterling HigaJune 12, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Aloha, Stadium!
ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier bids a personal, Gen X farewell to Aloha Stadium after watching some of the demolition firsthand. Anyone else remember The Police playing in ’84? This column is for you!
A. Kam NapierJune 11, 2026
Hawai‘i's parking meters – when, where, and why?
Before parking meters came along, street parking in Hawai‘i was free — and a total free-for-all. ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown dives into how the parking meter got to the Islands.
DeSoto BrownJune 10, 2026
Hamada: My favorite things
There have been plenty of heavy topics to write about in recent weeks, so for this week, let's have fun. Martinis, anyone?
Rick HamadaJune 10, 2026
Sacred Hauntings at Pūowaina
Pūowaina — Punchbowl Crater — holds tremendous energy after centuries of profound human activities. In ancient times, it housed a heiau puhi kanaka, a fire temple involving human sacrifice. Now it is home to the National Memorial Cemetery for America's war dead. In between those eras, it has housed canons and Easter services, a firing range and sledding slopes. Some say it houses spirits as well, who make themselves known even in broad daylight.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 10, 2026
Hawai‘i's love affair with Botswana — and why it ended
For most Mainland United States locations, the antipode — the place on the directly opposite side of the globe — falls right in the middle of an ocean. For Hawai‘i, the antipode is in Africa. That realization was the beginning of a 1960s relationship between Hawai‘i and Botswana as that nation gained independence. Hawai‘i Governor John A. Burns was America's official representative at the independence ceremonies.
Perry ArrasmithJune 10, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: The Logan ʻohana serve up sweet treats
Paul Logan, who grew up in Wahiawā, is having the time of his life as the “Uncle” of Uncle’s Ice Cream Sandwiches, which wholesales its sweet treats to 150 retailers on the Mainland and close to 200 statewide, including Foodland, Whole Foods and ABC stores. His wife, Barbara, helps manage the finances for the business and enjoys sharing about his post-Merchant Marine ventures such as surviving a super typhoon in Saipan with their two-month-old son, renovating a 200-year-old chateau near Verviers, Belgium, and more.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJune 10, 2026
Community Voices: What preserving Papahānaumokuākea means below the surface
Marine debris from lost or discarded commercial fishing nets to plastic and other waste carried to the ocean by streams, rivers and lakes, does not simply disappear at sea. Much of the debris collected in the massive Great Pacific Garbage Patch north of Hawaiʻi eventually converges on our shores — especially in Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary. Despite relatively little of this waste originating in Hawaiʻi, our local community continues bearing the responsibility of ongoing cleanup efforts to protect one of the most sacred and ecologically significant places on Earth.
Philamer FelicitasJune 09, 2026
Community Voices: When Congestion Rules All
Honolulu DTS director of transit Jon Nouchi is set to lead a public discussion about human transit on June 27 at AIA Hawaiʻi's book club, which this quarter aims to examine how public transit influences connectivity, community planning and the future of Honolulu’s urban spaces. Nouchi gives ASD readers a taste of the upcoming conversation.
Jon NouchiJune 09, 2026
Community Voices: Navigating the 'NIL'e
University of Hawaiʻi's Athletic Director Matt Elliott is determined to find a way to get millions in resources for college athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness (referred to as NIL). Although the Legislature tried to sink NIL funding, UH’s ship stubbornly refuses to go down, per the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi.
Tom YamachikaJune 09, 2026
The sword that spares
ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa shares gratitude for the police we send toward the danger the rest of us flee, especially in light of the manhunts for Jacob Baker and William “Billy” Sinclair.
Sterling HigaJune 09, 2026
Letter to the Editor: ʻPraise and accoladesʻ for speaking truth
An ASD reader, born in Honolulu who now resides in Louisiana, gives kudos to columnist Sterling Higa for his take on the May 30 beating on Oʻahu's North Shore. "His article was faith-affirming and much needed in these days of violence," she writes.
Letters to the EditorJune 08, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Lawsuit filed against Act 11
Lawmakers said the state would get sued, even as they pushed SB2471 into law as Act 11, seeking to nullify the U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United. Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i filed its lawsuit Friday, challenging the law as unconstitutional.
A. Kam NapierJune 06, 2026
No law can raise the dead
Maybe police crackdowns or stricter parental discipline might've prevented the now infamous North Shore beatdowns, writes ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa, but at heart, the cruelties of that night are evidence of a deeper spiritual crisis in Hawai‘i.
Sterling HigaJune 06, 2026
Making Sense of Hawai‘i’s Medicaid Fraud Conundrum
On Thursday, the federal government decertified and defunded Hawai‘i's Medicaid fraud unit in response to having spent millions on the unit for years while getting few results. ASD political historian Perry Arrasmith explains how we got here and what it means for Hawai‘i, where Gov. Josh Green had been on fairly good terms with the Trump administration on health matters.
Perry ArrasmithJune 05, 2026
Then & Now on Bishop Street: Buildings and Trees Grow Taller
DeSoto Brown, historian and curator for the Archives at Bishop Museum, joins ASD as a history columnist. In this debut, he shows us Bishop Street in Downtown Honolulu, as it was in 1949 and as it appears today, with the backstory on what you're seeing. Something on this street is older than you might guess. What do you think that might be?
DeSoto BrownJune 04, 2026
Community Voices: 'Reestablishing food sovereignty for Hawaiʻi is a kākou effort'
Adapted from an undergraduate research thesis, student Rose Angelo talks with Maui community members about Hawaiʻi's "drastic change in food production and security, and how can Hawaiians come together to steward the land and their communities."
Rose AngeloJune 03, 2026
Community Voices: Our Big Tax Bill Act
Senate Bill 3125 — signed into law on May 21 and became Act 24 — changes individual tax rates, adds a new millionaires’ tax bracket, adds limits to the solar credit, and gets rid of several different business tax credits over time.
Tom YamachikaJune 03, 2026
Hamada: North Shore beating sickens
A dozen boys and men ganged up on a 15-year-old boy this week, then turned on the young lifeguard who tried to save him. ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada asks — who the heck raised these people, and what are we going to do about this crime?
Rick HamadaJune 03, 2026
Dog-Spirits and Moʻo at Kapena Falls
Who — or what — lives in the pond beneath Kapena Falls in Nu‘uanu Valley? In ancient legends, the valley has been home to guardian dogs with supernatural abilities, and creatures who can take both human and lizard form. For some visitors to the valley, those legends haven't been so ancient after all.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 03, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: UH athletics and the race for dollars
Name, Image, Likeness is already upsetting the finances of college sports. Now there's a new trend — universities are starting to spin off their entire athletics programs as freestanding corporations. Where will this leave the University of Hawai‘i?
A. Kam NapierJune 03, 2026
Too much sunshine
Transparency is great, but it isn't the only value government has to weigh, writes ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa. There's so much sunshine on some commission hiring that good applicants might shy away for fear of getting needlessly burned.
Sterling HigaJune 02, 2026
Community Voices: How Hawaiʻi parents can set kids free from digital addiction
A Mililani mom and certified life coach/private tutor shares tips on how local families can break free from daily struggles with screen time.
Karen K.C. GibsonJune 02, 2026
Community Voices: Lawmakers choose innovation over red tape
We can’t predict whether seagliders will take off as an efficient and economical way to travel interisland, but it is nice to know that efforts are being made to ensure the potential growth of a new industry will not be held back by unnecessary regulations, writes Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i's Keli‘i Akina.
Keliʻi AkinaJune 02, 2026
The politics downstream
Presidents used to emerge out of whistlestop tours, radio address, television and cable. Now, for the youngest voters and voters-to-be, political power gathers in the frenetic world of livestreams. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa talks about what this means.
Sterling HigaMay 30, 2026
Hamada: Road rage justice served
Hawai‘i has a reputation for being soft on crime but recently, victims of a multi-state road rager in California held a press conference to thank Hawai‘i for serving a tougher sentence on him than their own state had. Now, can we do something about the road ragers still among us?
Rick HamadaMay 27, 2026
The news according to OHA
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has shown an interest in purchasing a television station. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa thinks this might not do for OHA what the agency would like in terms of controlling the message.
Sterling HigaMay 27, 2026
Ghosts Run This Gulch
From ancient battles to modern car crashes, a lot has happened around Roosevelt Bridge, where Kamehameha Highway crosses over Kīpapa Gulch. Is it any wonder it has a reputation for hauntings?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 27, 2026
Community Voices: A good lesson in curtailing government growth
Kudos to Councilmember Val Okimoto and the Honolulu Budget Committee, which made the fiscally responsible decision this week to ax most of the funding for the city’s Office of Economic Recovery.
Keliʻi AkinaMay 26, 2026
Community Voices: The people who will save Hawai‘i
Katie Chang, executive director of Center for Tomorrow's Leaders, talks about why she's bullish on Hawai‘i's future. She sees a thousand reasons each year — the number of student leaders in CTL's programs who are going to fight for their Hawai‘i.
Katie ChangMay 25, 2026
Community Voices: From resistance to regeneration at Waipā
Waipā’s efforts have expanded beyond growing food. They are also raising future farmers and community advocates. The valley serves as an outdoor classroom, providing educational programs for schools, families and community members.
Philamer FelicitasMay 25, 2026
Community Voices: Changes to the solar credit
SB3125 proposes a few significant changes to the credit, making the solar industry unhappy. If the bill is enacted, here's what timelines taxpayers should know.
Tom YamachikaMay 25, 2026
Hamada: How corrupt is Hawai‘i?
Most public servants get through the day doing absolutely nothing wrong. But as ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada observes, there have been more than enough high-profile cases of corruption to justify the perception that Hawai‘i can be pretty rotten.
Rick HamadaMay 23, 2026
Kumu Earl Kawaʻa, haumana recognized for Board and Stone
Born and raised on Molokaʻi, Kawaʻa has offered Board and Stone to ʻohana across the Islands since 2010. The cultural classes teach families how to carve a wooden board (papa kuʻi ʻai) and shape a stone poi pounder (pōhaku) using only hand tools, while perpetuating Hawaiian traditions, language, moʻolelo and more. Last month, the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives honored him and his team for their dedication to community.
Kelsey Kukaua MedeirosMay 22, 2026
The stories underneath
ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa explores how an extensive story on homelessness by Civil Beat raises issues where both the political left and political right can do better on their approaches to solving the problem.
Sterling HigaMay 22, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: David Lazar, Kate Steinle and Honolulu’s future
One of the top three candidates for Honolulu Police Chief, David Lazar of San Francisco, has stated his intention to never let HPD cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These are the kinds of policies widely believed to have been the reason why Kathryn "Kate" Steinle was killed in 2015 by a five-time deportee, out on the streets of San Francisco because local authorities refused to work with federal agencies on immigration cases.
A. Kam NapierMay 20, 2026
Intermediate Ghosts
If you thought just being in the 7th or 8th grade was scary, imagine if some tragic set of circumstances had you trapped there in the afterlife! Stories abound about the things seen at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School in Honolulu, long known as an "Intermediate School" in the DOE naming system. Ancient warriors. Headless bodies. A cop on his beat. A mysterious woman in high heels. All these and more.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 20, 2026
Community Voices: Why is Haleakalā a sacred place?
On Haleakalā, the land from where the forest begins up to the summit is considered a wao akua (realm of gods). The summit itself is called the piko, or highest point, which draws down nourishment that feeds the entire, living, breathing mountain system.
Hina KneubuhlMay 19, 2026
Ben Sasse is dying in public
The former U.S. senator from Nebraska is talking about big ideas everywhere he can as pancreatic cancer takes his life. Hawai‘i's politicians could learn from what he has to say about government doing fewer things well, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaMay 19, 2026
Community Voices: Keep following the yellow brick road
A look at more Hawaiʻi tax bills on their way to Gov. Green’s desk.
Tom YamachikaMay 18, 2026
Community Voices: More housing reforms for Hawaiʻi
If the governor approves these particular measures, 2026 will go down as yet another year in which the Legislature made significant progress toward resolving Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis.
Keliʻi AkinaMay 18, 2026
Reckoning With George Ariyoshi’s Hawai‘i
ASD political history columnist Perry Arrasmith takes a deep dive into the career, accomplishments and legacy of the late Gov. George Ariyoshi. His last year in office was 1986 but, as Arrasmith explains, the social and political tensions Ariyoshi navigated remain with us to this day.
Perry ArrasmithMay 15, 2026
Hamada: Lawmakers saved the tax cuts with a "tax the rich" increase
ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada assesses the Legislative session and find just one idea reigning in the Big Square Building. Tax the "rich," even when preserving tax cuts. Do they know who the rich really are?
Rick HamadaMay 14, 2026
'Mister ambassador of aloha'
It's a bad look for the word "aloha" when it's used to commend a vigilante beat down, as state Sen. Brenton Awa did last week, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaMay 13, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: A conversation about SB2471
ASD Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier appears in this week's episode of Talk Story with Keli‘i Akina, on ThinkTech Hawai‘i, to discuss SB2471. The Legislature almost unanimously passed the bill to overturn the Citizens United decision in Hawai‘i last Friday. It now awaits Gov. Josh Green's signature. Akina has questions — what does this mean for Hawai‘i? Watch it here.
A. Kam NapierMay 13, 2026
Strange Events at the Ke‘elikōlani Building
It's hard to imagine now, but this area of the Capitol District of Honolulu was once waterfront property, where King Kamehameha I and his Royal Court made their home. Now, state government department heads, rather than powerful kahuna, hold sway, but it's possible the old energies linger, causing eerie experiences.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 13, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Ron Montgomery, finds 'thrill' repairing planes
Ron Montgomery served in the Navy for 28 years as an aircraft mechanic and air crewman, and shortly after worked a 25-year career with Hawaiian Airlines. Now, you can find him volunteering to restore a variety of vintage planes, mostly World War II-era, at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. On May 23, the museum will hold a community event, themed Armed Forces Appreciation.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiMay 12, 2026
Earning the right to teach
Fame is not the same as mastery, says ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa, as he contemplates the careers of Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama, stars of "Renovation Aloha." The duo was in trouble again recently, this time for having run two illegal short-term rentals.
Sterling HigaMay 12, 2026
Community Voices: Follow the yellow brick road
Stay tuned for further news on the bills advancing toward the Land of Oz.
Tom YamachikaMay 11, 2026
Community Voices: Last week to apply for OHA’s Mahiʻai Micro Fund Program
Farmers impacted by the recent Kona Low storms may be eligible for awards of up to $5,000, while other eligible farmers may receive awards of up to $3,000 to support ongoing operational costs. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 15.
Bill BrennanMay 11, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: How the Clinton White House just bamboozled Hawai‘i
The Legislature was jubilant as it passed SB2471 on Friday, seeking to overturn the effects of the Citizens United decision in Hawai‘i and get big money and outside influences out of our elections. The irony is, Mainland power players were pulling our strings the whole time.
A. Kam NapierMay 11, 2026
Community Voices: Historic 2024 tax cuts rescued for majority of Hawai‘i residents
Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i played a part in convincing the Legislature to preserve nearly all of the promised tax cuts that had been poised for repeal at the start of the session.
Keliʻi AkinaMay 11, 2026
ʻGotta start somewhereʻ
ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa digs into the claimed Christian ethics of would-be assassin Cole Tomas Allen, who stormed the White House Correspondent's Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Sterling HigaMay 08, 2026
Community Voices: Untangling occupational licensing rules
If passed, Senate Bill 2876 would replace burdensome cosmetology licensing requirements for natural hair braiders with a simple registration. This is a step in the right direction for local entrepreneurs, Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i notes.
Keliʻi AkinaMay 07, 2026
Community Voices: Hawaiʻi’s rural nurses hold the line. It’s time the state holds them up
In honor of National Nurses Day on May 6, HPU School of Nursing Dean Edna Magpantay-Monroe shares how the state has begun to take steps to strengthen rural health infrastructure, though more work is needed.
Edna Magpantay-MonroeMay 06, 2026
Hamada: Political influence in Hawai‘i by the numbers
A shockingly low percentage of people vote in Hawai‘i, notes ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada. Something to keep in mind as we see what the Hawai‘i State Legislature passes this week.
Rick HamadaMay 06, 2026
The continuous haunting of the Kaka‘ako fire station
Fire stations around the world, and across the Islands, are famous for hauntings. Here's a closer look at the strange experiences of fire fighters at the Kaka‘ako Fire Station, located in an area where once more than a thousand small pox victims were buried.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMay 06, 2026
Community Voices: Deciphering the budget
Tom Yamachika, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi, breaks down one of the budget bill entries and provides a resource that further explains the budgeting processes and appropriations.
Tom YamachikaMay 05, 2026
Community Voices: More on the Menehune
Famous to this day are the Menehune's wondrous works: Kīkī-a-Ola irrigation canal of Waimea; the koa forest and home of Hālau-a-Ola; the walkway through Alakaʻi, Kīpapa-a-Ola; and, this wondrous work, ʻAlekoko Fishpond, also called the “Menehune Fishpond.”
Kalani AkanaMay 05, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: State broke, keeps spending
Thirty-two bills have a combined total of nearly $214 million in new spending. They will be voted on this Wednesday. ASD editor A. Kam Napier pulled together this digestible overview, with commentary, so you know where your money might be going.
A. Kam NapierMay 05, 2026
Khowaja’s not-so-deep fake
Aloha State Daily columnist Sterling Higa shares lessons learned from Iqbal Khowaja, who had allegedly been presenting himself as the “CTO of the State of Hawaiʻi,” when he wasn't.
Sterling HigaMay 05, 2026
"Fraud can't happen here"
ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa sees a pattern on Maui, where Mayor Bissen's former chief of staff has filed a whistleblower lawsuit over how he was allegedly treated after reporting what he considered fraud in county government and where a recent fraud risk assessment commissioned by the county found that controls were inadequate to prevent fraud.
Sterling HigaApril 30, 2026
Community Voices: The unintended consequences of transfer taxes
Studies on the effect of real estate transfer taxes in general have found they are associated with reductions in investment, income, jobs and economic activity. It's also likely to make the state’s housing crisis worse, per Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i.
Keliʻi AkinaApril 29, 2026
Temper, temper!
Americans don't have a rage problem exactly, says ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada, even if people seem angrier and more polarized than ever. They have a self-control problem.
Rick HamadaApril 29, 2026
Ghosts of Kiona‘ole Road
In the dark of night, a certain tree along this storied Windward O‘ahu road could be a beacon of the spirit world.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 29, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: The bill that won't name its target
UPDATED 5/2: The joint conference committee has passed a revised SB 2471 on to the full Legislature, seeking to nullify for the Islands the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. As ASD Editor A. Kam Napier observes, lawmakers are offering more argument than evidence for the bill while being vague about whose speech they really mean to curtail — or protect.
A. Kam NapierApril 29, 2026
Praying for Hawai‘i's leaders
Last Friday, some 1,200 people gathered for the 47th Annual Hawai‘i Prayer Breakfast, including such leaders as Governor Josh Green, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Senate President Ron Kouchi and Representative Elijah Pierick. Attendees may have represented different faiths, different governing philosophies, they may even at times be opponents, but they came together seeking grace. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa talks about why that matters.
Sterling HigaApril 28, 2026
Community Voices: Bound by ropes
In the mid-19th century, Hawaiian Catholics were frequently persecuted for their faith. One story recalls how Hawaiians in Kahikinui were rounded up by sheriffs, bound to one another in ropes, and marched along the Hāna coastline 90 miles to Wailuku.
Kalani AkanaApril 28, 2026
Community Voices: What’s dead — for now
Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi takes a look at "bills that had enough support to pass from one chamber to the other; the fact that most of these are House bills simply means that the Senate, this year, was less inclined to move ideas forward for further discussion."
Tom YamachikaApril 28, 2026
Community Voices: Combining career and kuleana in California
Jessica Kaʻiulani Hilo, who lives in Los Angeles, found strength intertwining her career goals with her Kānaka identity. “For being in the diaspora, I very much lucked out in still being very connected to the culture,” she said.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonApril 24, 2026
Hamada: Hawai‘i golf lovers lament PGA loss
ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada just happens to love golf. He spoke with people in and around the game and its related businesses for their reactions to the loss of the PGA Tournaments.
Rick HamadaApril 23, 2026
Community Voices: The Menehune: A true race of people
Origins of the Menehune you may not be aware of.
Kalani AkanaApril 23, 2026
Who still wants the job?
As Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke suspended her reelection run, she cited the stress on her family as she has come under scrutiny. As ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa observes, there is a lot of stress to being in politics. Here are the four kinds of people he sees pursuing that life in spite of the pressures.
Sterling HigaApril 23, 2026
Ghostly history of Kamāmalu Playground
A home once stood on the property, then known as Emma Street, and its owner seemed unwilling to stay away even after death. But is she the only spirit that haunts the site?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 22, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: DMV déjà vu
Have you heard about the long waits to renew your Hawai‘i drivers license? Does this all feel strangely familiar? Yes, it's been eight years since the Great Renewal Logjam and all those licenses are expiring at the same time. Editor A. Kam Napier has thoughts on all that plus an update on the promised online renewals.
A. Kam NapierApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: When good bills go bad
Several of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi’s priority measures still in play aim to make a dent in Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis.
Keliʻi AkinaApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: Hawaiʻi Women Lawyers opens doors for generations
The organization was started in 1976 by attorney Rai Saint Chu.
Richard TurbinApril 21, 2026
Community Voices: Where’s your second tax return — part 2
Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi details its latest win at the Legislature — submitting a redraft for HB2429 in testimony that would have forced residents to file a second, publicly available, tax return. Conference Committee meetings now begin.
Tom YamachikaApril 20, 2026
Ask them, don't study them
Political commentator Neal Milner is alarmed that teenagers find new value in mothers staying home to take care of the family. ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa has a rebuttal.
Sterling HigaApril 18, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Congratulations, Hawai‘i, we're No. 1! In local taxes!
A walletHub analysis of state and local taxes puts Hawai‘i at the top.
A. Kam NapierApril 16, 2026
The fight never has to end
There have always been beefs and scraps in Hawai‘i's schools. Now fights are social media events, incentivizing kids to put on bigger and more violent shows for the audience, writes ASD opinion columnist Sterling Higa. This is going to get someone killed.
Sterling HigaApril 15, 2026
Hamada: Why tip your servers?
Inspired by a viral TikTok, ASD Columnist Rick Hamada talks tipping, customers' standards and protocols, concern over servers' paychecks, and more.
Rick HamadaApril 15, 2026
A mystery on the Koko Crater Trail
If you think climbing 1,000 steps is scary, just wait until you hear who — or what — you might meet at the summit!
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 15, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Keep the Green Fee project portfolio intact
A Chaminade student shares how habitat loss threatens Native Hawaiian land snails and how the Green Fee can help safeguard its resources.
Letters to the EditorApril 15, 2026
Rising pro surfer Kalā DeSoto finds purpose in the ocean
In January, 18-year-old surfer Kalānōweo DeSoto from Mākaha became the youngest invitational surfer to win Da Hui Backdoor Shootout held on Oʻahu's North Shore — and the only competitor in event history to win titles in both longboard and shortboard categories. Learn more about what got him in the water and his hopes for the next competition and beyond.
Donalyn Dela CruzApril 15, 2026
Community Voices: How building new homes benefits everyone
Several remaining reforms in the state Legislature propose more housing in Hawaiʻi at all levels, without spending a dime of taxpayer money. But how will legislators respond?
Keliʻi AkinaApril 14, 2026
Community Voices: Conveyance Tax Fright
The Legislature is advancing bills to increase the conveyance tax on properties sold in Hawai‘i, without revealing by how much. The are "Blankety Blank" bills, with the most important numbers left out. Early drafts, however, did propose rate increases as much as four times higher than current rates.
Tom YamachikaApril 14, 2026
What’s in a Lieutenant Governor?
Some of Hawai‘i's Lieutenant Governors have launched bigger political careers from the position, some faded in obscurity, and a number them clashed with their governors. One even quit halfway through his term to go back to private industry. Here are the names that made history in the statehood era.
Perry ArrasmithApril 13, 2026
Faster than prayer
Pastors are doing it, legislators are doing it — everyone is turning to AI to write out their thoughts for them. Is anyone thinking for themselves, asks ASD columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaApril 10, 2026
Community Voices: A story of enduring love
Beyond training people to preserve and perpetuate hula through hālau Nā Pualei o Likolehua, founder Leināʻala Kalama Heine wanted to instill in her students a love for all that is Hawaiian and determination to move the lāhui forward. Now under the leadership of her oldest daughter, Kumu Hula Niuliʻi Heine, the hālau is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year at the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineApril 09, 2026
Hamada: "Lucky You Live Hawai‘i," we say — as celebration, or as cope?
ASD columnist Rick Hamada discusses three phrases we tell ourselves to get by in the Islands.
Rick HamadaApril 09, 2026
Uncles and Aunties: Kate Johnson, the cycling clarinetist of the Royal Hawaiian Band
Kate Johnson has been a clarinetist with the Royal Hawaiian Band for 25 years, and has competed in numerous triathlons. She still gets in 60 miles of cycling a week in between performances.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiApril 09, 2026
Ghosts of the King Street Cemetery
From 1845 until the 1920s, a parcel of land outside of Honolulu granted by Governor Boki served as an active cemetery for the Catholic Church in Hawai‘i. It's still there on King Street, though its quiet surroundings have given way to high-rises, utilities and a hospital. Also still there, some say, are the spirits of the deceased appearing amid the headstones.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 08, 2026
Community Voices: Help Hawai‘i farmers recover
An anonymous donor secured by Aloha State Daily will match dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000, donations made to the Hawai‘i Farmers Union Foundation's Hawai‘i Flood Response Fund.
Christian ZuckermanApril 08, 2026
The missing step
When the Hawai‘i state Legislature passed historic tax cuts in 2024, it was meant to be the first step in a two-step plan to restructure Hawai‘i's tax code by state Rep. Kyle Yamashita, then chair of the House Finance committee. Then he lost the chairmanship, the House voted to take back the cuts and Yamashita's plan has gone missing. ASD columnist Sterling Higa explores what might have been.
Sterling HigaApril 07, 2026
Community Voices: Additional car tax dead for now
This session, the Senate Transportation Committee saved all of us the trouble of worrying about HB2030's fate. It deferred the bill.
Tom YamachikaApril 06, 2026
What's in a chee hoo?
Generations removed from the plantation era that forged it, local culture is in danger of becoming a nostalgia-fueled performance of itself, writes ASD columnist Sterling Higa.
Sterling HigaApril 04, 2026
In the presence of the Queen
"The Spirit of Lili‘uokalani," the bronze statue of Hawai‘i's last ruling monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani, is a physical manifestation of the Queen beside the Hawai‘i State Capitol. But people tell stories of encountering more spiritual manifestations of her presence as well.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 01, 2026
Loch Ness monster spotted in Ala Wai Canal
“It’s 42 degrees in Loch Ness,” says noted Isle cryptozoologist Sigmund Zack. “The question isn’t, ‘Why would Nessie swim 7,000 miles to vacation in Waikīkī?” it’s ‘Why wouldn’t he?”
A. Kam NapierApril 01, 2026
Hamada: Answers to bullying, good and bad
When growing up on the Mainland, ASD columnist Rick Hamada confronted boyhood bullies the old fashioned way. Here and now in the Islands, a local organization is doing great work solving the problem positively. Here's how you can help.
Rick HamadaApril 01, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 30, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaMarch 30, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierMarch 30, 2026
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.
Annabelle Le JeuneMarch 30, 2026
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?
Keliʻi AkinaMarch 30, 2026
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.
Perry ArrasmithMarch 27, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 26, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMarch 25, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaMarch 25, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierMarch 24, 2026
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.
Jayden Kepoʻo-CaspinoMarch 24, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaMarch 24, 2026
"Puh, Puh, Punahou"
ASD columnist Sterling Higa has three words for kama‘āina who hide their private school background — cut it out!
Sterling HigaMarch 23, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaMarch 23, 2026
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiMarch 23, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierMarch 19, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMarch 18, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaMarch 18, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 18, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaMarch 18, 2026
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.
Adam Keawe Manalo-CampMarch 17, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaMarch 17, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 16, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierMarch 16, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 13, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierMarch 12, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaMarch 11, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMarch 11, 2026
"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.
Sterling HigaMarch 11, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaMarch 10, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaMarch 10, 2026
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.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineMarch 09, 2026
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.
Perry ArrasmithMarch 06, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaMarch 04, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiMarch 04, 2026
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.
Polynesian Voyaging SocietyMarch 03, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaMarch 03, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaMarch 03, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaMarch 02, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaFebruary 26, 2026
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.
Sterling HigaFebruary 26, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiFebruary 25, 2026
‘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.
Perry ArrasmithFebruary 25, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaFebruary 24, 2026
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.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineFebruary 23, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 23, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierFebruary 21, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaFebruary 18, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiFebruary 18, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaFebruary 18, 2026
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiFebruary 17, 2026
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.
Adam Keawe Manalo-CampFebruary 16, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaFebruary 16, 2026
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.
Letters to the EditorFebruary 12, 2026
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.
Perry ArrasmithFebruary 12, 2026
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiFebruary 11, 2026
Hamada: Super Bowl shenanigans
The selection of Bad Bunny seemed calculated to provoke more than entertain. Why can't entertainment just be ... entertaining?
Rick HamadaFebruary 11, 2026
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 AkinaFebruary 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 AkinaFebruary 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 AkinaJanuary 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
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.
Lisa EllerJanuary 19, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaJanuary 19, 2026
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJanuary 19, 2026
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.
Perry ArrasmithJanuary 15, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaJanuary 14, 2026
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?
Keliʻi AkinaJanuary 13, 2026
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.
Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor, Hina Keala & Kaipu KealaJanuary 13, 2026
Community Voices: No need for idle DOE funds
Will the state Department of Education spend its money or just keep asking lawmakers for more?
Tom YamachikaJanuary 12, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 10, 2026
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.
Tom YamachikaJanuary 08, 2026
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?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJanuary 07, 2026
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.
Rick HamadaJanuary 07, 2026
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."
Leināʻala LeyJanuary 06, 2026
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.
Keliʻi AkinaJanuary 06, 2026
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.
A. Kam NapierJanuary 02, 2026
Pipikaula Corner: Honolulu drinking, by the numbers
Honolulu Liquor Commission data details a billion-dollar business.
A. Kam NapierDecember 31, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 31, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaDecember 31, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaDecember 30, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaDecember 25, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 24, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaDecember 24, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierDecember 23, 2025
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.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonDecember 22, 2025
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.
Dr. Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro & Fumiko ChunDecember 19, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaDecember 18, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 17, 2025
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.
Mathew HoffmannDecember 16, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaDecember 16, 2025
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.
Maxx RamosDecember 16, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierDecember 13, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaDecember 10, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 10, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaDecember 09, 2025
Community Voices: Restoring abundance along our Skyline
The city’s new vision to bring food, culture and connection through food access hubs.
Kealoha FoxDecember 08, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaDecember 08, 2025
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.
Donalyn Dela CruzDecember 03, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiDecember 03, 2025
Hamada: Why I'm done with shopping in stores
’Tis the season to hit the malls ... or not!
Rick HamadaDecember 02, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaDecember 01, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaNovember 27, 2025
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?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 26, 2025
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?
Rick HamadaNovember 25, 2025
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.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonNovember 24, 2025
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.
Abbey SeitzNovember 22, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaNovember 21, 2025
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiNovember 19, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 19, 2025
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.
Donalyn Dela CruzNovember 18, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaNovember 17, 2025
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
Tom YamachikaNovember 17, 2025
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.
Nicole WooNovember 14, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 12, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaNovember 12, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierNovember 11, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaNovember 10, 2025
Community Voices: Kapa, ready to wear
Maui-born kapa maker turns traditional clothing into "pieces that people can wear every day.”
Christine HittNovember 10, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierNovember 06, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiNovember 05, 2025
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?
Perry ArrasmithNovember 05, 2025
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.
Puanani Fernandez-AkamineNovember 04, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaNovember 04, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaNovember 04, 2025
Community Voices: Lahaina rebuilding inches toward progress
Maui County lawmakers have succeeded at removing some of the barriers to speedy reconstruction.
Keliʻi AkinaOctober 29, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 29, 2025
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.”
Andrea CavaliereOctober 29, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaOctober 28, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaOctober 28, 2025
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.
Lee WangOctober 25, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 22, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaOctober 21, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaOctober 21, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaOctober 21, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 15, 2025
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.
Andrea CavaliereOctober 15, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaOctober 14, 2025
Hamada: In the shutdown showdown, you are a pawn
It's divide-and-conquer gamesmanship, reaching all the way to the Islands.
Rick HamadaOctober 13, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaOctober 09, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 08, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaOctober 07, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaOctober 07, 2025
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiOctober 06, 2025
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.
Perry ArrasmithOctober 03, 2025
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?
Keliʻi AkinaOctober 02, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiOctober 01, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaSeptember 30, 2025
Community Voices: What's happening with state and local tax deductions
What Hawai‘i taxpayers need to know about changes to the SALT deductions.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 30, 2025
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.
Megan Ulu-Lani BoyantonSeptember 29, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierSeptember 25, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 24, 2025
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?
Rick HamadaSeptember 23, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 23, 2025
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.
Cedric DuarteSeptember 23, 2025
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?"
Letters to the EditorSeptember 17, 2025
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?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 17, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaSeptember 16, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaSeptember 16, 2025
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
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiSeptember 15, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 14, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaSeptember 10, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 10, 2025
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.
Rick HamadaSeptember 09, 2025
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.
Perry ArrasmithSeptember 04, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaSeptember 03, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiSeptember 03, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaSeptember 02, 2025
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.
Toby MorrisAugust 27, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 27, 2025
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...
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 26, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaAugust 25, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 22, 2025
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.
Justin PetersonAugust 21, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 20, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierAugust 19, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaAugust 18, 2025
Beneath the moon at Alakoko
Historians say that on certain nights, the Kauaʻi fishpond is not so still, and the riverbank not so empty.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 13, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 12, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaAugust 11, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 08, 2025
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?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiAugust 06, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierAugust 05, 2025
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.
Perry ArrasmithAugust 04, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaAugust 04, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaAugust 01, 2025
Echoes of the Past at Poli‘ahu
The remains of this keiau on Kaua‘i carry a heavy burden of the past.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 30, 2025
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.
Andrew PereiraJuly 28, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJuly 28, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 23, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaJuly 21, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJuly 21, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaJuly 16, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 16, 2025
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.
Perry ArrasmithJuly 15, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJuly 15, 2025
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.
Noah KalehuaweheJuly 12, 2025
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
Keliʻi AkinaJuly 11, 2025
An East-West Center tailored for Hawaiʻi's needs
How this institution came to be and what it will need to become to survive.
Perry ArrasmithJuly 10, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 09, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJuly 07, 2025
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJuly 05, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJuly 02, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJune 30, 2025
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.
Mike Agcanas & Garrett Leong and Jarrett SilvaJune 27, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierJune 27, 2025
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.
A. Kam NapierJune 26, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 25, 2025
Letter to Editor: Important to remember Gov. William Quinn
Thanks for the reminder of "Hawai‘i's Forgotten Governor."
Letters to the EditorJune 25, 2025
Letter to the Editor: Lahaina's path to rebuilding
Maui County’s obsolete zoning code is making life difficult for our community.
Letters to the EditorJune 25, 2025
Letter to the Editor: My own eerie Topa Tower experience
Odd things can happen at 3 a.m.
Letters to the EditorJune 25, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJune 23, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaJune 20, 2025
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."
Ed NishiokaJune 19, 2025
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 18, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaJune 16, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Schatz goes for the Oscar
Another fine performance given by Hawai‘i's senator.
A. Kam NapierJune 14, 2025
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiJune 13, 2025
More than mail at this post office
Does the spirit of a postmaster still haunt these halls?
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiJune 11, 2025
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
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.
Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya KapanuiApril 30, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaApril 28, 2025
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.
Cheryl Chee TsutsumiApril 25, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: UH joins the Resistance
But I have questions about its claims that it was ever politically independent.
A. Kam NapierApril 24, 2025
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.
Keone KealohaApril 21, 2025
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.
Tom YamachikaApril 21, 2025
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.
Keliʻi AkinaApril 20, 2025
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.
Eric KingmaApril 19, 2025
Pipikaula Corner: Downtown Honolulu 100 years ago (Updated!)
Do you recognize anything in this aerial view of Honolulu taken in April 1925?
A. Kam NapierApril 19, 2025