Sterling Higa
Sterling Higa is a servant of Christ, husband, and father to four. He is a columnist for Aloha State Daily; the views expressed are his own.
As founding executive director of Housing Hawai‘i’s Future, Sterling helped pass Hawai‘i’s most significant statewide housing reforms in 40 years. Previously, he was a lecturer and debate coach in the Communications Department at Hawai‘i Pacific University, winning the Golden Apple Award for distinguished teaching. His writings for Honolulu Civil Beat and Hawai‘i Business Magazine have been recognized with awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Sterling is a Roosevelt High School graduate and holds a bachelor's degree in Speech from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a master's degree in education from Harvard University.
Latest from Sterling Higa
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
'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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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