Opinion

May 10, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

This has definitely not been a landmark year for good-government bills — though it’s shaping up to be a pretty darn good year for elected officials.

May 9, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Lawmakers trained their sights on an assault weapon ban throughout the 2025 regular session, but an 11th hour amendment sparked dissent on the floor Wednesday, pushing a once-promising shot fa...

May 8, 2025 | 4 MIN READ

The Legislature has completed another rushed round of lawmaking, but there’s a lingering lack of certainty that the job is done. Senate President Ron Kouchi characterized his chamber&rsq...

May 7, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Editor’s note: This week’s column is a follow-up to ‘May 1 — The House goes to court’ published April 23, 2025.

May 5, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

In the works for years, a milestone in the effort to connect and make accessible to the public the cultural treasure that is Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail has been reached: the unveiling...

May 3, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Pity the students who have jumped — wholeheartedly and with their bank accounts — into the promise that a college education will pay off financially in the long run. Yes, the stati...

May 1, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

A nautical Pandora’s box has been flung agape. On April 17, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will, among other fishery-related actions, lift commercial fishing restr...

April 30, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

“Just the facts ma’am.” That’s the only way to write about the ugly death of HB371.

April 29, 2025 | 4 MIN READ

Hawaii has been subjected to a series of earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting challenges in this century — a Great Recession, COVID-19, the Lahaina wildfire, federal turmoil. Each causes...

April 28, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

The beauty of colleges is seen, quite literally, in a stroll through campuses: in the eclectic mix of students of varied colors and creeds, of varying intellectual and emotional abilities. Thi...

April 26, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Does Hawaii need housing that’s affordable for people earning what the bulk of people in Hawaii earn? Yes, and it’s a matter of growing urgency that this housing is by and large un...

April 25, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

It’s Earth Day, a time for reflection on how Hawaii is meeting its longstanding commitments to the environment, which is in increasingly fragile condition. Witness the effects of erosion...

April 24, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Hawaii is slowly tightening the leash on firearm ownership. Multiple legislative bills moving through the state House and Senate this session take aim at low-hanging fruit, but are welcome non...

April 23, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

Serious question: Is there a single member of the State House of Representatives who would say under oath, that every House Committee meeting held for the purpose of making a decision is open...

April 22, 2025 | 4 MIN READ

In a briefing this month, legislators focused on requirements to ensure that children receiving homeschooling have at least one annual, face-to-face meeting with public school educators, who a...

April 21, 2025 | 3 MIN READ

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) is at a crossroads, with its future in the hands of the state Legislature — a body that has progressively lost confidence in the agency’s executi...