The natural foods cooperative Kokua Market served Honolulu’s university area for more than 50 years — but it went into decline as farmers markets, subscription-based services and for-profit supermarkets with a “natural” bent cut into its subscriber base. Read more
Honolulu artist Solomon Enos, known for his semi-abstract landscapes and futuristic conceptions of Pacific settings, has been commissioned to make over the malfunctioning reflecting pools at the state Capitol. Read more
Supporters of public funding for the arts prevailed on Tuesday, when a Senate committee deferred House Bill 1807, which would have deleted the 1% of Capital Improvement Plan spending on public building renovations — typically about $2.5 million — appropriated annually for public art acquisitions and programs by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Read more
It’s important that the Honolulu Police Department has opened an investigation into the death of a man, 77, who apparently suffered injuries during a Dec. 28 police arrest at Ala Moana Center for alleged moped theft. Read more
There’s nothing like having a billionaire in your corner, as three hard-working Hawaii nonprofits have just learned. Read more
With its kitschy but entertaining East Coast Italian theme, Ward Villages restaurant Buca di Beppo made its mark on Honolulu over 20-plus years in business as a family-friendly, boisterous eatery well-suited for birthday celebrations or a bite before a movie. Read more
Attention North Shore, Wahiawa, Mililani and Waipio residents: Those experiencing a medical emergency will need to go elsewhere than Wahiawa General Hospital, which has temporarily closed its emergency room, as well as its intensive care unit, in order to repair a malfunctioning ventilation and air conditioning system. Read more
It brings palpable relief to hear that the Queen’s University Medical Group has opened a Kahului clinic to help address a shortage of obstetrics and gynecology services on Maui. Read more
No other state has such a thing, but Hawaii loves having official-state-this-or-thats so why hold back on the “shaka” sign being the official state gesture? Read more
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Funding for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (SFCA) is on the chopping block with House Bill 1807, which deletes about $2.5 million that comes from capital improvement spending on state building renovations. Read more
The State of the City address on Thursday included two updates important to North Shore and West Side parks users. Design work has begun for a “long-promised” swimming pool and recreation center at Kahuku District Park, filling a gap that stretches between Kaneohe and Waialua, the nearest community pools, Mayor Rick Blangiardi stated. And the city is creating new roving park maintenance crews to service Waianae and Ewa Beach parks. “The teams will work when the parks are the busiest, including weekends and holidays,” Blangiardi announced. Read more
“Safety first,” that ageless slogan, seems to have dropped off the script for public schools facilities upkeep. Read more
Consider it Round 1 of the state budgeting process, with the state House sending House Bill 1800 over to the Senate. Read more
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s Compact Impact Fairness Act (CIFA), signed into law last week with the federal spending bill, has major implications for citizens of Compacts of Free Association (COFA) nations — the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau — who have wrongfully been blocked from access to federal benefits. Read more
In a heartbreaking case arising from a deadly assault on security guard Michael Stubbs in 2022, Stubbs’ attacker, Razi White, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Read more
At long last, trial has begun in the pay-to-prosecute case against former city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, engineering firm CEO Dennis Mitsunaga and four of his associates. Read more
At the City Council’s hearing Monday on Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s proposed $3.63 billion operating budget, one focus was the perennial issue of budgeted, vacant positions that probably won’t get filled — and in some cases, haven’t been, for years. Read more
With no reprieve coming from any enhanced revenue forecast, it’s time for legislators to start sharpening their budgetary pencils. Read more
Considering how low voter turnout can be in Hawaii elections, the vote count in some of the state’s smaller races can be pretty small. Read more
A Honolulu Building Board of Appeals decision last month upholding the city’s stop-work order and revocation of building permits for a “monster house” at 3615 Sierra Drive wasn’t read into the appeals hearing record, as is customary, or posted immediately, justifiably prompting citizen complaints. Read more
The self-checkout line, just as it’s falling out of favor in some supermarkets, may be coming to an airport near you. Read more
