By Carroll Cox I am amazed that the Honolulu Board of Water Supply is so evasive about justifying its management of our drinking water, resources and rate charges.
By Carolyn Martinez Golojuch The words of justice by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" — was quoted by President Barack Obama in his proclamation of June as National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
By Marilyn Wong The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hawaii, via a newspaper ad that ran Monday, is offering therapy treatment and reconciliation for the victims of sex abuse.
By Brian Schatz One way for us to carve a new way forward culturally and economically is to spotlight Hawaii not just as a wonderful place to visit, but as the right place for examining and solving the world's problems. This is a dynamic role we should embrace.
By Betty White More than a decade into the 21st century, much has been written, discussed and implemented about teaching and learning. The intersection of technology and classroom teacher methodology has led to dramatic changes in the day-to-day world of education.
By Mililani Trask It has become too easy to just say "aloha" or speak of being "pono" or promise to "malama aina." but lip service is no service when it comes to addressing the challenges Hawaii faces.
By Ernest Y. W. Lau The Honolulu Board of Water Supply recognizes there are customers who are concerned about the billing charge that is assessed with each water bill.
By Joanna Amberger For many people in my generation, it may come as a shock to learn that women continue to face work-force discrimination in the form of lower wages.
By Abigail K. Kawananakoa As a Native Hawaiian whose granduncle Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole in 1920 wrote the Hawaiian Homes Act as a delegate to Congress, I have always had a deep interest in the welfare of Native Hawaiians. Except for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, many would be homeless today.
By Amarjit Singh I can't believe a lot of what I hear and see around me these days.
By Mary Steiner Vermont recently approved historic legislation allowing aid in dying, sometimes referred to as "death with dignity."
By Jim Dator In 1970, participants at the "Hawaii 2000" conference recommended future housing on Oahu be based on high-rises surrounded by open land, and linked together by high-speed public transport.
By Kristen-Marie Puanani Young Ortiz I am a Native Hawaiian born and raised in Pearl City. Last summer I traveled to Ramallah, Palestine, to teach in an SAT prep program at a Quaker school for Palestinian students.
By Gene Castagnetti Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
By Belinda A. Aquino The recent Philippine election results reflect the continuing dominance of family dynasties in the nation's political arena, despite a constitutional anti-dynasty mandate.
By Natalie Iwasa Something very special happened during the past few months, and it culminated in a first-ever project for Oahu.
By David Duffy It has been embarrassing for University of Hawaii faculty to watch our UH in the headlines these past several months. More recently we had the sudden retirement of President M.R.C. Greenwood. All in all, not a good spring.
By Jan Iwase We are more than a decade into the 21st century, and much has been written and discussed about 21st century teaching and learning and the integration of technology and instruction.
By Frank Genadio A recent Star-Advertiser article stressed how Kaka-ako will be built up with high-rise buildings that exceed height limitations but will be close to rail stations.
By Kioni Dudley Last Saturday, the Star-Advertiser’s lead headline was one word — “Wow!” — commenting on 700-foot high-rises that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is proposing for Kakaako. That headline should have been, “Ouch!”
By G. Shabbir Cheema This past weekend's national election in Pakistan marked a landmark event in the country's 66-year history.
By George W. Greene There has been a lot of talk about a recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report that highlights different prices America's hospitals charge for similar services.
By Jean Adair-Leland and Marya Grambs “The head is connected to the body.” “There is no health without mental health.”
By Mike McCartney We are thankful that last year was exceptional for Hawaii's visitor industry, highlighting new record highs in arrivals and expenditures, and are working hard to exceed these records this year.
By Peter Ho What would Hawaii's economy be without tourism? People may differ in their answers, but at more than $14 billion in visitor spending and comprising 17 percent of state GDP (gross domestic product), this story line is clear: Tourism drives Hawaii's economy.
By Dean Okimoto Think pineapple, coffee, lei, chocolate or papaya — and Hawaii probably comes to mind. Hawaii's proud agricultural products are often the symbols that visitors associate with Hawaii. Often they are the reason that tourists come to Hawaii.
By Marnie Koga Hursty Hawaii's tourism industry is a vital component of Hawaii's economy and directly impacts the health of the construction industry. The tourism industry creates numerous business opportunities for construction.
By Peter Apo Full restoration of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial has been an important part of my life's work since 1986, when I chaired the state House Committee on Ocean and Marine Resources.
By Sue Cowing Recent reports on the closure of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Kahala Mall paint it as a sad but inevitable sign of the times. This is misleading.
By Cindy Shimabukuro There has been a tremendous amount of aloha for the infant recently reported abandoned at Sandy Beach. The image of a crying, scared, newborn alone on a beach, tugs at all of our heartstrings, and rightly so.
By Jobie Masagatani The Star-Advertiser's three-day series this week highlights a critical challenge facing this administration: how to effectively manage the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' land resources with severely limited resources until the lands can be homesteaded.
By Michael G. Hadfield Not another Kahoolawe! Another unique Pacific island has been selected by the U.S. military for "live fire training." Pagan Island, a biological treasure house and an ancestral home to Chamorro people, lies 200 miles north of Saipan in the middle of the Northern Marianas chain.
By Franco Mancassola We have seen it all before. A recent newspaper headline stated, "Visitor arrivals drop." Are we surprised? Of course not.
By Young-kil Suh The precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula triggered by a slew of provocative rhetoric from North Korea is making headlines almost every day.
By Chris Lee Exactly 20 years ago today, May 5, 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that denying marriage to same-sex couples constituted basic discrimination.
By Ralph Goto The 11 recent drownings on Kauai and two on Maui have caused a predictable response from the media, visitor industry officials, legislators and the public to reduce the number of deaths.
By Katie Pratt My husband and I are seventh-generation farmers raising corn, soybeans and seed corn in Illinois. We plant seeds that are genetically modified using biotechnology. However, biotechnology is one of the many tools in our farming toolbelt we use to produce food.
By Bruce Chassy As I prepared for a recent trip to Hawaii, I went online to read in newspapers like the Star-Advertiser and in various social media outlets what, if anything, people there were saying about the "GMO debate."
By Sydney Ross Singer Our koa forests are under attack! Swarms of koa moths have invaded more than 30,000 acres of koa forest on Hawaii island.
By Richard Ha The Public Utilities Commission is considering approving a contract between Hawaii island's HECO-owned utility (HELCO) and a partnership known as Aina Koa Pono (AKP). Its decision is expected within the next several weeks.
By Dayton M. Nakanelua The United Public Workers consists of approximately 14,000 members who provide core services throughout our state.
By Pam Omidyar and Terry George At the very moment you are reading this article, there are kindergarteners in your neighborhood elementary school who feel bad about themselves.
By Adriana Ramelli, Katie Polidoro and Cathy Betts April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This year, we stand to recognize and thank the lawmakers, advocates and supporters who helped pass a new law to ensure that sexual assault survivors are provided with compassionate medical care at all Hawaii hospitals.
By Denny Roy North Korea seems to be crazy, threatening to use recently acquired nuclear weapons against South Korea and the United States.
By Scott K. Parker What some consider a twin of the controversial and now-repealed Public Land Development Corp. — House Bill 865, Relating to Public School Redevelopment — truly is a necessary evil needed in this time of movement toward 21st century schools.
By Maile M. Hirota The creation of a common-sense immigration process is vital to the success of our country. As a community of immigrants and descendants of immigrants ourselves, we know and understand the hardships of coming to a new country and making a new life.
By Wade Araki As the former principal of Benjamin Parker Elementary School and the current principal at Kaimuki High School, helping prepare all students for success in life is my primary responsibility.
By Neil Hannahs, Sylvia Yuen and Peter Adler "Is Water the New Oil?" reads a recent national business magazine headline. In Hawaii, we understand our expensive dependency on imported food and oil. Imagine if we were also dependent on expensive sources for water.
By Dr. Stephen Kemble Hawaii was recently awarded a $937,691 State Innovation Model grant to plan health care reform for Medicare and Medicaid.
By Suzanne Case Earth Day is a time when we should reflect on the value of nature to our everyday lives.
By Cliff Slater One can laud the intentions behind raising the minimum wage, but the outcome of a hike only harms those it intends to help.
By Marco Mangelsdorf and Jigar Shah In 1976, Hawaii’s first tax credit legislation was signed into law to stimulate the purchase of solar energy systems, reduce the importation of fossil fuels and promote greater energy independence.
By Lea Hong and Doug Cole A spectacular five-mile stretch of wild coastline from Kawela Bay to Kahuku Point lies at the northern-most point of Oahu. Beachcombers, hikers, fishers and surfers, as well as Hawaii's native monk seals, turtles and birds, find a unique haven in this isolated area.
By Howard Garval They are unassuming buildings on the outside that often look like any other house along the block of a local residential neighborhood.
By Richard Lee Fale In 2009, the state Legislature voted to reduce the salary of members from July 1, 2009, through June 20, 2011, in response to Hawaii's increased economic uncertainty and a projected $1.1 billion budget shortfall.
By Stanford Carr State lawmakers currently are vetting legislation that would establish public-private partnerships for the redevelopment of select public school lands to build 21st century schools and create more school-centered communities.
By Jeff Dunster In a recent talk at the Asia Society in New York, the great Indian scholar Brahma Chellaney spoke at length about the coming global water-supply crisis.
By Kamana'o Crabbe The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has a solemn and significant responsibility under state law to advocate for the protection of Native Hawaiian rights.
By David Hafner House Bill 115 is a long overdue and much-needed initiative by the Legislature to require the University of Hawaii to comprehensively address its decaying physical plant.
By Maya Soetoro-Ng Earlier this year, the Obama administration rolled out a plan to expand access to high-quality early education to more children in America; it is my hope that Hawaii rises to the occasion and invests in our keiki's earliest years.
By Ernest Martin Mayor Kirk Caldwell recently delivered his first State of the City address to a crowd of dignitaries and invited guests at the Mission Memorial Auditorium.
By Tulsi Gabbard For more than 60 years, the South Korean people and their neighbors have lived many days in a state of war with a constant, real threat of a North Korean attack.
By Keith Amemiya and Janet Liang Recent news reports have confirmed what the public has known for years: The state of Hawaii’s information technology infrastructure is in critical condition.
By Ali Bairos The Legislature is failing abysmally by not facilitating transition of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. into a sustainable 21st century enterprise.
By Bob Nakata It's past time to shoulder the burden of a serious increase to the minimum wage. It has been more than six years since Hawaii increased its minimum wage — and workers in this highest cost-of-living state are living from hand to mouth.
By Annie Kalama In a few weeks, Pope Elementary School will feature its first May Day King with autism: a 12-year-old boy whose parents decided to keep him with teacher Cindy Razga and her team at Pope in Waimanalo, even when his mom moved to Pearl City for her husband's job.
By Christina Cox, Robert G. Peters and Al Castle There has been much debate about the proposed state investment in early education. Some dispute the role government should take and the responsibility we, as a society, have to ensure children succeed when the family unit is not willing or able to provide the building blocks for success.
By John-David Nako Recently, solar tax credits have been advocated under the guise of costless, risk-free economic benefits for everyone. Despite the claims, these initiatives are simply corporate welfare under a different name and should be opposed for both moral and economic reasons.
By Dileep G. Bal and Paul Esaki The confluence of the obesity epidemic, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mandated Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) requirements and Gov. Neil Abercrombie's focus on health care transformation and disease prevention presents Hawaii's nonprofit hospitals with a strategic window of opportunity.
By Miriam Hellreich As House Bill 321, a bill allowing voter registration up to and on election day, hastily moves through the state Legislature, our elected officials are forgetting the dire state of our Office of Elections.
By Elisabeth Chun Over and over, local advocates for young children make the case as to why state investment in early learning is essential for Hawaii.
By Dave Swann It appears that the most recent attempt to implement a nationwide ban on assault weapons has failed, and now is a good time to examine why this happened.
By Catherine Black The Senate's recent decision not to pass House Bill 174 is a lost opportunity for Hawaii in two ways.
By Fred Perlak A joint Senate committee recently heard and deferred House Bill 174, a bill to mandate labeling of genetically modified organism (GMO) food.
By Laurie Arial Tochiki In Hawaii, we mark the transition from child to adult with overflowing love at a graduation ceremony. The crowded auditorium is jammed with not only family and friends but pride, love and excitement as well.
By Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa and Clayton Hee Both of us have lived long enough to know racism when we see it. State Rep. Faye Hanohano revealed herself in her public racial denunciations of artists who were not Native Hawaiian. Sadly, Hanohano is not alone.
By Kristen Brummel One of the joys of coming to work is that there's a renewed sense of purpose each morning.
By Jessica Wooley As elected officials, our duty is to pay heed to the will of the people and to do our best to pass laws that serve the public interest.
By Allen Uyeda At its heart, the governor's proposal for a statewide early childhood education system is about strengthening Hawaii for the future.
By Rodrigo Romo With every question that seems to stir up controversy — geothermal, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), etc. — the way I see it is to ask: "What would Kamehameha, or the old Hawaiians, do?"
By James Hochberg The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments this week on two cases that may determine the future of marriage in America. Though the nation will have to wait until early summer for the decisions, the arguments that will be made are important to Hawaii right now.
By Jeff Priela Marriage is the ultimate expression of commitment and love by two consenting adults. Loving and committed gay and lesbian couples want to marry for the same reason as straight couples: to share their hopes and dreams, be there for one another in good times and bad, and find that special someone to grow old with.
By Richard Turbin When Kahala residents learned the news earlier this month that Genshiro Kawamoto was confined in a Tokyo jail on tax evasion charges, you could hear a collective sigh of relief. Could this be the end of an unhappy era where beautiful Kahala Avenue became an ugly eyesore?
By Tracy Ryan Roger Christie is accused of running a marijuana distribution business through his church in Hilo. His THC Ministry has long claimed marijuana as a religious sacrament and the use of it protected under the right to freedom of religion.
By Christiaan Mitchell Now that the state House has passed House Bill 174, relating to genetically modified organism (GMO) foods, it's time to pause and reflect on what this bill is really about.
By Roger Morey We have been following the conversation on a possible increase in the state minimum wage and holding our breath.
By Creighton Mattoon and Dee Dee Letts The Honolulu Planning Commission faces a decision that could allow urban sprawl in Oahu's rural Koolauloa district.
By Yoichiro Sato Tensions are rising in the East China Sea as the modernizing Chinese navy is getting more active there.
By Luciano Minerbi The Public Land Development Corp. (PLDC), with all its exemptions, bypasses county land use policies, plans and ordinances and ignores cultural and environmental assessments and labor laws.
By Kory Payne The issue of money in politics is here to stay, and the corruption that comes along with it needs to be addressed. House Bill 1481 would do just that by modernizing Hawaii's outdated public funding program for elections.
By Beppie J. Shapiro, Carmille Lim and Laurie Temple The League of Women Voters of Hawaii and Common Cause Hawaii believe that government should make voter registration as simple and convenient as possible while assuring that the requirements of citizenship, age and residency are met.
By Mayor Kirk Caldwell On March 1, my administration sent to the Honolulu City Council a proposed budget that includes a 5-cent per gallon increase in the city's fuel tax.
By Wayson Chow Residents of Honolulu depend on government agencies to provide clean water, prevent sewage spills and ensure the safety of homes from floods, falling boulders and unstable soil.
By Leon Sollenberger Last week, thieves stole the batteries from one of my tractors for the fourth time in three years. In another incident, vandals did about $14,000 worth of damage to a tractor, stealing the radiators. They probably got $250 from a scrap yard.
By Lv Congmin My diplomatic career has given me many opportunities to meet people from other countries. It is easy to get acquainted with someone, not easy to really know each other and treat each other with respect.
By Michael P. Rethman We can improve oral health for Hawaii's children. And we should — because the numbers tell a disturbing story.
By U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz The American people are losing faith in their Congress to take care of business — specifically to agree on a reasonable plan to reduce the federal deficit.
By Gary Hooser It's not about eating the corn. Not for me anyway. The decision to eat or not eat the corn is only a small reason I support the labeling of genetically modified foods and hold deep reservations about the industry as a whole.
By Randy Sanborn, Kalani Fronda and Kimberly Walsh Resolution 12-143 was deferred on June 25, 2012, in the City Council Budget Committee after dozens of people testified against it and not a single person voiced support.
By George I. Atta The proposal by a private landowner to build two single-family homes on a portion of a 9.53-acre site on Hao Street in Aina Haina has generated some controversy in the neighborhood. It has also led to misinformation and many rumors being circulated.