Two of former Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s closest cabinet members — former managing director Roy Amemiya and former Corporation Counsel Donna Leong — and well-known lobbyist Max Sword, the former Honolulu Police Commission chairman, all had 6:30 a.m. meetings with the FBI last week to be arrested. Read more
Among the many ways that the COVID-19 pandemic hurts the public is the closing of the free flow of information. Read more
Once every 10 years, politicians have the deck shuffled. The cards they hold are snatched away and replaced with new ones. It is called reapportionment. Read more
An enduring Hollywood war movie scene is the grim pilot bringing his battered, shot-up plane back to base. Read more
As city and state operations grab more new taxes for Honolulu’s rail system, it would be a good time to spell out in a clear, organized fashion who pays for the city’s rail transit system. Read more
Last week’s bad weather was no secret. State and county officials were geared up, emergency plans at the ready as the storms loomed. Read more
The headlines used to say “flirting with disaster,” but now Hawaii is facing a full-on pollution and health threat that has been worried about and directly predicted for years — pollution-causing leaks linked to the 20 gigantic military fuel tanks constructed under Red Hill. Read more
When three former Hawaii governors called for changing the site for a new state-run stadium, they said to dump the existing replacement plans carefully put together by Gov. David Ige. Read more
Honolulu’s rail project, the city nightmare exercise in civic planning, development and transportation, keeps on giving. Read more
The upcoming Democratic primary election campaign between incumbent U.S. Rep. Ed Case and progressive newcomer Sergio Alcubilla opens up the sort of political tension that 15 years ago Case would both relish and help create. Read more
Politics can be a game of expectations. This month, Democrats running in so-called “bellwether” races triggered worry from New Jersey to Honolulu. Read more
Hawaii, the youngest state among the 50, launched in 1959 with a government either new or in its infancy. Read more
When the push to vaccinate the world against COVID-19 began, the holdouts were large in number and varied in their concerns. Inroads were made at first, as the vaccine became widely available without jockeying for a place in line. Read more
People say they are looking for a good electrician, or a doctor with listening skills or even a politician who is a skillful leader. How many times do you hear the shout go out for a good lieutenant governor? Read more
Did you hear the caroling last week? Maybe you saw the Christmas decorations brightening all the stores. Read more
Today’s unpronounceable word is “unmalleable.” It is the perfect word because it is the ultimate political quality. Read more
In practical politics, it is always better to have someone else raise taxes. Read more
Rick Blangiardi, less than a year into his new job as Honolulu’s mayor, is showing that sometimes the best course for a leader is to just say “no.” Read more
Fears that Hawaii’s tourist-dependent economy cannot pull out of its catastrophic tailspin may have been overstated, but don’t think Hawaii is a money-generating powerhouse. Read more
The cliche about Martians landing on Earth, walking up to a tree and saying, “Take me to your leader,” might have some relevance as we plow into the second year of the COVID-19 crisis and Hawaii’s less-than-precise and organized attempts to deal with it. Read more
COVID-19 continues to drive state policy much like it impacts our national government. Read more
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