For more than a decade, Honolulu rail has whipsawed between wildly optimistic promises about costs and schedules, and then panic when the hyperbole is inevitably exposed as false. Read more
Lt. Gov. Josh Green led a charmed political life through much of the coronavirus pandemic, but now he’s on the firing line as Hawaii reopens to tourism. Read more
Hopes must be attached to workable plans, and unfortunately we’ve seen too few of those from the state in the months since the pandemic started. A weary public is understandingly skittish about inviting more coronavirus in along with tourists. Read more
The best way to describe the latest unraveling of Honolulu’s $9.2 billion rail debacle is to take liberty with a Bob Dylan title and call it “Tangled Up in Poo.” Read more
The quote of the month … from City Councilman Tommy Waters on public complaints about the city’s coronavirus response: “The public just doesn’t trust us anymore. That’s part of the problem.” The other part is they’re untrustworthy. Read more
The 2020 mayoral election is one of our most consequential ever as voters choose a leader to lift our city out of a deadly pandemic, sinking economy and budget-busting rail disaster. Read more
A senior citizen I know recently had her purse snatched from her car in a supermarket parking lot. Read more
Our elected leaders regularly lecture us about the importance of pulling together to get through the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
It’s the last Sunday in August and time to “flASHback” on the month’s news that amused and confused. Read more
Any glimmer of hope that Hawaii’s leaders will control the coronavirus pandemic dims with the daily news. Read more
Oahu rail has become the monster that eats mayors — real and would-be. Read more
Hawaii has become the latest case study of how fleeting success can be in controlling the coronavirus. Read more
Taxpayers face more potentially ruinous hits from the city’s rail debacle if the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is allowed to sign a massive contract to finish the final 4 miles to Ala Moana Center without full public vetting. Read more
We weren’t ready either psychologically or in terms of the practical precautions necessary to reopen our state safely. Read more
Kahele has 17 opponents — an assortment of little- known Democrats and Republicans, nonpartisans and minor-party candidates — but none have the campaign funds to improve their name recognition or spread their message. Read more
Voters get an unfair rap. Because of stacked campaign finance laws that protect incumbents and incompetence by the local GOP, voters often find few realistic ballot options for change. Read more
The political and cultural wars over wearing face masks to fend off the coronavirus get more confounding by the day. Read more
Honolulu is fortunate to have a fine police department relatively free of abusive practices, led by an able chief who seems to have a good understanding of modern policing. Read more
With protests over police misconduct raging across the country, the last thing we need is worries about the quality of oversight of the Honolulu Police Department. Read more
In the Legislature’s recent 10-day emergency session, lawmakers devoted more energy to fighting Gov. David Ige than the virus. Read more
If political leaders don’t stop stoking divisions instead of building trust for reopening, we face a nightmare scenario of not enough reopening to rekindle the economy, but plenty enough to rekindle the virus. Read more
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