Opinion and analysis by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Editorial Board. Get informed with columns and commentary, and submit a letter to the editor.
Heated criticism erupted this month after the Army culled an “Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Heritage” section of its website, including a history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, legendary for its bravery and sacrifice. Read more
An apparent rise in homeowner lawsuits over the past 10 years may reflect effort by developers to cut costs by using new products that are not fully tested. An example is the switch from copper pipes, which have been used for decades, to plastic pipes that are now breaking and causing damage. Read more
As a former commander of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, U.S. Army Reserve, and born in a U.S. internment camp at Tule Lake, Calif., the action taken by the U.S. Army under the Trump administration in taking down the web page detailing the proud history of the nisei soldiers of World War II is a slap in the faces of these true American heroes. Read more
What is going on? First, City Council members get a 64% pay raise in 2023 — with homelessness, traffic and housing as bad as ever. And they get to keep their outside jobs. Read more
Let’s replace the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a nimble, independent corporation called the Federal Disaster Insurance Trust (FDIT). Read more
I see an analogy between what the Trump administration is doing in the name of efficiency and what a person who is trying to lose weight might do. Read more
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Now banned in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, cesspools are typically pits dug to process raw human waste and sewage. Read more
Hawaii faces a critical choice for its health and economy: Will we continue to let tobacco addiction harm our communities, or will we use the most powerful tool to combat it — price? Read more
It’s spring break for Hawaii’s students — but that doesn’t mean the good learning has to stop. Read more
While the Battleship Missouri spring-break offer is legit (see item above), the Hawaii Tourism Authority is warning against a tourism-attractions scam that is losing money for local businesses. Read more
Using coaches or small school buses provides some relief to the school system for point-to-point bus runs for students who live in remote areas (“Smaller vehicles could solve school bus shortage,” Star-Advertiser, March 13). Read more
Most state holidays are celebrated by state employees and banks, not by other working people. Read more
The recent letter about the need to protect Hawaii’s reef parrotfish is based on good research and very well written (“Protecting reefs starts with saving key fish,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 25). Read more
Reading about the theft of a police officer’s gun in late January was scary and reminded me of the dangers posed by unsecured weapons (“Police officer’s badge, gun and radio stolen in Hawaii Kai,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 24). Read more
I read with great interest the article about using sheep and goats to munch vegetation to help mitigate wildfire danger (“Bringing out the sheep, goats to keep vegetation in check,” Star-Advertiser, March 10). Read more
A recent writer opined that the U.S. government can’t eliminate waste, fraud and abuse because of the labor unions (“Trump, Musk full steam ahead on national debt,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 13). Read more
The federal administration is in the midst of a rapidly launched, blunt-force effort to hack back spending and staffing at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read more
It must be a first: This is not the time to worry because of a disagreement — instead, we should worry because of an agreement. Read more