The Need For Police Reform Is Now Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
When the Honolulu Police Department fired Officer Ethan Ferguson four years ago, one might have thought the disgraced policeman would be done as a lawman. Falsifying reports and lying to investigators...
View ArticleHawaii Leaders Must Do More To Prevent Tourist Deaths In 2016
For many of the 8.8 million people who will fly and cruise to Hawaii this year, the trip will be the vacation of a lifetime, a chance to explore one of the world’s most beautiful island archipelagos....
View ArticleProtect The Public’s Interest When It Comes To Cop Cams
Like so many other states around the country, Hawaii is looking intently at technology that wasn’t widely available until just a few years ago, but that is bringing fundamental change to law...
View ArticleSit-Lie Bill Should Find No Home At The Legislature
Hawaii’s homelessness problem is large, complex and not going away anytime soon. Finding places to live for individuals and families in this state, where housing is more expensive than any other and...
View ArticleUH Regents Should Not Be Exempt From Financial Disclosures
Despite its vital role as the primary higher education choice for this state’s college students and its longstanding success as a research institution, the University of Hawaii remains the Hawaii...
View ArticleIge’s Plan A Welcome Sign Of Growing Momentum To Cool Hawaii Classrooms
One of the upsides of having a governor who is the former longtime chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee is the intimate, comprehensive knowledge of state revenue and obligations that comes with...
View ArticleDengue Outbreak, Threat Of Zika Demand State Action Now
Certain types of infectious disease outbreaks can evolve quickly, ravaging communities and specific populations, and can be merciless in exposing the chinks in our armor of public health defenses....
View ArticleMandatory HPV Vaccinations Can Help Save Hundreds From Cancer
Of the many viruses to which people are susceptible, human papillomavirus, or HPV, is particularly noxious. There are more than 170 strains of the virus, and while most don’t cause clinical symptoms,...
View ArticleTransparency, Accountability: What Hawaii Voters Want
Across the nation, this seems to be a year in which not just distrust but outright contempt for government is driving the body politic. For both major political parties, perceived outsiders are at or...
View ArticleThe Honolulu Police Department Needs A New Leader
One of the most persistent criticisms of the Honolulu Police Department in recent years — from legislators, City Council members and women’s organizations, in particular — has been that it doesn’t...
View ArticleCitizen’s Initiative Bill Deserves Legislature’s Attention
The history of Hawaii legislative sessions is one littered with good ideas that could never get off the ground. From taking meaningful action on homelessness and affordable housing to addressing the...
View ArticleGuns Owners Need Insurance Just As Much As Car Owners
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” The unofficial mantra of Second Amendment enthusiasts, those two sentences, comprising a total of seven words, sum up the abiding argument of the gun...
View ArticleCaldwell Is Right To Step Into The Police Department’s Mess
Two weeks of roiling controversy at the Honolulu Police Department calmed a bit Wednesday with word that Maj. Ryan Borges had refused his controversial promotion to assistant police chief, and that HPD...
View ArticleDon’t Let Police Reform Stall Out Again
Police reform measures died quickly in last year’s legislative session. One after the next they were deferred, voted down or left without hearings by disinterested committee chairs, leaving advocates...
View ArticleShould An Interisland Ferry Sail Again? It’s Worth Studying
The basic common sense behind offering regular boat service between the islands goes back to the earliest human habitation of Hawaii. We’ve become increasingly reliant on air transportation since the...
View ArticleJudicial Elections: A Solution Without A Problem
Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran, influential chair of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, is shepherding three bills this legislative session that would take a step toward electing judges in Hawaii, rather...
View ArticleKeep Guns Away From Stalkers and Sexual Predators
In the absence of meaningful gun reform at the federal level, states can and should act prudently to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. House Bill 625 is exactly such a step....
View ArticleHonolulu Requires A Bolder Vision Than Caldwell Offers
If you missed Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s State of the City address on Monday night, you didn’t miss much. Delivered against the backdrop of Caldwell’s plans for re-election later this year, the...
View ArticleHelp Save African Elephants By Blocking The Blood Ivory Trade
Conservation groups nationwide are banding together to shut down U.S. markets for the illegal trade of products and parts — mainly ivory — from endangered animals including elephants, whales and...
View ArticleRelief For Hawaii’s Hellish Classrooms
Seven weeks of the Hawaii legislative session have melted away, and with them, scores of bills for which 2016 just wasn’t the year. One legislative idea that clearly hasn’t met that fate, though, is...
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