Hostile confrontations, public verbal abuse, mismanagement of a nonprofit to the detriment of its animal beneficiaries paint a troubling picture about the candidate for State Senate. Read More »
The Federal agency may have thought it was doing its duty in enforcing tenets of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but the agency's lack of knowledge and understanding of Hawaiian culture and the protected rights of practitioners resulted in a violation of civil liberties that could have been prevented with better communication. Read More »
While the self-styled Progressive Wing of the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party was unable to fend off a coordinated establishment effort to elect a corporate lobbyist as party chair, they dominated the rest of the 2018 convention. Read More »
As O‘ahu's population is projected to increase by around 100,000 over the next 22 years and the effects of global climate change continue to strain O‘ahu's resources, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply is planning to hike rates to pay for repairs and maintenance necessary to keep up with demand for drinking water. Read More »
The students protested the Speaker's decision to discharge conferees on a bill that would allow them to form a union, directly challenging the Kakaʻako–Ala Moana representative. Read More »
Competing claims to the land at Wailua are rooted in an historic fraud perpetrated by a notorious swindler and facilitated by the president of the Provisional Republic, presenting challenges to the legality of the deed held by the Coco Palms Hui. Read More »
A group of Hawaiian konohiki—stewards or caretakers—works to restore the ecosystem at the mouth of the Wailua River even after a judge ordered their eviction to make way for a proposed development with problematic funding sources and a dubious claim to the land. Read More »
Hawaiʻi lawmakers in the House Ag and Environmental Protection committees advance tough regulations against harmful pesticides for the first time. Read More »
As resistance remains strong, the movement expands and sets its sights on the upcoming 2018 elections with its “Power to the Polls” message. Read More »
How the rumble over Rail has fractured relationships between legislators, between O‘ahu and neighbor island constituents, and dangerously eroded trust in our representative democracy. Read More »
Far from being about protecting Jewish people from discrimination, proposed legislation that would outlaw the boycott of Israeli-made products and practices over political beliefs is, in fact, a danger to First Amendment rights. Read More »
ACLU Hawaii to Police Commission: "The appointment of a new chief of police marks a turning point in the City and County of Honolulu as it is a unique opportunity for the leadership of the Honolulu police to regain the trust of the people they serve." Read More »
Three practical reasons to reduce Hawaiʻi's incarcerated population through investment in community-based restorative justice programs rather than through construction of a new, $1.3 billion prison. Read More »
Gene Ward's nonsensical urine bill still won't do anything to remedy our state's houselessness epidemic, no matter how much he believes in it. Read More »
Alleged farmworker safety violations in Syngenta's Kauai test fields have brought about a formal complaint from the Environmental Protection Agency just as councilmembers there prepare to discuss a repeal of the county buffer zones and pesticide disclosure ordinance. Read More »
The Land Board’s acquiescence to corporate control of Hawaiʻi's resources represents the state’s continuing failure to uphold its fiduciary duties. Read More »
The Congresswoman did not sign a letter from the majority of House Dems condemning Trump's Bannon appointment; today she met with him at Trump Tower in New York City Read More »
The Board of Water Supply wants the Navy and its regulators to engage in a much more rigorous review of the grim situation and its possible solutions. Read More »
The socially conservative state rep. is doing his constituents, and all the children in Hawai‘i's public school system, a disservice with his continuing crusade against the BOE's new comprehensive sexual education policy Read More »
Civil rights boycotts are a form of protected First Amendment expression because they are, too often, the last peaceful means available to an oppressed people and their supporters in calling for justice. Read More »
Dr. Michele Carbone violated federal regulations when he failed to disclose both his additional annual income from expert testimony in asbestos litigation and the $4.3 million gift he received from a company involved in ongoing asbestos litigation that he is using in his mesothelioma research. Read More »
As OHA and Na‘i Aupuni push forward toward the election of delegates to a Hawaiian government convention, the U.S. government is paving the way for Hawaiians to become federally recognized as a tribe.
Read More »
Hawaii’s highest court has overturned a city variance granted to Kyo-ya Hotels that would have allowed them to construct a new building along Waikiki Beach outside the developmental restrictions enacted for the Waikiki Special District. Read More »
All nine Honolulu council members and the mayor owe their positions, in large part, to donors with strong ties to Hawaii’s powerful land development interests. Read More »
The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, which represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, will offer testimony at Friday's board meeting. So can you. Read More »
Several hundred gathered at Kaanapali beach yesterday for a demonstration against the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal being negotiated in secret on Maui this week. Read More »
Supporters of progressive Democratic contender for President of the United States, Bernie Sanders, are holding 3,520 kick-off parties across the U.S. today, with 103,249 confirmed so far. Read More »
The university's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources has restricted and violated one of it's own professor's academic freedom, and a group of his professional colleagues are speaking out against his mistreatment. Read More »
A step in the right direction toward combating sex trafficking in Hawaii has been torpedoed by some of the very people trying to end the exploitive practice; the evidence points to internal political squabbling as the reason. Read More »
A proposed “emergency rule” on the BLNR’s Friday meeting agenda is aimed at breaking up the encampment of protesters on Mauna Kea—the only thing stopping the Thirty-Meter Telescope from being built right now. Read More »
The state released the neighbor island data from its 2015 Point in Time count today and, in all counties but Kauai, the number of houseless citizens has increased. Read More »
State reps. Ward and McDermott say the speaker has overstepped his authority, praise commission's executive director, Les Kondo, for his firm enforcement of the state ethics code. Read More »
A new study shows the city's policy of “compassionate disruption” and its accompanying sit-lie laws cause significant property and economic loss, physical and psychological harm and very likely violate certain constitutional rights. Not only that, they make it much harder for houseless people to get off the streets and into permanent housing.
Read More »
Among important issues to Okinawans both in Hawaii and Okinawa is the proposed new military base in Henoko and the U.S. military presence in general. Read More »
Despite vocal opposition and community concerns raised at OHA board meetings in late April, 2015, the board has decided to go forward with a nation building process spearheaded by a new organization: Na‘i Aupuni. Read More »
The campaign team that received a majority of votes during the union's recent officers election has announced that it intends to sue to overturn the recent decision to throw out the election results and hold a new election. Read More »
Last week, protestors of another planned U.S. military base in Okinawa rallied outside the Japanese embassy in a show of solidarity with Hawaiians and other occupied indigenous peoples around the world. Read More »
Together with bills on solar PV and UH energy goals, HB623 accelerates the state’s energy push to 100 percent renewable by the end of 2045. Read More »
The trustees decided that the neutral "rescind" option was a more strategic move than outright opposition, but many of the gathered members of the Hawaiian community were visibly (and audibly) disappointed that OHA did not take a stronger stance on the issue. (Includes video footage.)
Read More »
A group of Kauai residents has been in Switzerland educating the Swiss public and shareholders of Swiss company Syngenta about the company's use of pesticides in Hawaii and its lawsuit against Kauai County, much to the chagrin of the company itself. Read More »
Multiple generations of campaigners are rallying around Mauna Kea as a symbol for the larger issues of self-determination and Aloha ʻĀina in what is becoming one of, if not the, largest mobilizations of Hawaiian activism in decades. Read More »
The delegation seeks to gain support for pesticide regulation here in Hawaii from leaders in Switzerland, where GMO cultivation and the use of many restricted use pesticides is already banned. Read More »
Despite valid concerns raised by Native Hawaiian and environmental advocacy groups, Sen. Thielen's committee on water and land voted to advise the senate to consent to the governor's nomination of Bill Balfour to the state's water commission.
Read More »
Balfour's record during his prior term on the Water Commission shows how inappropriate a choice he is; Ige risks a second failed nomination only a month after the Ching fiasco. Read More »
Why multi-billion dollar transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft should be regulated under the same laws and held to the same standards as local taxi companies. Read More »
We talk with Kanaka Maoli David Maile about indigenous coalition The Red Nation's efforts to unite different native people in radical resistance to colonialism, and how Native Hawaiians can stand in solidarity with other native peoples. Read More »
Regardless of whether you think Carleton Ching would fix the DLNR or favor developer interests that jeopardize our resources, the results of this strange confirmation process show that our voices can, and do, matter. We must stay engaged. Read More »
Community members on the north shore led by anthropologist Malia Evans are claiming that a Waimea area land owner has damaged an ancient Hawaiian fishing heiau by stacking boulders up against it. Read More »
The State Department of Agriculture released a report finding pesticide levels near Waimea Canyon Middle School to be safe, but pesticide-regulation advocates aren't buying it. Read More »
The debate over the recently released House Republican budget proposal has revealed that the United States military—one of he top polluters in the Pacific—is, in fact, very aware of the reality of climate change. Read More »
One of the bills on the last minute hearing agenda commits $100 million in state bonds to promote a motorsport center on parkland determined eligible to be declared a National American Battlefield by the National Park Service. More at Disappeared News »
Uber Hawaii's recent social media cry for protection against what it characterizes as crippling government regulation is going way uber the top for a $17 billion company that is, in fact, just another big business trying to maintain its profit margin. Read More »
At a press conference today, the opposition to Malaekahana development expressed their reasons for supporting zoning chair Ikaika Anderson's proposed amendments to Bill 47. Read More »
Zoning committee chair Anderson will introduce amendments that would kill most of the controversial proposed “Envision Laie” development on the rural northeast coast of Oahu. Read More »
Members of both houses of the Hawaii Legislature have filed resolutions seeking a Hawaii exemption from the "domestic build requirement" within the Jones Act. Read More »
Lynn DeCroite, a Molokai farmer with ties to Monsanto, was sworn-in today to the state House to represent District 13, which voted in favor of the Maui GMO moratorium. Read More »
The Hawaii Senate has scheduled a confirmation hearing for controversial developer-lobbyist Carleton Ching, who was nominated by Governor Ige to head the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Read More »
The Graduate Student Organization at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has released its list of priority bills for this legislative session for students to testify on. Read More »
A brief rundown on three bills that would alleviate some of the unnecessary hardship inflicted upon our houseless citizens by city ordinances that target them unjustly. Read More »
A report confirming that Unit Director Michele Carbone ran the UH Cancer Center into the ground can teach us an important lesson about the systemic problems currently killing the University of Hawaii. Read More »
Despite being outnumbered at the Army listening sessions, proponents of a dramatic Army personnel reduction were able to make a successful case for the full downsize. Read More »
The Women’s Legislative Caucus, consisting of members from both the State Senate and House, today announced a joint package of measures for the 2015 legislative session. Read More »
More than twenty groups oppose Carleton Ching as new chair of the land and resource-management arm of the executive branch of the state government. Read More »
The activists and members of the public gathered in the rotunda for the opening day of the 2015 legislative session reflected a sampling of the issues and problems most important to those engaged in Hawaii's future. Read More »
A new report by Oxfam shows that one percenters will soon own more than half the world's wealth and recommends solutions to close the gap between the world's ultra rich and desperately poor. Read More »
A pair of new studies show decentralization of the DOE saw little progress over the past four years—will our new governor have more success? Read More »
In analyzing the power shifts in leadership and committee assignments for the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature, we predict a more liberal Senate in the 2015-16 Legislature. But the House will likely shift right. Read More »
Leaders from the two sides of the GMO debate share their thoughts after Maui County voters passed a moratorium on further GMO production yesterday. Read More »
Today, voters in both Maui County and Kauaʻi County face decisions that will impact the bio-tech industry and the chemical companies that dominate it. Read More »
Kakaʽako Ūnited has sent a letter to the gubernatorial candidates asking that the next Governor of Hawaiʻi change the way HCDA does business. Read More »