Kirk Caldwell, Governor: Hawaii Needs A Sustained Commitment To Housing

A key Senate committee gave preliminary approval Thursday to a measure that would impose a new tax on Hawaii’s wealthiest residents in what one senator described as an effort to reduce income inequality. This is the second consecutive year the Senate Judiciary committee led by Sen. Karl Rhoads has...

Whatever our background, birthplace or age, most of us believe in leaving a Hawaii for our keiki that is happier, healthier and more prosperous than it was during our time. We want our schools to deliver the best education possible to our youth. We want a public infrastructure that makes life convenient and safe, and that will stand up to the impacts of climate change.

Citing public concerns over a botched attempt to award the state’s most important tourism marketing contract and ever-increasing numbers of visitors crowding beaches, streets and hiking trails, lawmakers are moving to dramatically reshape the agency in charge of marketing Hawaii as a tourist destination. Measures proposed in the House...

Invasive species have stealthily entered our islands and wreaked havoc on our environment and economy. It’s a serious problem that threatens native plants, animals, and locally grown crops. Their impact threatens our state’s food security and resilience. Combating the increasing number of invasive species is a priority for...

The birds were the first to go, an unusual number of them lying lifeless in a field at Sally Paulson’s North Shore ranch. Then there was the owl that stood in a pool of water for days as if it had been burned. The owl died too. After that,...

Elected officials in Hawaii, including state lawmakers, may soon be prohibited from accepting campaign donations while the Legislature is in session. The House Judiciary Committee took another step Wednesday toward chipping away at the perceived influence of money in politics in Hawaii. The committee voted unanimously to advance House Bill...

Thirty years ago last month, “The Simpsons” aired “Marge Versus the Monorail” about a con man who persuades the small town of Springfield to build a monorail. “Well sir,” he tells the town meeting in “The Monorail Song”:. “There’s nothing on earth.

State Supreme Court justices posed a series of tough and skeptical questions to attorneys representing Hu Honua and Hawaii Electric Light Company on Tuesday. The questions, focused on potentially high costs to consumers and greenhouse gas emissions, came during oral arguments in Hu Honua’s appeal of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s rejection of a 30-year power purchase agreement. That deal would have allowed the proposed biomass plant on Hawaii island to fire up.

The Legislature is facing a myriad of requests for funding during this year’s session, but researchers at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center hope one in particular rises to the top. House Bill 1301 would fund a new study to analyze cancer disparities among Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and...

One of the Big Island’s most sought-after beaches has been parched for months, prompting locals and tourists alike to wonder when fresh water will be running again. Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area on the Big Island’s west side is a wide, white-sand beach popular with swimmers, bodysurfers, volleyball players, picnickers and others seeking outdoor recreation opportunities. The beach has lifeguards and the landscaped park offers tables and pavilions.

Gov. Josh Green is talking a good game when it comes to public records and making it easier to access them. Now we just need to see if he’s serious. It’s been great to hear him respond positively to a letter sent to him when he took over as governor by a coalition of 30 media organizations and good government groups. The letter lays out three proposals that would go a long way toward giving the public better access to government information. Simply summarized, they are:

Hawaii lawmakers are weighing multiple proposals to address the gap between the number of students who are currently eligible for free school meals and the number of students who actually need them. A federal program that provided free meals to all students during the coronavirus pandemic ended last summer, cutting...

Hawaii’s latest iteration of a plastic ban may arrive next year, this time restricting the use of plastic water bottles in an effort to reckon with the costs of pollution. On Tuesday, state lawmakers advanced a bill that would prevent plastic water bottles holding less than 2 liters from being sold within the state, adding them to a roster of other materials like plastic utensils and plastic bags that counties have banned in recent years.

When Andria Tupola first heard of a policy designed to prevent property taxes from spiking sharply when property assessments rise, she filed the idea in her head as an interesting concept not related to her job at the time. Then, Tupola was a Hawaii state representative trying to learn more...

Vernon Kapuaʻala, a high school and collegiate soccer player who grew up to be a devoted soccer dad, was struck with inspiration. He heard a lecture about the 1893 illegal overthrow and occupation of the Hawaiian kingdom and started thinking about Hawaii as a nation that extended from the monarchy through to modern times. He started asking himself how he could contribute to that concept of rebuilding the nation.

On Jan. 22, Honolulu’s taxi rates rose for the first time since 2013. The increase is certainly appreciated. It should also be noted that if the new maximum rates seem unusually high, it’s due to the city’s failure to raise rates over the past 10 years and a dramatic rise in taxi operating costs, including runaway gas prices.

The Hawaii Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved a new strategic plan laying out a vision and goals for the state’s 258 public schools over the next six years. The blueprint is based on substantial input from parents, teachers, students, principals, elected officials and higher education affiliates in a bid to move beyond pandemic-era challenges.

Candidates for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees would need to win their island districts rather than run a statewide election under a pair of bills that advanced Thursday with preliminary approval from the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee. Currently, OHA’s nine trustees – four who are at-large and...

The House Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, formed last year after bribery charges were brought against a former state senator and then-sitting state representative, submitted its proposals to the Legislature in December. They comprise 28 bills and three resolutions that have since been introduced in the 2023 session that began Jan. 18.

In early March 2020 I hosted a Civil Cafe at the Hawai State Capitol. Nearing the one-hour mark and with just 15 minutes remaining, I asked a series of lightning-round questions from readers that began with this one: “Is the Legislature as a whole acting from a place of integrity?”