Senate Bill 1543 is the most significant public financing bill currently being considered throughout the nation. There are only a few days left in the legislative session for it to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Finance Committee. Read more
At its core, education is a variable of location. This is why the problems people face with education are so varied; no two schools work the same or are of the exact same quality. Read more
Family caregivers save our state billions. But, too often, they pay a price. Read more
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Congratulations to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, City Council Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina, and the entire City Council for approving and signing into law Bills 41 and 42. Read more
The front page of Thursday’s Star-Advertiser featured the signing of a law, Senate Bill 1 (Act 2), which will protect Hawaii health care workers who provide abortions (“New laws protect abortion providers, restore ways of charging defendants”). This is fantastic news! Read more
It’s Women’s History Month. At the Hawaii Workers Center’s recent town hall meeting that focused on eliminating the tip penalty, HWC lifted up local women who are tipped workers in the restaurant industry. Read more
Free Wi-Fi in parks would be a good bonus from the mayor’s traffic camera program, as noted in a recent editorial: “It could help those who can’t afford to buy internet access or cellphone high-speed data plans” (“Help for the Leeward Coast,” Our View, March 18). Read more
The Honolulu Salary Commission just recommended bloated salary raises for top government officials. Read more
We applaud the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s March 22 editorial, “Raise Payments for Medicaid Care,” which supports both Senate Bill 397 and Senate Bill 1035. Read more
Hawaii’s beauty attracts millions of visitors to our islands each year, and the onslaught of tourists hurts the places we enjoyed as children, especially our coral reefs. Read more
It’s not difficult to understand why a visitor impact fee has such broad support. As an idea, it’s appealing. Read more
Discipline and a college degree are adult ideas of what students need to succeed. For youth who have a roof over their head and social support, no doubt that’s at least partially true. As policy interns with Opportunity Youth Action Hawai‘i (OYAH), however, we now know that a significant number of Hawaii youth lack both a home and a supportive family. Read more
The Kilauea tennis program, as well as many other USTA (U.S. Tennis Association) programs here, are being severely threatened by new rules proposed by the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation. Read more
In his Jan. 15 letter to the editor, Peter Turcsik asked, “How about making electricity affordable?” Yet policy after government policy set us on a path for just the opposite, all in the name of 100% renewable energy. Read more
We’ve known for decades that we should reduce the burning of fossil fuels and other materials to generate energy because of the harmful impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate and human health. Read more
March is Women’s History Month, and a time to reflect on the contributions women have made to our society. Read more
At Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center we recently held a ceremony to commemorate the third anniversary of the start of our COVID-19 experience in Hawaii. Read more
Looking at freshwater supply challenges around the globe stirs a range of emotions. Read more
Only one state in America has a lower gun death rate than Hawaii, thanks to our having some of the fairest and most protective gun safety laws in the country. Read more
Last October, the North Shore Coastal Resilience Working Group published its report with a recommendation to establish a managed retreat program “to provide a pathway for affected landowners to voluntarily vacate affected properties and utilize shoreline areas for public benefit” (hawaii.surfrider.org/northshoreworkinggroup). Read more
Buried deep in the 4,408 pages of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was a “hidden” caution concerning the closing and defueling of the Red Hill jet fuel tanks — that upon it coming to light, is giving citizens heartburn, and a scare. Read more
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