The Chinatown art renaissance continues. The neighborhood’s social and cultural transformation has long been underway–at least five years by our count–but local artists say this weekend’s unveiling of artist lofts on Hotel Street represents a significant step toward… [»Read]
After more than a year of debate over the civil unions measure, House Bill 444, state representatives last Friday approved–via anonymous voice vote–a motion by House Speaker Calvin Say to indefinitely postpone action on the bill. The decision was in stark contrast to the… [»Read]
With Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in Washington, D.C. for a round of talks with federal transportation officials about Honolulu’s proposed $5.3 billion, 20-mile elevated-rail project, Gov. Linda Lingle hosted a public forum for a panel of architects to again detail their… [»Read]
When Malama Makua, represented by Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, filed suit against the U.S. Army in 1998, it was a David and Goliath-type facedown, though the group’s president Sparky Rodrigues says its preferred metaphor is “a mosquito biting a rogue elephant as… [»Read]
Do you walk three miles to and from work everyday? Would you expect a 7-year-old to? That dark scenario is nearing reality as lawmakers struggle to balance the state budget. Transportation to and from school, yet another vital aspect of our youth’s education, is on the… [»Read]
A recent study has thrown new light on the previously underestimated extent of pre-contact Hawaiian agriculture, particularly in dry lee areas of the Big Island. The groundbreaking work combined several scientific disciplines and new technologies to expand the picture of… [»Read]
Maxine Burkett, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii’s Richardson School of Law, is currently attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Burkett also serves as the inaugural director of the Center for Island Climate Adaptation… [»Read]
WESPAC, the Honolulu-based body that recommends U.S. fishing policy in the Pacific, has proposed to more than double the catch of bigeye tuna by its long-line fleet. The recommendation, which requires further approval, comes as other countries are cutting back in order to… [»Read]
Usually, “green” and “cheap” don’t go together. In the case of the first hot city in the world to have its heart cooled by seawater pumped from the deep–that’s Honolulu–building owners will save money in several different ways and green-house emissions will… [»Read]
In the wake of any massive disaster, after the death toll is tallied and emergency shelter found for the newly homeless, the affected community begins to measure what else has been lost. There is infrastructure damage to assess and shelter to provide. But there’s also… [»Read]
An alternative rail plan for Honolulu that promises to save taxpayers an estimated $1.7 billion in cost, shave 1.5 years off construction time–and, last but not least, promises to spare the heart of the city the monstrous effects of overhead concrete rail lines and stations–has… [»Read]
Last month, when the state Department of Human Services announced the elimination of certain medical services, such as kidney dialysis and chemotherapy, for about 7,500 Micronesians, Victor Geminiani immediately filed suit to block the cuts. “If you stop kidney dialysis,… [»Read]
You know you’ve reached Kamilo Nui when you pass the last California-style subdivision and have to brake suddenly when an entire family of feral pigs walks calmly, in single file, across the road that leads up the tiny, picturesque valley in the back of Hawaii Kai…. [»Read]
Local advocacy groups are awaiting a response from the Federal Communications Commission on a challenge filed last week to stop a shared services agreement involving three local television stations. Media Council of Hawaii–formerly Honolulu Community Media Council–requested… [»Read]
Several hundred islanders showed up at the Blaisdell Arena last week to listen to and testify on proposals for a new, comprehensive federal ocean policy before the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The task force is the brainchild of President Barack Obama, whose memo… [»Read]
