Discussion
OPINION: Top 5 Oddball Laws Proposed in 2013
We highlight our “top five” favorite laws-out-of-left-field from this year’s legislative session.
ANALYSIS: The ‘New’ Public Land Development Corporation
If HB 942 goes ahead, it’s goodbye Public Lands Development Corporation, and hello “Harbor and Parks Development Authority.” We examine the other changes to the concept being proposed.
OPINION: In Hawaii, It Doesn’t Pay to be Caandid
The recent controversy over Hawaii 5-0 actor Scott Caan’s negative view of the islands begs the question: can people in Hawaii take a joke?
ANALYSIS: Weed…What Happens if it’s Made Legal?
Who could smoke it, where you’d buy it, and more under Hawaii’s House Bill 150.
ANALYSIS: Three Projects Critical to the Big Island Economy
Getting the biggest bang for your tax-paying bucks.
New Home Quick-Tests May Reveal More HIV in Hawaii
Newly available kits offer the most convenient and discrete method yet to test for infection.
ANALYSIS: Hawaii’s Gun Laws Worth Imitating
With some of the strictest gun-control laws in the nation, Hawaii benefits from a very low rate of gun-related fatalities.
ANALYSIS: Hawaii Health Insurance Exchange Moving Closer to Reality
Web portal will allow residents to compare affordable care choices.
LETTER: Big Island’s Funding Problem, Post Inouye
“Hawaii’s new congressional delegation won’t have the same political clout as Senator Inouye had.”
ANALYSIS: What Inouye’s Death Means for Hawaii
Hawaii stares down the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal spending that the late senator typically secured.
OPINION: Dear Jamae, Please Be Gentle
If our new deputy prosecutor goes after the bad guys with the same gusto she did her election-year critics, our crime rate may plummet.
ANALYSIS: Gay Marriage’s ‘Roe vs. Wade’ Moment On the Way?
Of the two cases being heard in 2013, it is a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that directly challenges the Defense of Marriage Act.
LETTER: Hold Council Member No-Shows Accountable
Sometimes, finding a member of the Hawai`i County Council feels like a game of hide-and-seek.
ANALYSIS: ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Consequences for Hawaii
The average Hawaii middle-class family will pay $2,200 more in taxes in 2013, while many crucial programs will be cut.
ANALYSIS: Hawaii Elections: Time to ‘Just Mail It’
After all the goofs during our recent elections, and with the lowest voter turnout in the country, could it be time for vote-by-mail?
OPINION: Black-Eye Friday
With “Black Friday” super-sales being held earlier and earlier, will Thanksgiving soon cease to exist as we know it?
OPINION: Marijuana – Legalization Revisited
Before the president gives the final word on weed, states like Hawaii have a window of opportunity to piggyback off of Colorado and Washington’s momentum of marijuana legalization.
OPINION: State Senators Tied to Medical Billing Scam
Automated Healthcare Solutions charged taxpayers a 4,000-5,000% markup over the cost of prescriptions, while efforts to stem the abuse were thwarted by the two senators that the company donates to.
