Sign of the times: UH offers “active shooter” training
The University of Hawaii’s flagship Manoa campus is now offering “Active Shooter Awareness & Response Training” to interested faculty, staff or student groups on the campus. According to an...
View ArticleAnother sad tale of airport maintenance woes
Oh, my! Here we go again. As reported by Hawaii News Now a couple of days ago: The largest security checkpoint at Honolulu International Airport’s main overseas terminal is closed because of a leaky...
View ArticleAnother Honolulu Airport tidbit
The November issue of Pat Tummons’ Environment Hawaii newsletter includes a brief note about the international gardens at Honolulu International Airport, which “have long been sanctuary for weary...
View ArticleProfiting from fear mongering
Just in case you missed this sobering Washington Post item a few days ago, do take a few minutes to check it out (“What was fake on the Internet this week: Why this is the final column“). The “What was...
View ArticleCity’s explanation of discrepancies in real property tax assessments don’t...
Thanks to Star-Advertiser business writer, Andrew Gomes, for his story on Sunday about the discrepancies between the selling prices of high-value Oahu homes and their often much lower appraisals for...
View ArticleTestimony being solicited on whether Maui should adopt a “county manager”...
An 11-member special committee appointed by the Maui County Council is in the process of gathering information and soliciting testimony on the question of whether moving to a county manager form of...
View ArticleRep. Choy set to appear at UH Manoa Faculty Congress on Wednesday, March 16
Manoa Rep. Isaac Choy, who introduced a bill this year to allow legislators to take full time jobs at the University of Hawaii while retaining their legislative posts, is scheduled to hold a short town...
View ArticleContinuing airport woes
We stepped off a United Airlines fight from SFO yesterday afternoon and made the walk to baggage claim area “H” where I believe all United flights disgorge their bags. As we made the turn from the main...
View ArticleNew analysis looks at San Francisco housing costs
Here’s a great article about a very innovative bit of digging into the causes of high housing prices in San Francisco (“A guy just transcribed 30 years of for-rent ads. Here’s what it taught us about...
View ArticleNew buildings don’t mean progress
Denby Fawcett’s column in Civil Beat this week is an essay on the trend towards remaking local neighborhoods by clearing small, older homes and replacing them with “monster homes.” She bemoans the...
View ArticleLight rail to the rescue?
KHON’s Gina Mangieri had an under appreciated story a couple of weeks ago that explored whether Honolulu’s planned rail could be morphed into a system that includes a light rail component (“Could light...
View ArticleFacing the rail conundrum
Honolulu’s rail project poses a particularly tricky issue at this point in its life. We’ve already spent a vast amount on it, but the estimated total still to go keeps growing at an alarming pace. And...
View ArticleTransparency Forum set for Thursday evening at UH Manoa
Senator Les Ihara sent out an email notice addressed to “Open Government Supporters” about a free event scheduled for Thursday evening sponsored by the University of Hawai?i Public Policy Center and...
View ArticleA call for moratorium on state seawalls along West Maui coast
Here’s a Maui issue that deserves wider attention. I’ve taken this information from a petition posted at change.org. Stop the SEAWALLS at Olowalu and Protect our Beaches, Reefs, Manta Rays and Monk...
View ArticleAbout those McMansions…
Credit my cousin, a professor at Boise State, for flagging a website that presents an architectural critique of McMansions (with a touch of humor thrown in for good measure). “Worst of McMansions”...
View ArticleMayor Kenoi’s latest escapades call attention to potential ethics issues
Billy Kenoi, the lame duck Hawaii County Mayor, just can’t catch a break these days. His lawyers’ attempts to get criminal charges thrown out before trial was rejected, and then a video surfaced in...
View ArticleObliteration of Thomas Square history apparently already underway
The city’s ignorance of history is no excuse for destroying the heritage of Thomas Square. This is an instance where the mayor needs to step forward and take action to save this highly symbolic piece...
View ArticleAt-grade option offers a way out of Honolulu’s train wreck
I was sorry to see Lee Cataluna’s glib column this morning disparaging the possibility of incorporating the at-grade option in order to complete Honolulu’s rail system, which is currently collapsing...
View ArticleTaken for a bus ride
As a frequent bus rider, I was glad to see the city roll out a very reasonably-priced day pass good for unlimited travel on Honolulu buses. That sounds like a pretty good deal. As Hawaii News Now...
View ArticleFriday deadline for neighborhood board candidates
Friday is the deadline to file as a candidate for any of Honolulu’s neighborhood boards. Candidate papers must be postmarked or hand delivered to the Neighborhood Commission Office at Kap?lama Hale,...
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