Hawaii Reporter

Author’s note: In 1997, Cambodia was embroiled in a brutal civil war, while still reeling in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror that led to the deaths of nearly a quarter of the population through execution, torture, starvation and disease. At the same time, Cambodia was experiencing the most serious and...

We live in turbulent times. Even though COVID-19 dominates the headlines it doesn't mean that illegal activities have disappeared. Unfortunately, people need cash to finance their drug habits and who knows what else. When my next-door neighbor’s home was robbed recently, the concept of breaking and entering became very real. It was time...

December 1997: “Stretched out along the banks of the mighty Mekong, the weather in Phnom Penh is fantastic this time of year. Sunny and breezy, all is green following the rains. The mud-slide streets have dried up and the choking dust and oppressive heat won’t come into full force for another month or so. Most importantly, the...

During this period of emergency and with our State facing revenue shortfalls of Brobdingnagian proportions, the State Auditor has been busy at work trying to find options for legislators to consider for getting the state budget back on track. In Report No. 20-07, the auditor focuses on three special funds. One...

December 1996:“A weekend retreat -- traveling three hours by convoy for safety, radios in each of the three cars and along a good, tar-sealed road (which passes through Pol Pot territory – and a popular kidnapping area lined on either side with mine fields) brings us to some very pleasant beaches along Cambodia's southern coast. Then, during...

Previously in this space, we spoke of various laws that were suspended by the Governor’s emergency proclamations.  In a press release on March 17, 2020, entitled “Democracy Still Matters in Time of Pandemic,” the watchdog group Common Cause Hawaii pointed out that a Supplemental Emergency Proclamation, issued by Governor Ige on March 16, 2020, suspended many laws...

With over forty organizations, including the City and County of Honolulu, the Salvation Army, the YWCA, HPD and Hawaii Fire Department, allegedly 'partnering' with this organization that suddenly sprang up out of nowhere to deliver free masks to everyone on Oahu - who are these people? The thing is, these guys went out...

In an article in this space just a couple of weeks ago, we growled and grumbled about the possibility that our Governor, having already suspended laws and chapters in the Hawaii Revised Statutes in a listing seventeen pages long, would start monkeying with the tax code. At the time, however, the Governor hadn’t touched the tax code at all.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST “Facebook announced Thursday that it will start warning users if they have liked, reacted or commented on harmful Covid-19 posts that the company has found to be misinformation and removed. The feature will roll out in the coming weeks... “‘These messages will connect people to COVID-19 myths...

Author’s Note: It was such a great year – finishing my doctoral fieldwork in Thailand, defending my dissertation, graduation, sailing the South Seas and getting off the boat to begin a six-month consultancy with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pacific Regional Office based in the Fiji Islands. After a long fruitless job search, it was my...