We need Smart Justice, not a new half-a-billion dollar jail
Instead of committing Hawaiʻi to a future of continued mass incarceration, we can invest back into our communities and restore people who do harm to being functioning members of society. Doing so will make us all safer and healthier.
Israel passes nation-state law enshrining apartheid policy
The law declares that “the state of Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people” and “the actualization of the right of national self-determination in the state of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
Hawaiʻi will ban chlorpyrifos, establish meaningful pesticide regulations
With Governor Ige's signature, SB3095 will become law and Hawaiʻi will lead the nation in establishing pesticide regulatory policy that protects the health and safety of its people and environment.
House public safety committee wins Rusty Scalpel award for hurricane Frankenbill
The committee voted to gut a criminal justice reform bill and replace it with a bill looking at hurricane-resistant school structures with no input from advocates or the community.
Hawaiʻi could become the first state to ban chlorpyrifos
Activists have been fighting for years for a comprehensive pesticide regulation bill. Now one is heading to a final floor vote after passing through conference committee.
Background checks keep guns in the hands of ‘good guys’ only
Americans consistently and overwhelmingly support background checks, but NRA-funded politicians have stalled a bill to close loopholes at the federal level.
A hoppy balance to Hawaiʻi’s alcohol tax
Beer drinkers pay a higher liquor tax than wine or spirit drinkers in terms of alcohol per volume, and tend to be working class folks.
Ai-jen Poo: Building and sustaining a movement for social justice
Ai-jen Poo on building and sustaining a national movement for social justice, and how the Hawaiʻi campaign to pass kūpuna and family care legislation ties into that larger project.
State House names Tom “Sledgehammer” Brower as housing committee chair
Brower’s disparaging words and dehumanizing actions toward those experiencing houselessness in Hawaiʻi make him a controversial choice to chair the committee.
Hawaiʻi coalition urges Congress to oppose fast tracking the TPP
The newly-formed coalition includes groups from the labor rights, environmental protection, Native Hawaiian sovereignty, food justice, and social justice movements.
Maui hospitals look to privatization as potential solution for budget woes
The state's Maui region public hospitals are hoping to initiate discussions with a private healthcare corporation to enter into a partnership that could save the system money in the midst of budget shortfalls.
Former biotech legislator of the year to head House agriculture committee
While the State Senate has become more progressive, this is yet another example of the State House moving in the opposite direction.
Rep. Wooley’s gut-and-replace gambit
In an attempt to get a GMO-labeling bill heard this session, Rep. Jessica Wooley turned to a legislative maneuver that many agree is an unsavory tactic.
Minimum wage ‘compromise’ bill watered down to appease business owners
The House labor committee's draft of the minimum wage increase bill is pitched as a compromise, but still favors small business owners over their employees.
Why are homeless community members opposing a proposed ‘Homeless Bill of Rights?’
House Bill 1889 is widely supported—but not by some of the very people who it would supposedly protect.
“County preemption” measure dies in committee
A bill that would have given the state broader authority to preempt county ordinances it finds inconvenient, such as those restricting biotech, failed to find enough support to pass through the senate agriculture committee.