Hawaii’s charter schools are about to receive a smaller slice of the state’s budget pie, and they’re not happy about it. Who could blame them. Governor Lingle’s budget, approved by legislators, cuts funding of Charter School students by an estimated $400 to $900 per student, per year. Before you stand up and yell out, ‘Cry … Read More »

Renewable energy. That’s what bio-fuels like ethanol promise. Unlike petroleum, which is rather finite, sits in the ground until pumped, then disappears into pollution and landfills, bio-fuels can be grown again and again. Right? Right. Mostly. Somewhere there’s a spreadsheet that started it all, and convinced the powers that be that growing fuel was less … Read More »

If you haven’t noticed, the Honolulu Advertiser has re-designed their web site. At first, I didn’t like. It was difficult to find what I wanted because everything moved. In the past week I’ve become more accustomed to the new design, and my initial impression needs to be withdrawn. The NEW Advertiser online has entered the … Read More »

I never thought I would say this, but the air in Honolulu is bad today. Very bad. It was bad yesterday. It will be bad tomorrow. No, I don’t live near a landfill. The garbage men are not on strike. The sewer hasn’t backed up. It’s not smog. It’s vog. Volcanic smog, from the Big … Read More »

Has Honolulu’s city council and the Mayor been unduly influenced by campaign contributions from companies bidding on the Honolulu mass transit system? What a novel thought. The city (Mayor and council members), for whatever the reasons, plan to plunge Oahu’s residents deep into debt with a much-ballyhooed and costly mass transit system that will compete … Read More »

First Aloha Airlines, now ATA. This has been a bad week for anyone associated with airlines in Hawaii. In an odd sort of way, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Aloha Airlines finally closed the doors, and parked the planes. The airline struggled for much of the past 20 years, and was … Read More »