The comeback class of 2026: Hawaiʻi’s former officeholders tried to get back in.
One of the more interesting side stories that emerged from Hawaiʻi's 2026 Primary Election was the number of former elected officials who decided they wanted back in. At first glance, this blogger counted four familiar names — people who had held elected office before and were now asking voters to give them another shot. PC: Brian Schatz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons But after digging a little deeper into the ...
The Curious Career of Ford Fuchigami
Ford Fuchigami's path through Hawaiʻi government, 2011–2026Graphic credit: PHwSF When the news broke on July 24 that Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and four others had been indicted in a public corruption case, much of the attention understandably centered on Luke. But among the other names in the indictment was one that immediately perked the interest of this blogger: Ford Fuchigami. As an aviation person, his name was well known as ...
What the 2025 SPJ Awards say about Hawaiʻi journalism
On Wednesday, July 29th, Politics Hawaii, along with other fine publications from throughout the State of Hawaii, convened at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu for the annual Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Award ceremony. The ceremony announces the awards for publications, articles, and pieces nominated for the 2025 reporting year. Entries submitted by each of the publications are seen by a team of judges in another ...
Does the money really matter? Maybe.
One thing about Hawaiʻi politics is that it is notoriously devoid of one of the things that drives political coverage almost everywhere else: polling. Sure, there is the occasional poll published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, including one that measures the sitting governor's popularity. And, after next month's primary election, we will probably see polling that tells us who is ahead in the race for governor. But outside of those occasional ...
At 250, even Air Force One changes
With the 250th birthday of the United States of America, this blogger has chosen to celebrate by writing about a side passion of his – aviation. And more to the subject, the ever-changing nature and look of the iconic planes that carry the President and other Very Important People of this nation’s government. This subject comes to the forefront as the United States Special Air Mission (SAM) fleet has placed ...
