A 51-year-old Maui man was the target of Maui Police Department’s Crime Reduction Officers on Wednesday, May 29, after police officers executed a search warrant on a Ha‘iku residence and “recovered” 76 cannabis plants, over a gram of processed cannabis, and drug paraphernalia. Two juveniles were also found in the house, MPD reported. Harry Pahukoa […]
You need to read ACLU Hawaii’s new report on bail reform
Bail reform is one of those civil justice issues that’s finally getting a lot more attention nationwide. I mean, even Jay-Z has written about it. “If you’re from neighborhoods like the Brooklyn one I grew up in, if you’re unable to afford a private attorney, then you can be disappeared into our jail system simply […]
ACLU Hawaii selects Joshua Wisch as its new executive director
After a search lasting nearly seven months, ACLU Hawaii has finally chosen a new executive director. Vanessa Chong, who has run the office since 1984, is retiring next year. Her replacement, ACLU Hawaii officials announced on Dec. 13, is Joshua Wisch, currently a Special Assistant to Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin. According to the ACLU […]
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz wants to make it easier for cops to get body cameras. But will that help the public?
Though they’ve been studying body cameras for the last couple years, the Maui Police Department is only now equipping officers with the devices. According to Gregg Okamoto, the MPD’s public information officer, 89 patrol officers in the Lahaina, Kihei, Hana, Lanai and Molokai districts now wear body cameras. The promise of police officers wearing forward-facing […]
What will we do about the ‘egregious overcrowding’ at Maui Community Correctional Center?
Recently, I went into the Maui Community Correctional Center. I was there to meet with the Warden and another official to talk with them about the problems facing MCCC that are becoming increasingly critical, namely the vast overcrowding that is plaguing all jails and prisons in Hawaii. I entered through the guard house, under the […]
Longtime ACLU Hawaii Executive Director Vanessa Chong to retire in early 2018
Vanessa Chong, longtime executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii chapter, will be retiring in early 2018. Chong first joined the ACLU staff in 1981 and became the organization’s executive director in 1984. “Vanessa is leaving us a vital and strong organization and we look forward to a smooth transition,” said ACLU of Hawaii […]
ACLU Hawaii files disability discrimination complaint to U.S. Homeland Security
It’s very easy to read the bad news out of Washington these days and think that we’re different out here in Hawaii–protected by Democrats pretty much running everything. In fact, one of the great fears from having the presidency and congress guided by unapologetic white supremacy is that all that hate and fear permeates the nation […]
ACLU Hawaii issues travel advisory for anyone headed to Texas
Clearly, the troll game of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is on fire these days. I knew that even before I got the press release yesterday from the ACLU Hawaii chapter saying the organization has issued a travel advisory for anyone headed to Texas. The advisory stems from the recent passage of SB4 in Texas. […]
Will Hawaii Gov. David Ige sign anti-vandalism bill SB 895, which could criminalize homeless and activists?
It doesn’t take much effort to recall the arrest of protesters on the Mauna Kea summit during the fall of 2015. Activists were demonstrating against the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), vowing to protect Hawaii’s sacred grounds. Police ultimately arrested 14 people; they were charged heavy bails before the incident went viral and the charges dropped. […]
UPDATED: Curious about Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s recent statement on the Syrian missile attack? Ask her!
[EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 15, Rep. Gabbard’s office announced a change in venue for the Maui Town Hall meeting. Because more than 400 residents have already RSVP’d, they have decided to hold the Town Hall at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater instead of the Maui Tropical Plantation. The time and date of […]
ACLU Hawaii asks County of Maui to resist Trump’s deportation efforts
President Donald Trump’s continued assault on immigration has led to the implementation of ‘deportation forces’ across the country. These units have attempted to draft local law enforcement officials from every state, including Hawaii. To combat this, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii (ACLU) has sent letters to officials in every Hawaii county, warning of […]
We talk story with ACLU Hawaii Legal Director Mateo Caballero about Trump’s assault on civil liberties
If you exhibit any empathy at all, reading the news these days is a terrible depressing experience. Every day it seems, the President “Baby” Donald Trump and Republican-controlled Legislatures across the country sign executive orders or introduce legislation designed to curb someone’s civil liberties–voting rights, trans rights, protester rights, even the rights of documented immigrants […]
Want to support civil rights and a local Hawaii artist? Buy this print!
The Trump Administration is doubling down on authoritarian executive orders–most recently with a blatantly unconstitutional Muslim travel ban that prompted wide-scale, spontaneous demonstrations in airports across the nation this weekend. It’s easy to lose hope in the face of such reactionary barbarism, but local Hawaii artist Napua Ahina, a member of the Hawaiian Comic Book […]
UPDATED: Hawaii AG Doug Chin one of 16 attorneys general to oppose Trump’s Muslim travel ban
Amidst reports from around the nation of mass demonstrations in airports, court orders and customs officials standing in flagrant defiance to those court orders, multiple news organizations are reporting that 16 attorneys general from across the U.S.–including Hawaii AG Doug Chin–have signed a statement that “condemns” President Donald Trump’s immigration ban yesterday on Muslims from […]
Quizunderstood: How well do you know the decline of Maui’s coral reefs?
1. An astonishing quarter of all surveyed coral reefs in Maui waters died in the last two decades, according to a Jan. 16 news release from the Maui Nui Marine Research Council (MNMRC). According to the MNMRC, what percentage of Maui’s reefs are in decline? A. 20 percent B. 30 percent C. 40 percent D. […]
Maui Police Department conducting yet another body camera test
I love getting press releases that describe events already nearly a week old. That’s what happened last week when the Maui Police Department notified the public that they “will” conduct yet another test of body cameras for their officers. “Beginning Thursday, August 18, 2016, the Plans, Training, Research & Development Section of the Maui Police […]