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Editorial

Hamas does not represent Palestinians

The Oct. 7 attack on Israelis by Hamas militants was an unspeakable act of terrorism and Israel has every right to use military force to prevent future such atrocities. But in doing so it must stay true to its values by doing everything possible to minimize the suffering of innocent Palestinian residents of Gaza. That seemed to be President Biden’s message for Israelis when he spoke Wednesday in Tel Aviv, reminding his hosts that “the vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.” Biden expressed solidarity with the Israeli people ...

Kihei crossing back in spotlight

Remember those quaint old days when the opening of Kulanihako‘i High School and the controversy over its grade-separated crossing were two of the hottest stories in island news? The Kihei school garnered front-page coverage in this newspaper when it held its first day of classes on Aug. 7. After countless construction delays, bureaucratic stumbles and wrangling, the long-awaited school finally had students and teachers in classrooms. It was the talk of the town for all of about 24 hours. The next day, Aug. 8, wildfires fueled by winds gusting up to 74 mph decimated Lahaina and ...

Looking to the Pacific Islands

The Biden administration last month recognized the Cook Islands and Niue as “sovereign and independent states” and promised to open diplomatic relations. The United States opened a new embassy in the Solomon Islands in January and another in Tonga in May. A U.S. Embassy is promised for Vanuatu next year. On top of all that, the administration is seeking some $40 million from Congress for infrastructure development in the South Pacific. That’s an awful lot of sudden diplomatic attention to a remote grouping of 14 sparsely populated island nations whose combined economies are ...

Student loan conundrum

We laughed out loud when The New York Times quoted professor Kate Shaw asking if the Supreme Court will “continue to incapacitate” the administrative state. She was apparently serious. Do Biden regulators look incapacitated to you? The Education Department recently finalized a 775-page rule that restricts federal financial aid to proprietary colleges that purportedly fail to prepare students for “gainful employment.” The Obama administration’s first such rule was blocked in federal court, and Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rolled back its redo. For-profit college ...

Subbing in for Lahaina

In sports they call it, “Next man up.” For every player who goes down to injury, another steps in to fill the void. Or to at least try. Subs often struggle to match the capabilities of those they replace, especially if the fallen player is a star. Coaches adjust game plans and exhort the rest of the team to do more. Lahaina was Maui’s star. With its busy harbor, restaurants, entertainment, activities and shopping, it served as the epicenter of the island’s hospitality industry. Lahaina was home to most of the west side’s workforce housing, as well as its social, medical ...

Interest rates affect us all

Borrowing is expensive again, as anyone who has tried to buy a car or home lately can tell you. The interest rate on 10-year Treasury bonds, the benchmark for home loans, is hovering around 4.75 percent, a nearly two-decade high. This will significantly add to the federal government’s expenses and raises the urgency to lower the deficit. Interest costs are already the fastest-growing part of the budget. Net interest costs — a nonnegotiable expense — nearly doubled as a share of federal outlays between 2020 and 2023, going from $345 billion, or 5 percent, to $660 billion, or 10 ...