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Editorial

Trump lacks election rivals

Donald Trump has an excess of companions in the race for the Republican nomination for 2024, but a paucity of rivals. The quantity of candidates in the presidential primary so far appears in inverse relationship to the threat they pose to him. The main question prompted by several recent declarees is not how they might win or what they might offer, but simply “why?” ( Mike Pence, Chris Christie ), or even “who?” ( Perry Johnson ). No one can predict what will happen in this race, and upsets do happen. Large fields and long shots positioning politicians for a future bid or the ...

Balancing the budget

Wielding both pen and proverbial sword, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green was mighty busy this week. On Tuesday at the University of Hawaii Maui College, he used the pen to sign House Bills 1255 and 353 into law. HB 1255 authorizes $20 million in special purpose revenue bonds to assist construction of the West Maui Hospital and Medical Center. HB 353 helps cover costs for the Certified Nurse Aide-to-Practical Nurse Bridge Program started at UH-MC. This program helps nurse aides seeking to become nurses pay for their college tuition, fees, supplies and other related costs. Green’s swordlike ...

Schools counter intolerance

It was supposed to be a routine vote. On the Tuesday agenda for the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education was an item designating June as Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community, recognizing the month in which the 1969 Stonewall uprising began. Local boards and councils vote on ceremonial items like this all the time to recognize various communities in their districts. But then the agents of hate showed up. Even before the meeting, dozens of people gathered outside to lodge their objection to a vote that they believe supported the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Among the ...

New climate change study alarming

Despite the amount of evidence showing how much danger we are in from climate change, it seems it’s difficult to get moving on a solution. We hope the most recent study about climate change will bring action. The study, by the international scientist group Earth Commission and published in Wednesday’s journal Nature, examines climate, air pollution, phosphorus and nitrogen contamination of water from fertilizer overuse, groundwater supplies, fresh surface water, the unbuilt natural environment and the overall natural and human-built environment. In summary, the study found ...

Politics of division

This week on Maui, as with so many weeks before, we are thankful to live where acceptance and respect are society’s default settings. Despite our many differences, we live in a harmony that most communities in this world can only dream of. It starts with the host culture. With their aloha spirit and connection to the land, sea and air, Hawaiians set the state’s baseline for kindness, compassion and responsibility to future generations. They teach us that living on a remote island chain is better when we get along. Working together moves things forward. Perhaps that is what makes ...

GOP revolts against Yellen’s global-tax plan

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spent more than two years promising foreign leaders that the U.S. is committed to a new global deal to raise taxes on large companies. Now Republicans in Congress have a warning for the rest of the world: Don’t believe her. All 25 Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee recently co-sponsored a bill that would impose retaliatory taxes on any country that implements the tax rules to which Ms. Yellen has agreed. It targets tech taxes aimed at U.S. firms and the proposed global minimum corporate tax that would be set at 15 percent. Those are ...