Breaking News

Editorial

A conflict of interest in climate summit

This year’s United Nations climate summit in Dubai marks another opportunity for world leaders to do more to slow global warming, replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and be held accountable for their emissions-cutting pledges. But how effective can we expect these negotiations to be when they’re presided over by an oil executive? The president of this fall’s COP 28 summit, being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, will be Sultan Al Jaber, who runs the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. The naming of Al Jaber to this position is so obvious a contradiction that ...

Gems among us

Let’s call them “Maui’s Treasures.” In ways both big and small, these are the people who unselfishly give their time and energy to make this island a better place. Every once in a blue moon one might be recognized for his or her efforts, but most toil anonymously behind the scenes. These are the teachers, coaches, administrators, cultural practitioners, political watchdogs, den mothers and countless volunteers who stand on the shoulders of island dynamos who came before them. Listening to the weekly National Public Radio program, American Routes, this past week, we were ...

Averting US default

Finally, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have reached a deal to avert an embarrassing — and potentially disastrous — U.S. default. It’s hard to view this as a celebratory moment given how close the nation came to being unable to pay its obligations to investors, the military, hospitals and more. But there’s relief that the worst-case scenario has been avoided and that there is still some possibility for bipartisanship in U.S. politics. That is a low bar, but Mr. Biden and Mr. McCarthy cleared it. The agreement ‘in principle’ still has to pass ...

Commitment to end gun violence

One year ago, Uvalde, famous for its honey and nearby Garner State Park, became synonymous with horror. One year ago, the sun rising over the town and Robb Elementary School beamed with the brightness of summer’s eve. For children, the end of the school year offered the coming thrills of new adventures, long days and the hopes of endless promise. But long before sunset, a darkness fell upon Uvalde, blanketing it in terror, tears and heartbreak. The town is now best known for the second-deadliest school shooting in American history and an inept police response that made the atrocity ...

The ones who never returned

With a quarter of its force either killed, wounded or declared missing during the World War II battles of Saipan and Tinian, the men of the 4th Marine Division returned to Kahului Harbor on Aug. 14, 1944 a far more somber group than the one that left four months earlier. A marine who landed that day told us he would never forget the response of Maui’s people. While training on the island, many of the marines had made friends and taken strides toward becoming part of the community. He said both acquaintances and strangers lined the roads all the way from the harbor to Camp Maui in ...

Body cams good for policing

Every time we cover a violent crime, shooting incident or other dangerous situation involving public safety personnel, we are reminded just how dangerous their jobs really are. Many times the dangerous situations are caught on camera, and that is good for everyone — both the police and the policed. Each day, police officers and first responders face dangers that most of us will never will face in our lifetimes. A routine traffic stop or just showing up at the scene in response to a domestic violence call can turn tragic in an instant. We should all thank them for their service ...