Richard Wiens

Honolulu

News Editor at Honolulu Civil Beat

News editor at @civilbeat

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Articles

Beth Fukumoto: How Solid Is Hawaiʻi GOP Support For Trump Policies?

1 week ago | civilbeat.org | Beth Fukumoto |Richard Wiens

The Republican caucuses have grown in the Legislature thanks to the 2024 election. The 2025 legislative session ended just as Donald Trump marked his first 100 days back in the White House. His second-term agenda is pretty much what he and the Republican Party told voters it would be: aggressive immigration enforcement, expanded parental rights, new tariffs and deep cuts to federal agencies.
How To Change The Pay-To-Play Culture in Hawaiʻi? Here Are Some Ideas

1 week ago | civilbeat.org | Richard Wiens |Patti Epler |Chad Blair

There’s still hope for much-needed reforms, but face it: There’ll be no help from legislative leaders. The regular session of the 2025 Hawaiʻi Legislature is over, and there can be no more pretending. Overcoming the dysfunction that plagues the Legislature and the wider tarpit of corruption that mars Hawaiʻi politics can be accomplished only by going around the current legislative leaders who block genuine reform efforts at every turn.
Neal Milner: Use Civics Classes To Fight Back Against Authoritarianism

1 week ago | civilbeat.org | Neal Milner |Richard Wiens

Commentary Teachers will have to walk a fine line, but itʻs not OK to pretend our democracy is functioning properly. Teachers will have to walk a fine line, but itʻs not OK to pretend our democracy is functioning properly. How do you teach civics when all hell is breaking loose? Civics used to teach that we live in a democracy and what we have to do to maintain that.
Denby Fawcett: 911 Calls Led To Recent Clearing Of Diamond Head Camps

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Denby Fawcett |Richard Wiens

State and city officials combined major sweeps with service tents offering food, showers and housing options. Two kinds of residents live on Diamond Head near the lighthouse: the well-off and the almost penniless. The penniless are the homeless tent-dwellers who live in encampments hidden in kiawe thickets on the mauka slopes of the volcanic crater. Some have been up there for more than 20 years.
Why Do Legislative Leaders Refuse To Change The Old Way Of Doing Business?

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Richard Wiens

In a dysfunctional end to conference committee, the most important reform measure is shot down with no explanation. Itʻs hard to imagine a bleaker end to the Hawaiʻi Legislatureʻs conference committee period than what unfolded Friday night in Room 325 at the State Capitol.
Sunshine Blog: Legislators May Make The Roads A Little Safer - For Mopeds

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Richard Wiens

Short takes, outtakes, our takes and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawai‘i. Ride a moped, wear a helmet: House and Senate conference committees struck a deal Thursday on Senate Bill 30 to prohibit anyone younger than 16 years old from driving mopeds on public roads, and to require that all moped riders wear helmets.
Beth Fukumoto: Legislature Might Just Deliver On Some Opening Day Promises

3 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Beth Fukumoto |Richard Wiens

Commentary Taking a calculator to the bills — and overriding issues — that are still at play this session. Taking a calculator to the bills — and overriding issues — that are still at play this session. Every legislative session in Hawaiʻi opens with lofty promises. This year was no exception.
Buckle Up, The Legislature's Frenzied Final Act Is About To Begin

1 month ago | civilbeat.org | Richard Wiens

Hundreds of measures hurtle toward the black hole of conference committee that waits at the end of every ridiculously short session. Solution? Full-time Legislature. Here we go again. It’s that time of year when senators and representatives work together on hundreds of bills that have passed both chambers to resolve differences resulting from amendments. Sounds almost idyllic from a public policy perspective, right?
Beth Fukumoto: State Budget-Writers Are In Survival Mode

1 month ago | civilbeat.org | Beth Fukumoto |Richard Wiens

Commentary Hawaiʻi can count on the federal government for very little with certainty right now. Hawaiʻi can count on the federal government for very little with certainty right now. I planned to write about how the Legislature will manage the ever-increasing possibility that President Donald Trump will dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
Denby Fawcett: Trump Protests Evolve With Bigger Events, Individual Acts

1 month ago | civilbeat.org | Denby Fawcett |Richard Wiens

A rally at the State Capitol and surprise criticism from the master of ceremonies during an event honoring Vietnam veterans are examples of growing unrest. The anti-Trump movement has taken some new turns. As life gets grimmer, some of Donald Trumpʻs critics are getting funnier with protest signs that portray the president and Elon Musk as fools.