Honolulu Civil Beat

Recent climate change-fueled disasters have hit the southern part of Hawaiʻi island hard, rising to the top of local candidates’ priorities. From Volcano to Kealakekua, residents living in Big Island’s council District 6 have endured disaster after disaster – from powerful floods to earthquakes to tephra falls – all in the last year.

After an unsuccessful run for Honolulu’s top police job, Mike Lambert is staying at the state law enforcement agency, but not as its leader. Earlier this year, Mike Lambert threw a curve ball: He was leaving the top job at the Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement and returning to the Honolulu Police Department. The move was the only way to obtain the full retirement benefits for 21 years of HPD service, he said. And he was applying to be HPD’s chief.

To people who live in Guam, the ongoing Pentagon buildup in the Pacific offers a warning. This story by Anita Hofschneider was originally published by Grist and was published in partnership with The Intercept. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. Leevin Camacho was brushing his teeth one day last fall when his mother called. The water is contaminated, she said. Moments later she texted him a photo of a flyer issued by the local water authority. “Cancer risk,” it warned.

Kalei Akaka and Kumu Hina Wong are facing off for a seat on the nine-member Board of Trustees. The Army has said it will downsize its training grounds on Oʻahu. New development is moving forward in Kakaʻako. In the coming years, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees will have a significant role to play in the future of both issues.

In the previous cases, one defendant changed her plea to guilty and another faces a December trial A Polish man living in Hawaiʻi was charged last week with illegally voting in a U.S. election, authorities said, the third such case in the state this year. Dawid Nalepa allegedly voted in the 2024 general election while understanding he was not a U.S. citizen, a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.

As coqui frogs threaten to blanket Oʻahu, residents are once again calling on the state to better regulate plant nurseries, which bear much of the blame for the frogs’ spread. Michael Shiroma’s ears are tuned to the loud namesake calls of male coqui frogs, which have taken over the valley surrounding his Pālolo home.

Until lawmakers act, voters would be wise to use BallotTrax to make sure their ballots are counted. In August, Hawaiʻi’s Office of Elections broke two tied Oʻahu primaries by drawing plastic capsules from a lauhala basket. One result stands. The other goes back to voters on Nov. 3. It didn’t have to come down to a basket, or a court fight, to pick a winner. One more counted vote would have broken either tie.

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Cartoon Politics, policy and public affairs as seen through the eyes of our political cartoonist. Politics, policy and public affairs as seen through the eyes of our political cartoonist. Click on image to enlarge. (Will Caron/Civil Beat/2026) Sign up for our FREE morning newsletter and face each day more informed. Sorry. That's an invalid e-mail. Thanks! We'll send you a confirmation e-mail shortly. Local reporting when you need it most Support timely, accurate, independent journalism.

Itʻs crucial the electorate cast votes on five charter questions that will help get more homes built on Oʻahu, including affordable housing. Oʻahu voters will start opening their ballots on Oct. 16 and find a host of candidates, two constitutional amendments and 20proposed amendments to the Honolulu City Charter. Housing will dominate this ballot, and voters need to be ready. The charter amendments, in particular, constitute the most sweeping review of the cityʻsgoverning document in a decade.