Commentary: Lots of great things were achieved for animals in 2023
When doom and gloom drive headlines, it’s easy to think that 2023 was a year of nothing but conflict and chaos. But for animals, who endure so much suffering at the hands of humans, the year just past brought many positive changes.
Commentary: Nikki Haley is the best hope to keep Trump out of the White House
Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, represents the Republican Party’s best hope to vanquish Donald Trump. While many foes and pundits have piled on Haley for her recent Civil War-slavery “gaffe,” the reality is in the Republican primary, voters are unlikely to punish her considering the overall party’s recent crusades against subjects like “critical race theory.”
Editorial: ‘No one is safe if they had any hand in’ Oct. 7
For eight years, the U.S. State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on the whereabouts of Saleh Arouri, a Hamas terrorist whose hands were dripping red.
Commentary: Resolutions aren’t the key to a happier new year. Here’s where to start
We tend to look to the new year as a new beginning, as an opportunity for a fresh start. Aspiring for something different, something better, we devise resolutions in hopes of making ourselves healthier, more productive, more successful … but really, the end goal is to be happier: to feel satisfied rather than wanting at this same time next year.
Editorial: Democrats scrambling to overcome tough Senate map
As we enter a presidential election year, pundits are focused on the incessant drama — criminal and otherwise — swirling around a potential rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But there’s more at stake — in particular, the U.S. Senate.
Making Waves: Right word at the right time
In a store in Kona last week I looked up and walking toward me was none other than Matthew McConaughey. Shock.
Editorial: Republicans should be honest about election interference
In recent weeks, Congress has stripped a senator of his committee chairmanship pending a bribery investigation, expelled a House member for egregious frauds, and fired a staffer for making a sex tape in a committee room — all for the good, given the embarrassment each has brought on the institution. But there are deeper ethics challenges facing Congress, as the case of Representative Elise Stefanik shows.
Editorial: Ohtani strikes out California’s tax bureaucracy
Tax rates do matter. Consider the financial implications of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s new contract.
Biden’s fellow seniors have advice for the 81-year-old president: Lose the script, project your voice
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — For those who doubt Joe Biden’s capacity to be president, Herb Klar has a suggestion: Swing by his neighborhood sometime.
It’s a wonderful vegan life
In this era of movie sequels and remakes, a question sparked during my annual viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” What would Clarence the angel show George Bailey today? In my reimagining of the film for 2024, I made the protagonist vegan. That way, audiences could witness the profound positive ripple effect that one person can have on the planet and all its inhabitants.
Curbing exposure to weed and alcohol marketing can improve teens’ mental health
Sometimes, it seems that we’re doing all we can to sabotage our own efforts to reverse the nation’s mental health and addiction crises, which disproportionately affect children, teens and young adults.
2023 sucked, but at least there was a measure of accountability in Washington
In the spirit of the season, how about a glass-half-full view of our parlous politics as 2023 ends?
‘Season of Light’: emotional and comforting
Over a hundred candle lights danced around as people closed their eyes and remembered their loved ones. Families shared both tears and smiles as they held their candles close to their hearts. When Mark Yamanaka’s voice and acoustic guitar filled up the space with a heart-moving singing of “Oh Holy Night,” every individual in the room was reminded that this season, no matter how difficult, can be filled with light.
Editorial: Humans over machines: The New York Times seeks to protect journalism in suing OpenAI and Microsoft
The New York Times is not content to let OpenAI and Microsoft get rich using the newspaper’s web content for artificial intelligence like ChatGPT without paying and sued this week in Manhattan federal court.
Letters- Your Voice – for Saturday, December 30, 2023
Where is the justice after dog attack?
As I see it – What does Hawaii offer, besides tourism?
The economy of Hawaii is often said to be based on tourism, and while tourism is important, there are also other important aspects. Forty to fifty thousand military salaries are significant. Astronomy employs a few thousand more, especially during construction and deconstruction. A sound stage would attract more movie makers and could have other uses, like an indoor shooting range. It seems like half the people I know are retirees spending their pension or savings here, some with two homes. The latest building codes imposed by the state legislature may make moving here prohibitive for
Editorial: Ballot on our mind: Supreme Court has tough tiebreaker on Trump ballot case
In a ruling this week, the Michigan Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump to remain on the Republican primary ballot, rejecting the argument that the 14th Amendment’s ban on holding public office for government officials who’d previously engaged in insurrection against the United States disqualified the former president.
Pro pickleball’s woes won’t dent the sport
In the great national divide over pickleball, one side is enjoying a serving of schadenfreude over the news that the sport’s professional league is in trouble. Those who view the sport as an abomination will take heart from the fact that Major League Pickleball is struggling to pay its players.
