Civil Beat Categories

Let The Sunshine In

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The Sunshine Blog: Lazy Lawyers? Federal Judges Are Concerned Flickr: Chris Yarzab

The Sunshine Blog: Lazy Lawyers? Federal Judges Are Concerned

Short takes, outtakes, our takes and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii.

Hawaii Ethics Panel To Push For More Disclosure Of Lobbyists Screenshot/2023

Hawaii Ethics Panel To Push For More Disclosure Of Lobbyists

Bills would expand definition of lobbying to include the executive branch and require legislators to reveal more financial relationships.

The Sunshine Blog: Bring On The Tourists. Or Not Brittany Lyte/Civil Beat/2023

The Sunshine Blog: Bring On The Tourists. Or Not

Short takes, outtakes, our takes and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii.

A Civic Creed For Hawaii Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2021

A Civic Creed For Hawaii

What does it mean to be a good citizen in a world full of challenge and temptation?

The Sunshine Blog: Hawaii’s New Nepotism Law Is Kicking In Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

The Sunshine Blog: Hawaii’s New Nepotism Law Is Kicking In

Short takes, outtakes, our takes and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii.

The Silent Treatment Is No Way To Run A Maui County In Crisis Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

The Silent Treatment Is No Way To Run A Maui County In Crisis

The county won't talk about its communications strategy regarding the deadly Lahaina fire, including who is making decisions on what to tell the public.

Hawaii Ethics Commission Steps Up Training Of Government Employees Screenshot/2023

Hawaii Ethics Commission Steps Up Training Of Government Employees

Compliance with taking a mandatory ethics course has increased significantly, but some organizations still lag.

The Sunshine Blog: Zoomed Out, Wahiawa Moolah, And Someone Doesn’t Like Us Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat/2022

The Sunshine Blog: Zoomed Out, Wahiawa Moolah, And Someone Doesn’t Like Us

Short takes, outtakes, our takes and other stuff you should know about public information, government accountability and ethical leadership in Hawaii.

Chad Blair: When The Hawaii Legislature First Decided Public Access Was Important File Photo

Chad Blair: When The Hawaii Legislature First Decided Public Access Was Important


Public access at the State Capitol barely existed until 1989 when House Democrats succeeded in enacting major reforms. Their work is still a template for future reform.

Beth Fukumoto: Hawaii Should Look To Other States When It Comes To Ethics Reform Patti Epler/Civil Beat/2023

Beth Fukumoto: Hawaii Should Look To Other States When It Comes To Ethics Reform

While an Office of the Public Advocate would be one way to hold officials accountable, there are other options.