From time to time, we like to look at the state of law, policy, and economics regarding the many federally-recognized Indian tribes. What does this have to do with Hawaii? Simple–one of the functions of this project is to explore the full story behind the implications of and motivations for the Akaka Bill. Mostly, we [...]
If you know your way around this site, you know that there are two ways of perusing the many, many grants we’ve recorded. Many. Many, many, many. It’s overwhelming actually. And overwhelming is kind of the point. No matter where you stand on the issue of Native Hawaiian sovereignty or the Akaka Bill, if you’ve [...]
If you’ve been following our notes on questionable contracting preferences for Native Hawaiian Organizations and Alaska Native Corporations, you’ll know that a few hardworking journalists have been raising questions about these practices, most notably in Hawaii Reporter and the Washington Post. (Hawaii Reporter has found that Native Hawaiian organizations have been able to use this [...]
It has been a great couple of weeks for our friends at Hawaii Reporter, who even scored a Drudge mention and a Tonight Show one-liner out of their coverage of the Obama family vacation (see below). So how about a quick round-up of things that cost us money? John Carroll has an examination of the [...]
So, what ever happened to the much-ballyhooed OHA petition to force money out of the Hawaii legislature? I remember when they filed it with the Hawaii Supreme Court. How could I forget? I got two separate press releases, a print newsletter article, an e-newsletter brief, and multiple links to the story as picked up (and [...]
Today, we continue with the third part of our guest series on the development of Indian casino gaming in California, by Jim Marino. (This series originally ran in the Santa Ynez Valley Journal.) Sometimes it seems as though the issue of gaming is an unspoken controversy that advocates of the Akaka Bill are desperately trying [...]
Imagine for a moment that you had a few thousand dollars in loose change and bills behind the cushions of your couch, in your old jacket pockets, a spare wallet or two, and spread out through a few pairs of pants. How big a jerk would you be in this situation if you then went [...]
So, who do you think pays the most in state taxes in the US? New Yorkers? That would have been my guess, simply based on how legendarily expensive it is. (Not to mention how bad a beating my wallet takes every time I go there. Ok, technically speaking, the nice restaurants shouldn’t count as a [...]
The Heritage Foundation has released its 2010 Index of Dependence on Government, and you will be unsurprised to hear that American dependence on government programs continues to grow–especially in the health and welfare sectors. Now, I will be the first to admit that, when confronted by a bevy of charts and words like “index” and [...]
Today, I have a guest article for you from Elaine William of CERA (Citizens Equal Rights Alliance). Many of those who are acquainted with the problems of tribal law, federal policy regarding tribes and reservations, and the financial issues that abound there are watching Hawaii carefully to see how those same factors will come into [...]
