As we’ve mentioned here more times than I can count, it’s important that we stay apprised of developments and impact of Native American law, as the Akaka Bill seeks to bring those precedents to Hawaii. With that said, here are some of the more significant decisions of late. (Note that two of the cases have [...]
A new Zogby poll on contracting preferences finds that when it comes to awarding government contracts, the majority favors the (rather common sense) approach of awarding contracts to the lowest qualified bidder. Of course, those who have experience with the thorny thicket of government contracting rules know that this is far from the norm. We’ve [...]
We’ve been beating the drum on granting accountability with a fair (some might say nearly obsessive) degree of frequency. As the main state grantor of Native Hawaiian programs, OHA naturally comes in for a large share of this criticism and analysis–and their reticence to share much about their evaluation process (not to mention the seemingly random [...]
OHA is holding meetings on the outer islands, part of which includes discussion of some of their ongoing grant projects. For more, check out the OHA release/newsletter blurb below: The Board of Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs traveled to Kaua‘i for the first in a series of five community meetings with Native Hawaiians [...]
Have a program that will raise the well-being of the Native Hawaiian community? The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is looking for you. Non-profit granting trends being what they are, OHA has decided to create a new focus in their community granting program from a focus on addressing “individual needs” to programs that will, “lead to [...]
There is a tendency among state legislatures with short annual sessions, to pass a glut of questionable bills right before they adjourn for the year. This is similar to the human instinct to try to camouflage embarrassing or problematic revelations by mixing them with many other questionable items in the hopes that they will somehow [...]
It should be of interest to those affected by the Akaka Bill (in other words, pretty much everyone in Hawaii) to know that Native Hawaiians are not the only ones encountering controversy over the question of federal recognition of tribal status. Columnist and investigative reporter John Stossel writes of the Lumbees of North Carolina, who [...]
There are plenty of reasons to feel vaguely annoyed and Senator Inouye’s recent interview in Honolulu Civil Beat. I, for one, particularly loathed the implication that people in the middle class are a tad selfish for feeling that they pay enough in taxes. But for sheer muddling of a situation, it’s hard to beat his [...]
It’s baaaack! Call it the Frankenstein of bad legislation. The Akaka Bill is back in the Senate. And while some pundits don’t give it much of a future in the House of Representatives, the Senate gave it a hearing this past Thursday. In truth, there is far too much riding on this bill for opponents [...]
One of the complaints I hear from time to time about our catalog of Native Hawaiian grants is that I must be wrong about the amount of money and number of grants involved since Native Hawaiians still have so many troubles (economic or otherwise). Well, yes and no. Far be it from me to pass [...]
