贬补飞补颈驶颈’s Top Stories Of 2024: How Civil Beat Covered A Year Of Upheaval
Let’s take a month-by-month look at stories that made the year memorable.
Nearly 6 million people counted on Civil Beat in 2024 with some 2,600 articles, columns and 鈥 of course 鈥 candidate Q&As published.
Much has happened along the way, inside and out of the newsroom.
Civil Beat was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Maui fire coverage. This September, we introduced you to our new editor-in-chief and veteran investigative editor, Amy Pyle. She joined our team after Patti Epler spent 13 years helming our newsroom and transforming this small operation into the thriving organization that serves you today: a team of about 35 journalists with a $6 million operating budget.
Together, we’ve spent the past year chronicling some of 贬补飞补颈驶颈’s biggest stories. Here is a month-by-month look at our work in 2024.
January: The Struggle To House Maui Fire Survivors
Our first big story of the year came Jan. 5, when officials announced a $500 million plan to house some 3,000 families who remained without permanent housing after the Aug. 8, 2023 fires on Maui.
Of course, it didn鈥檛 turn out to be all that simple. Over the months that followed, we reported that many turned down Federal Emergency Management Agency housing to stay in West Maui. And in an investigation published in collaboration with ProPublica, we found that property owners had moved to evict long-term tenants to house fire survivors for more money from the federal government.
February: Another Girl In Child Welfare System Killed
Ten-year-old Geanna Bradley was found dead in early February after suffering chronic abuse at the hands of her legal guardians, Brandy and Thomas Blas, and her non-biological grandmother, police said.
As Investigations Editor John Hill opined soon after, 鈥渧ery troubling questions about how this could have happened are going unanswered.鈥 Hill has written for years about shortcomings and a lack of transparency in 贬补飞补颈驶颈’s Child Welfare Services.
There may well be more cases like this that we don鈥檛 know about, as Hill wrote in another opinion piece in October. That鈥檚 because 鈥渢he state, hiding behind confidentiality laws, keeps mum 鈥 especially about its own actions or lack of action before the child was killed,鈥 he wrote.
March: Maui Fire Debris Landfill Debate Escalated
In March, Maui County escalated a simmering debate in a key aspect of Maui鈥檚 fire recovery: the question of where to store fire debris.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen asked the County Council to seize a 19.6-acre parcel next to the Central Maui Landfill through eminent domain. The county had tried for years to purchase the vacant property owned by Komar Maui Properties to no avail.
After months in limbo while awaiting a jury trial on the matter, the county announced in November plans to pay Honolulu construction company Nan Inc. $4 million for roughly 79 acres adjacent to the landfill. It could be months until fire debris is moved from the temporary site in Olowalu, which sits near the ocean and drew concerns about potential environmental hazards.
April: Shining A Light On Pay-To-Play
Civil Beat鈥檚 Blaze Lovell spent part of the year working as a New York Times Local Investigations fellow.
In April, he took us 鈥Inside the Late-Night Parties Where 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Politicians Raked In Money,鈥 which quickly became one of our best-read stories of the year. In this exhaustive review of campaign finance data, Lovell brought new details to light about the pay-to-play culture in 贬补飞补颈驶颈 鈥 including a look behind the scenes of extraordinary political fundraisers where sushi and booze flowed in a cramped office just a short walk from the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 State Capitol.
The time he spent working with the Times has continued to pay dividends as he focuses on government accountability reporting and, now, Native Hawaiian issues.
May: Former Honolulu Prosecutor Found Not Guilty
Jurors decided in May that Honolulu鈥檚 former prosecutor and a prominent island businessman were not guilty in an alleged pay-for-prosecution scheme. The verdict followed a highly publicized investigation and trial, years in the making.
Longtime Honolulu prosecuting attorney Keith Kaneshiro was accused of conspiring with Dennis Mitsunaga, the former CEO of engineering firm Mitsunaga & Associates Inc., and several of his employees to arrange for the prosecution of a former colleague, Laurel Mau. Mau was a longtime architect who sued the company for sex and age discrimination after she was fired without explanation.
Mitsunaga and his associates gave a cluster of donations to Kaneshiro as the prosecutor directed an employee to pursue a case against Mau despite a lack of strong evidence. The defense maintained the donations were constitutionally protected political support.
Though some jurors believed Mitsunaga had bribed Kaneshiro, they felt there was no smoking gun, as jury foreman S. Keli鈥檌 Kai Paleka told Civil Beat after the trial.
June: Historic Tax Cut Passed
Gov. Josh Green in June signed the largest income tax cut in state history.
As of 2025, an estimated 70% of working-class families will see lower taxes. And by the time 2031 rolls around, the state income tax could be eliminated for about four in 10 taxpayers.
鈥淭hese were the changes that we had to have because we鈥檝e seen an exodus of people who are living paycheck to paycheck,鈥 Green said at the time.
Use this from the state to figure out what that鈥檒l mean for your bottom line.
July: Dana Ireland Suspect Dies By Suicide
For decades, the infamous Dana Ireland murder case remained unsolved. In 1991, the 23-year-old from Virgina was on a trip to the Big Island when she was hit by a car while on her bicycle, then sexually assaulted, beaten and left on a Puna fishing trail on Christmas Eve.
Two brothers and a third man were convicted of the murder in 2000, but were exonerated in 2023 thanks to help from the 贬补飞补颈驶颈 Innocence Project.
Then came a break in the case. The Innocence Project, working with a private company, found a man living near where Ireland was found: Albert Lauro Jr., 57, of Puna. Tests showed he was a likely match to DNA on Ireland鈥檚 body.
Lauro killed himself days after 贬补飞补颈驶颈 County police took a cheek swab. The department quickly came under scrutiny for its handling of the case and failure to immediately arrest Lauro. Police said they didn鈥檛 have enough evidence to charge him.
August: House Speaker Scott Saiki Ousted
The biggest upset of 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 2024 election cycle came in the August Democratic primary, when Honolulu attorney Kim Coco Iwamoto narrowly edged out House Speaker Scott Saiki in the race to represent House District 25, which covers Ala Moana, Kaka驶ako and downtown Honolulu.
Saiki was first elected to the House in 1994 and had been unsuccessfully challenged by Iwamoto in the 2020 and 2022 primaries.
Iwamoto鈥檚 victory forced a leadership shakeup in the House. In November came another first for 贬补飞补颈驶颈: Nadine Nakamura became 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 first female speaker of the chamber.
September: Shooting At Wai驶anae Family Party
A mass shooting in Wai驶anae rattled 贬补飞补颈驶颈 in September.
Courtney Raymond-Arakaki, 34, Jessyca Amasiu, 29, and Cherell Keamo, 36, were fatally shot at a family party when a neighbor rammed his tractor into several vehicles at the house, then opened fire as people tried to flee. The women were described by loved ones as kind, generous and talented.
Shooter Hiram Silva, 59, was fatally shot in the torso by a homeowner. An autopsy later determined he had a blood alcohol content of 0.182%, more than twice the legal driving limit.
The shooting followed a dispute between neighbors over an illegal party hosted at a structure Silva rented out known as the 鈥淪ilva Dome.鈥 It was known by neighbors as a place where things sometimes got rowdy, but city officials said there wasn鈥檛 much they could do beyond issuing violations.
October: Official Lahaina Fire Cause Revealed
A little over a year after the Maui fires, investigators released a report blaming a fallen Hawaiian Electric Co. power line as the cause of the August 2023 fires that killed 102 people.
While power lines were long suspected as the culprit, this October report, produced by Maui County in collaboration with federal investigators, was the first official word on the subject.
The report laid to rest questions over whether there were one or two fires in Lahaina that day 鈥 one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Investigators determined a power line started a fire that morning, which reignited later that day due to a smoldering ember and hurricane-force winds.
鈥淲e deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire that ignited in the morning,鈥 Jim Kelly, HECO鈥檚 vice president for government and community relations and corporate communications, said in a statement. 鈥淐onfronted by an extraordinary weather event and a chaotic situation, our employees brought their best efforts to their jobs, as they do every day.鈥
November: Tulsi Gabbard Pick For Cabinet
November brought an end to the 2024 election season with the election of Donald Trump to serve again as president of the United States.
Days later, he tapped one of 贬补飞补颈驶颈鈥檚 own to serve as director of national intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard. The military veteran and former congresswoman comes with political baggage, including ties to Russia and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who she visited on a controversial trip in 2017. Just this month, we reported that members of Congress were warned about Gabbard驶s ties to a secretive 鈥嬧嫳岵狗刹咕笔痪 religious sect.
Ideas Editor Patti Epler detailed Gabbard鈥檚 rise from city council member to Trump cabinet nominee in 鈥淭ulsi Gabbard Through The Years: What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been.鈥
December: Mike Miske Found Dead
Just weeks ago, a yearslong investigation and prosecution of Honolulu racketeering boss Michael Miske came to an end after he was found dead in his federal prison cell. He was scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 30 and faced two mandatory minimum life sentences.
The circumstances of Miske鈥檚 death remain unclear, though sources told Civil Beat he apparently killed himself.
Now, as longtime Miske reporter Ian Lind wrote, the case could disappear as though it never happened, due to an old legal doctrine that would wipe away the conviction 鈥 and potential asset forfeitures.
A Final Note
Civil Beat is known for its in-depth reporting, so we’d be remiss without mentioning some of our new projects and initiatives of 2024.
As mentioned above, Civil Beat partnered with The New York Times and national investigative newsroom ProPublica to dig deep into 贬补飞补颈驶颈’s pay-to-play culture and housing woes on Maui, respectively.
Nathan Eagle traveled thousands of miles to learn about efforts to study the good, bad and ugly of the Papah膩naumoku膩kea Marine National Monument. Thomas Heaton published a series on a relatively obscure but major fire risk: the way our neighborhoods are built could contribute to the spread of fire.
We launched two new columns: “Fix It!” seeks to hold officials accountable for broken infrastructure and “Data Dive” offers quick takes on numbers and data sets with a focus on everyday topics that affect our islands.
Of course, 2025 will hold its own surprises. Count on our team to tell impactful stories, big and small, of great importance to these islands that we call home.
If you’d like to come along for the journey, make sure you’re signed up for Civil Beat’s daily Morning Beat newsletter to stay in-the-know. I’ll be right by your side, guiding you through many more headlines to come in 2025.
A hui hou!
