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HONOLULU — Kauai will join other islands in showcasing businesses and industries with the “Hawaii to the Hill” event July 22-23, in Washington, D.C. “This ‘Hawaii on the Hill’ initiative is a great opportunity for Hawaii businesses and industries, and for the state as a whole, to share what makes our island state...

Hawaii's two U.S. senators are co-sponsors of legislation that would give Hawaii another health care facility for veterans, possibly built in Leeward Oahu and named after retired Sen. Daniel Akaka. The bill is among the stack of measures intended to make the Department of Veterans Affairs more accountable following reports of the nation's veterans...

A bill in the U.S. Senate would enable Hawaii to open a new veterans health care facility on Oahu. The bill was announced by Senate Veteran Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders on Thursday. It includes funding for more than two dozen new facilities nationwide. The Hawaii facility is expected to serve 15,000 veterans, said Meaghan Smith,...

Hirono's early childhood was spent on her grandparents' rice farm in Fukushima, Japan. Her father was an alcoholic and compulsive gambler. Instead of watching her family continue to suffer, Hirono's mother made the courageous decision to seek a better life for the family. She plotted and planned in secret, and when Hirono was nearly 8 years old,...

(TRNS) -Focusing on how a progressive agenda will benefit across the country, a collection of Senate Democrats spoke out Wednesday on the importance of passing Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) Bank on Student Emergency Loan Refinancing Act to curb student debt. Joined at a press conference by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Sen. Patty Murray...

The weather can be iffy in Normandy this time of year, but the forecast now calls for a beautiful day Friday — partly cloudy and highs around 77 — for the 70th anniversary of the landing that began the drive to liberate Western Europe from the grip of Nazi Germany. There will be a huge international crowd, with a...

With the recent resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, veterans’ health care issues are fresh in the American psyche, and in the forefront of discussion among members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation. Tulsi Gabbard, Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono are all voicing their concern for Hawaii veterans, after it was revealed...

Summer school was boosting college graduation rates—but not anymore. By the time Leah Stone got her bachelor’s degree this spring from New Jersey’s Montclair State University, her four-year higher education had stretched to six years. It would have taken even longer had she not been able to stay in school during the summers. An...

The resignation of Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki means that, for the first time since the Clinton administration in 2000, “there will be no Asian-American members of the Cabinet, a marked shift for a minority community that was once disproportionately overrepresented.” That’s according to this article in...

In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration Monday called for a 30 percent nationwide reduction in carbon emissions from existing power plants by 2030. Hawaii Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono were quick to pledge their support for the Clean Power Plan. Hirono stressed its importance for Hawaii residents. “It...

Members of Hawaii's congressional delegation reacted to the resignation on Friday of Veterans Affairs Secretary and former Kauai resident Eric K. Shinseki. Shinseki, 70, was driven from office by a growing scandal over the agency's health care system, and publicly apologized to veterans on Friday for the mismanagement of the veterans...

“This is something people must do,” said Aunty Janet Kahalekomo who had four generations of her family at the at the Hanapepe Veterans Cemetery Monday. “My husband Abraham, a Vietnam veteran, is buried here and the children, especially the young great-grandchildren, must remember what people have done so they can live...

University of Hawaii law student Janna Wehi­lani Ahu may have roots in Milo­lii, a small coastal village on Hawaii island, but she's heading to a big sea of opportunity on Capitol Hill this summer. Ahu, 25, has been named the 2014 Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellow. The first-year law student at the William S. Richardson School of Law will...

Elizabeth Hata Watanabe, owner of Haute Confectionery Boutique, is headed to Capitol Hill to tell legislators that Hawaii businesses need more support, and, in true local style, she'll be sweetening that message with more than 60 pounds of baked goods including her signature Campfire Cookies, which are 9 ounces of decadent chocolate, macadamia...

US Senator Mazie Hirono voted this week to pass a bipartisan water infrastructure bill that includes a number of key provisions for Hawai'i and the Island of Maui. The measure includes improvements to the Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility that would extend and raise the elevation of the facility’s existing revetment to protect the...

The U.S Department of Transportation is giving Honolulu International Airport $15 million for improvements. The money will be used to improve shuttle stations in the overseas terminal building and to replace a metal roof canopy in loading and unloading areas there, Sen.Mazie Hirono's (D-Hawaii) office said Wednesday. About $8.9 million is being...

Members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation and key state legislators say they are deeply troubled by allegations that excessive waiting times for veterans in need of government health care has cost lives. For now, however, they are not calling for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki even as some of their...

A group of Democratic senators unveiled a bill Tuesday that would limit a corporation's ability to shift its address offshore for tax purposes. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a longtime crusader against tax evasion and avoidance, said the bill would put a two-year moratorium on the practice, known as "inversion." “It will be very, very difficult...

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono has introduced the National Guard Leadership Act, legislation to provide the chief of the National Guard Bureau “with greater input” into the selection of senior leadership for the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. According to Hirono’s office, the NGB’s internal...

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki dodged repeated questions about why he failed to ensure his underlings were not “cooking the books” on patient wait times despite years of warnings during a Senate hearing Thursday. Senators from both parties pressed Shinseki about repeated warnings going back to...