Welcome to the site, still under construction, of the new Hawaii Monitor.
In 1990, following back-to-back stints as executive director of Common Cause in Hawaii and then two years as staff to a member of the Honolulu City Council, I took advantage of the latest technology–in this case, the first affordable laser printer–and launched a monthly political newsletter.Hawaii Monitor was focused on politics and money, and closely tracked problems in what was then Hawaii’s “wild west” of campaign fundraising. These were the days of Mayor Frank Fasi’s money machine and the heyday of the “pay to play” ethic.
Things have changed since then. The Internet has changed the way information is delivered and prosecutions have slowed, or at least rerouted, the river of campaign money.
This new online successor to Hawaii Monitor takes a broader view and will track issues relating not only to campaign money, but to sunshine, ethics, conflicts of interest, and other political issues.
I’m slowly building Hawaii Monitor. Check back over the next few weeks as I piece it together.
In the meantime, catch the daily news at iLind.net, my daily blog from Kaaawa, Hawaii.
-Ian Lind