Hawaii

News and notes from Pacific Standard staff and contributors.

• By Pacific Standard Staff
• Member Exclusive

A round-up of images from Viewfinder, Pacific Standard's daily photo feature.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Impoverished communities are often the most affected by natural disasters.

• By Kate Wheeling

A plume of volcanic smoke rises over the area of Leilani Estates on May 6th, 2018, on Hawaii's Big Island.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill allowing physicians to prescribe life-ending medications to terminally ill patients.

• By Kate Wheeling

The state is moving to reduce plastic pollution by implementing a groundbreaking ban on polystyrene containers that are commonly used throughout the island in the food industry.

• By Erica Cirino

Experts are hoping that new captive breeding programs, replacing harmful fishing practices, could help prevent future harm to coral reef ecosystems.

• By Alastair Bland

The fish, called O'opu, have developed the ingenious ability to climb hundreds of feet up the side of waterfalls in order to breed.

• By Alison Nugent

The racial attitudes of white college students from the mainland shift after nine months on the islands.

• By Tom Jacobs

A new study shows how early monitoring and response efforts could prevent costly impacts.

• By Bob Berwyn

Medicare patients in the state appear to be much less likely to overuse problematic prescription drugs, including opioid pain medications and antibiotics, than people in the mainland United States.

• By Charles Ornstein & Ryann Grochowski Jones

The state's homeless population is falling thanks to Housing First strategies, but low-cost apartments can only go so far.

• By Kate Wheeling

Attorneys representing the federal government faced off against a lawyer representing the State of Hawaii, which is challenging Trump's ban.

• By Francie Diep

Thousands of pounds of rocks stolen from Hawaii are returned by mail to the island each year because former tourists fear their fortunes have been reversed by a wrathful goddess. What makes the myth so powerful?

• By Casey N. Cep