Investigative stories and local news updates. Coverage of the Hawaiʻi State legislature in 2025. Award winning in-depth reports and featured on-going series. Get the week’s news delivered straight to your inbox. Léo Azambuja is a reporter covering the County Council and other local government affairs on Maui. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he has been in Hawaii since 1991, living his life-long dream of surfing perfect waves. Léo started his career at The Molokai Dispatch, straight out of the University of Hawaii Mānoa where he earned degrees in journalism and Spanish language in 2007. His year spent on Molokaʻi as a reporter and assistant editor gave him a broader perspective on Hawaiʻi politics and Native Hawaiian affairs. Since he left the Friendly Island in 2008, he has returned there several times as an interim editor whenever there was a need. Back on Kauaʻi, he freelanced for many publications across the islands, including the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Maui Times, Haleakala Times, The Garden Island and the alternative Honolulu Weekly. In 2010, he started working at The Garden Island as a political reporter and later also as the assistant editor. He also published several political cartoons in many newspapers in Hawaiʻi. He has won state awards on investigative reporting, enterprise reporting, editorial opinion, photography, online news reporting, and community reporting. Léo strongly believes local politics is the root of democracy; it’s where the people have the most power to create laws and initiate change across the nation. Any tips are welcome and won’t be ignored. Reach him via email at lazambuja@civilbeat.org. Advisory committee members say the county Planning Department’s changes will contribute to an unsustainable future for the greater Kīhei area. Vehicle tagged for removal by county six months ago is still sitting on the side of the road. Wailea 670 had reached the final approval phase before a procedural mistake sent the project back to the Maui Planning Commission for a public hearing. The county has backpedaled on an agreement to be the guarantor on bonds authorized by the Legislature. Earthjustice adds another claim to a 30-year pile of lawsuits against power companies, resorts and local governments on Maui and Kauai. The rent will be covered for the first few months by continued emergency assistance, but tenants must begin paying in March. The agreement with Nan Inc., which must be approved by the County Council, would provide nearly four times more acreage than a previous deal. UPDATE: The result in the South Maui race determines the balance of power between two County Council factions. It’s the first general election since thousands were displaced in last year’s wildfires. Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 14th year in a row by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter. Police have arrested a 12-year-old suspect after five pupils and one teacher have been injured in a mass stabbing at a school in Portugal (stock image) Police have detained a 12-year-old suspect after at least five pupils and one teacher have been injured in a mass stabbing at a school in Portugal It is not immediately clear what provoked the attack in the town of Azambuja - located 31 miles northeast of Lisbon One girl has been taken to a hospital in a serious condition The other victims are not thought to have suffered life-threatening injuries Azambuja Mayor Silvino Lucio told CNN Portugal: "He entered (the school) after lunch and started stabbing everyone he saw." It has been reported that the schoolgirl rushed to Santa Maria Hospital in a serious condition suffered chest and head injuries Others have injuries to their arms and stomach An internal note suggests the situation was an isolated case Officials have reportedly said the school will reopen as normal on Wednesday The young suspect was initially restrained in a classroom The other victims are not thought to have suffered life-threatening injuries (stock image) The National Republican Guard said: "The young man is calm." Emergency services received an alert at 2.33pm this afternoon Investigative stories and local news updates Coverage of the Hawaiʻi State legislature in 2025 Award winning in-depth reports and featured on-going series Get the week’s news delivered straight to your inbox Vehicle tagged for removal by county six months ago is still sitting on the side of the road A vehicle parked outside of a county jail for an extended period of time would probably raise some serious concerns among correctional officers anywhere in the world It is missing a wheel and is far too damaged for a possible use as getaway car A sticker on it reads: “REAM BIG & HARD” — apparently missing a “D.” It begs to be reamed to a recycling plant The van has been parked on the sidewalk of Waiale Drive just outside Maui Community Correctional Center The county Department of Environmental Management indicates on its webpage the removal process for abandoned vehicles may take only a few days a police officer responding to a complaint would tag a vehicle if it meets specific criteria police would send a report to the Department of Environmental Management’s Abandoned Vehicles Office the office will schedule a tow truck to pick up the vehicle Towed vehicles are stored for 10-30 days at the expense of the owner When Civil Beat asked the county why is the van next to the county jail six months after being tagged Police spokesperson Alana Pico told Civil Beat that on June 7 officers “submitted that abandoned vehicle report to the Department of Environmental Management.” county director of communications Laksmi Abraham confirmed that the van was among 15 abandoned vehicles reported to the Environmental Management office that day in June but a “computer glitch” caused it to be missing from computer files the van was finally towed away before noon on Dec 31 — six months and three weeks after the initial police report “While there was an internal miscoordination with this particular abandoned vehicle report  most are processed in a timely manner,” Abraham said 1,475 vehicles were towed from public roads and county properties in 2024 Unfortunately, being named a finalist for a Pulitzer prize doesn’t make us immune to financial pressures. The fact is, our revenue hasn’t kept pace with our need to grow, and we need your help Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in Hawaiʻi. We’re looking to build a more resilient, diverse and deeply impactful media landscape, and we hope you’ll help by supporting our essential journalism. PeopleRed Lobster loses strategic sourcing director after nine months on the jobExecutive is the second longtime procurement executive to leave the company recently Aquila Capital has announced the completion of its Rainha Green Logistics Park located in the Portuguese municipality of Azambuja The construction of a new 178,000m² logistics park in Azambuja, a municipality just north of the city of Lisbon in Portugal The Rainha Green Logistics Park was developed by real estate investment company Aquila Capital under its Green Logistics brand. Development of the site cost €100m ($110m) and it was constructed by France-based company GSE The complex includes two logistics buildings and a large cold storage unit with 8,000m² of space and parking for 343 light vehicles and 51 heavy vehicles Aquila Capital says that operation of the site will lead to the creation of 350 jobs being 8km from the A1 and A10 motorways and is also near the Vila Nova da Rainha train station The site is also equipped with solar photovoltaic panels for power generation electric vehicle charging points and a water retention basin Aquila Capital is headquartered in Hamburg in Germany and invests in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure assets Its Green Logistics brand has invested in logistics centres in Spain Portugal and Italy and boasts a total rentable area of more than one million square metres Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network A new iteration of Azambuja’s ongoing series titled Brutalismo—referring to brutalism the austere mid-century architectural style—this work is composed of materials gathered in and around Cleveland emphasizing the sprawling city’s sometimes overlooked physical makeup the sculptures expose and celebrate the rich legacy of brutalist architecture in Cleveland and northeast Ohio connecting the international movement’s signature aesthetics with a more regional history through the use of locally sourced materials Continuing her investigation of spaces designed by eminent male architects Lambri created a suite of photographs depicting architectural elements of the CMA that serve as building blocks for her compositions striped granite wing designed by Marcel Breuer in 1971 Lambri’s signature light-filled prints offer painterly impressions of often unnoticed details and surfaces of rigid modern architecture An accompanying installation by Lambri is on view in the CMA’s Ingalls Library in the general reading area Police offer to help residents set up a neighborhood watch program The recent reopening of some Lahaina neighborhoods may make it possible for residents to start rebuilding homes But expensive tools and equipment left in uninhabited areas without streetlights may be an easy lure for crimes of opportunity Mayor Richard Bissen said he asked the Maui Police Department to increase patrols in the reopened areas The police are saying citizens should do their part starting a neighborhood watch program But they acknowledged that it’s hard to watch over your neighborhood when you don’t live there so it is going to be difficult to create a neighborhood crime watch if you are not in the neighborhood,” MPD Lt Audra Sellers said at a community meeting at Lahaina Civic Center last week The National Neighborhood Watch program helps to deter crime and create stronger bonds between neighbors The program consists of neighbors coming together and helping each other watch their properties They know who belongs in the neighborhood and confront people who don’t belong there “in a nice way Communication is a big thing,” Sellers said adding the program represents “homeland security at its most local level.” Residents should recruit as many neighbors building “a tree of people” to open a communication channel and create a plan who will provide the group with information and neighborhood watch signage I’ll help you put those up in your neighborhood,” Sellers said is the big equipment residents and contractors will be bringing in to rebuild homes they are going to take it,” she said of thieves Generators were stolen from distribution hubs She advised residents and their contractors to lock up equipment and build fences around construction sites while also building relationships with neighbors and installing surveillance cameras Bissen said at the meeting that there was a lot of criticism of the county for setting up roadblocks and closing neighborhoods after much of the town burned in August 2023 and now his administration is being criticized for reopening them there is no legal reason for the county to close roads and block people from public spaces But the county has prepared signs saying “local traffic only” to dissuade nonresidents Mala and everything south of Shaw Street has reopened The rest of the burn zone is still open for local access only County communications officer Lila Lawrence said there is no set schedule for other areas to reopen Bissen said he met with MPD Deputy Chief Wade Maeda Everett Ferreira and Assistant Chief Keola Tom to increase patrols in the reopened neighborhoods The department has not responded to a request for specifics on increased patrols Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in Hawaiʻi. We’re looking to build a more resilient, diverse and deeply impactful media landscape, and we hope you’ll help by supporting our essential journalism Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 14th year in a row by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter The rent will be covered for the first few months by continued emergency assistance More than 15 months after losing their home in the Lahaina wildfire Ane and Lafaelle Folaumoeloa and their three children finally have moved back to their old neighborhood The family became the first tenants in a temporary housing complex for survivors who have been shuttling between hotels and other emergency lodging since the Aug blaze that razed much of the historic Maui town we couldn’t save anything,” Ane Folaumoeloa said recalling the destruction of the home her family rented at Komo Mai Street just a couple blocks away from her family’s new three-bedroom house at the Kilohana Temporary Group Housing complex The development is an initiative by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assemble 169 modular houses on a 34-acre property that had been set aside as state-owned agricultural land at Fleming Road and Malo Street The Lahaina fire destroyed about 2,200 homes and other buildings killing at least 102 people and displacing about 12,000 others Small Business Administration have approved more than $474.6 million in federal assistance to fire survivors This includes $61.7 million from FEMA for housing rental and other needs approved for 7,152 individuals and households and $412.8 million in SBA disaster loans approved for homeowners The FEMA assistance includes a direct lease housing program and the temporary modular homes at Kilohana plus primary sites where homeowners may be eligible to place a modular home on their property while they rebuild and secondary sites where vacant lots could be leased from homeowners who do not intend to rebuild on them within the next two to three years Tenants may stay at the Kilohana complex until the FEMA assistance extension ends in February 2026 The houses will then be moved from the property and sold and most of the infrastructure on the property will be dismantled Army Corps started to provide a conceptual design site preparation and essential infrastructure the Corps began to prepare the site by grading the land Blasting Technology Inc of Kihei was contracted to conduct blasting to install utilities and grade the land Families including the Folaumoeloas began moving in Friday with 94 homes completed but tenants must begin paying rent on March 1 Correction: An earlier version of this story said tenants must begin paying rent in February FEMA’s structural engineer Forrest Lanning said the 169 houses will include 87 with one bedroom 47 with two-bedrooms and 35 with three-bedrooms Maximum monthly rents will range from up to $1,762 for one-bedroom units $2,309 for two bedrooms and $3,103 for three bedrooms The houses are built to international and local building code standards including insulation and double-pane windows A communal space will include washers and dryers The units are furnished and have appliances and central air conditioning high winds had knocked out power and cellphone service in the Folaumoelas’ home a barricade blocked them from entering Lahaina and all they could see was smoke the family was at a hotel room in Kahului when their landlord They stayed a few days with a family member in Kahului then to the Royal Lahaina in Kaanapali where they lived until they moved to Kilohana Friday Nine more families who had been living in hotels were also scheduled to move in Friday followed by some 35 others over the next few weeks according to FEMA emergency management specialist Shahdy Monemzadeh “Our mission has been clear; use every resource available to bring the fire survivors back to West Maui,” FEMA regional administrator Bob Fenton said in opening remarks during Friday’s ceremony Lanning said a new sewer line is being installed and other nearby homes can connect to it Both sewer and water systems will be provided by Maui County Streetlights will be equipped with motion sensors Maui Disposal will manage the solid waste collection Maui County Council member Tamara Paltin noted the cooperation among government agencies “I think this right here around us is the best example of how the federal state and county governments can work together for the benefit of our community,” Paltin said with some finishing work to be done on the island Architect Allysa Taylor is from Kahului and graduated from the University of Hawaii She was involved as a designer and architect in one of the three housing contracts She said it cost $130,000 to build each of the 490-square-foot one-bedroom units she designed This price was actually “a little bit of a premium” because it was a rush project They only started building in August and landed the first house here in October Mayor Richard Bissen said the county’s “main policy is to put the same people back in the same homes on the same lands.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s point person for the Maui fires told a congressional oversight panel Wednesday that if he had to do it all over again the direct-lease housing program would still be the best option to get survivors into longer-term housing U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda wanted to know what Bob Fenton, FEMA’s Region 9 administrator, had to say about the issue of “predatory behavior” given reports of how the program inadvertently displaced some long-term Maui renters since some landlords kicked out their tenants to take advantage of the higher rents Fenton said the agency has received fewer than 10 cases of people abusing the system by either evicting their tenants or not renewing their leases and referred those to the state Attorney General’s Office Given Maui’s extreme housing shortage and the urgent need to provide temporary shelter for some 1,300 households deemed qualified for it, Fenton said the direct leasing program was the only option that made sense “I don’t know if there would have been any quicker solution,” said Fenton who President Joe Biden appointed to coordinate the federal response to the country’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century The House panel held a four-hour hearing in Lahaina to review the federal response to the Maui wildfires of August 2023 Appearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce were top representatives of the main agencies that have coordinated everything from housing fire survivors to making sure the air was safe to breathe and that water and sewer lines functioned properly Issues like building infrastructure and accessing water made the construction of temporary homes a longer-term prospect FEMA instead targeted short-term vacation rental units as a faster solution to getting fire survivors into housing “Using vacation rentals was the best solution and most timely solution,” Fenton said Fenton highlighted the 34-acre, 169-unit housing development that FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are building off Cane Haul Road near Wahikuli Road in Lahaina, a project called Kilohana While the project will help alleviate some of the need for housing it mirrors what FEMA does on the mainland and constitutes an approach that’s being exported to Maui Maybe there’s a better solution that can be crafted for the next disaster either here in Hawaii or elsewhere in the Pacific “Is there something more austere that uses maybe solar or other things that don’t require as much infrastructure?” Fenton said Ed Case discussed the timetable for continued federal funding to address Maui’s ongoing needs namely the estimated $5.5 billion in economic impact from the fires FEMA has provided over $3 billion in funding to support the Maui recovery so far, Fenton said. But the disaster relief fund that FEMA draws on to respond to disasters ran out as of Aug 7 so the federal agency is now using what’s called immediate needs funding That funding is limited to providing lifesaving activities In response to a question from Case about what the implications of the funding shortfall are to Maui Fenton said it means that all infrastructure and longer-term recovery work will be put on a back burner until the disaster relief fund is replenished Maui must have its rebuilding plan ready to present to Congress sooner rather than later because with the federal fiscal year ending Sept lawmakers will soon be making decisions on next year’s budget Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said he expects a draft of the Lahaina reconstruction plan to be ready in October. It’s based on public feedback gathered at community and neighborhood meetings. Subsequent drafts will be released after the public weighs in, with a final plan intended to be released by year’s end Tokuda asked about what Lahaina might look like as the town gets rebuilt noting that many former buildings were “non-conforming,” meaning they would not comply with current building codes Many streets were very narrow and buildings were made out of flammable materials Bissen said it’s a balancing act to envision a town that’s safer but one that retains some of the historic character and charm that defined Lahaina But as the county crafts the rebuilding plan construction of new homes and businesses is already moving ahead Some 156 building permit applications have been submitted so far 48 have been approved and 20 homes are currently being rebuilt in Lahaina “Our main policy is to put the same people back in the same homes on the same lands,” the mayor said the usually stoic Bissen grew emotional and had to stop to compose himself several times as he spoke about the hardship and grief the West Maui community is contending with 13 months after the tragedy “I want to recognize the incredible strength of our people many of whom have endured inconceivable suffering but continue to push forward with incredible grit sacrifice and immeasurable courage,” Bissen said families moving away to the mainland because they’ve given up hope of rebuilding their lives on Maui is unacceptable “If we do not return Lahaina to the very people who represent the spirit and the soul of our community if we don’t recognize the faces of our friends and our family as we repopulate then we will have lost this battle for our people,” Bissen said said he respected the “heartfelt emotion” that comes with recalling the tragedy of Aug He described what Lahaina faces as it enters the rebuilding phase as a “serious undertaking.” Tough discussions lie ahead about things like undergrounding electrical lines If you take someone’s land to widen a street “Our prayers are with you,” the Texas Republican said Video of the hearing and text of the opening statements can be viewed here Paula Dobbyn is a reporter for Civil Beat based on the Big Island Reach her by email at pdobbyn@civilbeat.org on Twitter @pauladobbyn or on Instagram @bigislandreporter A proposal aimed at stabilizing rents got its first hearing before the Housing and Land Use Committee Fed up with soaring rents after last year’s devastating wildfires housing advocates urged Maui lawmakers at a hearing Monday to cap monthly rates Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee heard from stakeholders on both sides of the issue The proposal comes as residents continue to struggle despite a state law blocking most evictions and prohibiting price gouging following the Aug Tomorrow is already too late for us,” Desilee Santiago of the Maui Tenant and Workers Association said at a press conference in front of the Maui County Building before the meeting said their family of three lived in Hailiimaile but had been forced to move because their landlord wanted to jump on the “FEMA bandwagon” and rent the house for a lot more money the Santiagos said they are now paying $4,000 per month for a three-bedroom house in Haiku two-and-a-half times more than their previous rent He was referring to concerns that some property owners and landlords have ousted tenants in a bid to obtain more money by signing up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another aid program seeking to house wildfire survivors who had lost their homes At least 102 people were killed and thousands were uprooted following the blaze The association is calling on the County Council to draft new legislation that would establish a base rent which would only be allowed to increase according to the Consumer Price Index — a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for select goods and services The proposal also suggested that all rentals be registered with the county although landlords would be allowed to petition for an increase beyond the CPI to cover additional expenses speaking on behalf of the Realtors Association of Maui opposed any legislation seeking to control rent prices Koch said more than 30 states prohibit the practice because it negatively affects the housing market by contributing to gentrification increasing homeowners’ association fees and adjustable mortgage rates “What you are actually trying to achieve has the opposite effect,” Koch said adding many states are suffering rental crises and there are no quick solutions Koch suggested the best way to increase the number of affordable rentals is by stimulating the development of more units by increasing rental subsidies increasing allowable density and the use of commercial space an attorney who has worked for both the Realtors’ association and affordable housing programs He said a rental stabilization program may reduce the available inventory but only because people tend to stay longer in rental units under such programs Economou suggested a program that would allow the transfer of ownership only to people with a proven record of living and working on Maui for a number of years He said we need to come up with innovative ideas Although not clearly saying he was against a rental stabilization program Economou said it would create a burden in already overworked county employees It would be an “uphill battle” just to get such program off the ground A string of testifiers followed the stakeholders’ presentation and the most were in support of new legislation to stabilize rental prices The committee planned to reconvene on the issue on Sept As the death toll mounts for inmates in custody legislators push bills to force disclosure of information When Henrietta Napolis’s grandson died at the Kauai Community Correctional Center in late 2016 state Department of Public Safety officials gave her very little information about the circumstances of his death It took months for Napolis to learn — and only as a result of a lengthy investigation into inmate deaths by Honolulu Civil Beat in 2017 — that 47-year-old Gregory Silva had died of a toxic reaction to methamphetamine that he had somehow obtained while in custody what happened to Silva and his family has prompted legislation to require state corrections officials to make more disclosures about inmates who die including providing reports to the governor and Legislature within 48 hours of the death In the past week two measures, House Bill 336 and Senate Bill 1077 have been approved by their respective public safety committees and moved to the full chambers The bills would require DPS to provide the name the location of the death or injury leading to the death the cause and a medical report called a clinical mortality review that would include correctional steps to be taken to prevent further deaths The information would need to be reported to the governor who would be required to report it to the Legislature There’s a growing urgency to the questions being raised More inmates in Hawaii appear to be dying than in the past at least 15 inmates have died unnatural deaths according to news reports and records reviewed by Civil Beat That death rate appears considerably higher than historical averages. According to the U.S. Justice Department a total of 30 Hawaii inmates died from unnatural causes from 2001 to 2014 The impetus for the legislation came from Felicia Cowden a resident of Kauai’s North Shore who was elected to the Kauai County Council in November She was disturbed by the Silva case and raised the issue with Rep who shared the idea with another colleague from Kauai “Greg Silva’s death was an experience for us in how hard it is for family members to get information about family member’s deaths when they are incarcerated,” Cowden said “The legislators don’t even know who dies and when they die Nakamura took up the cause and introduced the House bill while Kouchi introduced the companion Senate measure “This is an attempt to be more transparent about a prisoner’s death and what can be done to improve the situation,” Nakamura said “It shouldn’t take an investigation to get that information.” According to DPS spokeswoman Toni Schwartz DPS’s current policy is to notify the inmate’s next of kin when a death occurs the chairs of the House and Senate public safety committees are notified In written testimony on the inmate death reporting bill DPS officials said they were committed to transparency The state attorney general asked the Legislature to allow the interval of time for notification to be extended so that DPS has enough time to reach and notify the next of kin first Prison reform activists say that DPS has maintained a policy of intense secrecy regarding inmate deaths At a hearing before the House Public Safety Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Tuesday coordinator of the Community Alliance on Prisons She noted the recent deaths of four inmates — Ashley Gray “The community needs transparency and accountability not just the bill for us to pay for this dysfunctional department’s misdeeds,” Brady wrote She asked that the Public Safety Department also be required to check the bodies of women who die in custody for signs they had been raped Brady said she had recently heard of two other deaths at the for-profit Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona where about 1,450 inmates from Hawaii are housed Legislators on the House Public Safety Committee asked her no questions about the deaths and amended it in the way Brady had suggested adding that deaths of women should include an investigation into whether they had been victims of sexual assault said that “inmate deaths have become too common … and that information about these deaths is sparsely disclosed.” a rash of violent deaths and apparent suicides among young mostly Native Hawaiian inmates held in local and out-of-state facilities especially in the Hawaiian community,” OHA officials wrote “The public is increasingly distrustful of our criminal justice system and concerned about the safety of our family and community members held in the ‘care and custody’ of DPS.” Cowden said that the state’s failure to provide specific information about inmate deaths makes it harder for other public officials to understand what’s going on and to take corrective measures to improve conditions in the state’s jails and prisons “It’s difficult to go to elected officials and tell them the story and then need to prove to them the specifics of what might seem incredible.” It is crucial our state fosters an environment that encourages candidates from other parties to run for office it is that there is a worrisome dearth of civic engagement among Hawai‘i’s citizenry In this past primary election specifically according to statistics from the State Office of Elections there was an embarrassing 32.1% voter turnout rate This statistic is indicative of a truism in our state’s local politics: the lack of political diversity in Hawai‘i If you’re wondering why many voters simply don’t vote it isn’t only indolence or disillusionment with the government but the lack of options voters have that stems from our state’s one-party rule That is why it is crucial our state fosters an environment that encourages candidates from other parties like the Republican Party to run for office providing voters with a greater mix of candidates One need only look at history to understand the situation we find ourselves in The Democratic Party has dominated Hawaii’s politics since 1962 when John Burns was elected governor Burns’ ascendancy changed the very ethos of Hawaiʻi’s political scene effectively putting a stop to what was a Republican hold on the islands Republicans had a sizable influence in Hawaiʻi during the territory days but since 1962 the party has maintained a very minimal presence in our state government Let the record show for itself: We have had two Republican governors William Quinn and Linda Lingle; only two times has Hawaiʻi voted for a Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984; and we had one Republican U.S though being the largest Republican caucus in 20 years there are only nine representatives and three senators from the party in the 76-member Legislature you need a book to list all the Democrats in our state government Such a significant imbalance in our political composition leads to complacency and a lack of drive that politicians need to carry out the will of their constituents voters become disaffected with their elected officials and feel there is no point in voting If Democrats feel no need to prove themselves The recent public corruption scandals that have occurred certainly don’t help in encouraging people to vote unless there is viable opposition to the Democratic Party public officials who engage in corruption will continue to be elected and the disaffection will continue ideas play an enormous role in shaping its direction who once said that “ideas have consequences.” It is when opposing ideas clash with one another that societal progress is achieved which leaves us with the same solutions intended to address the same issues Has the issue of homelessness or affordable housing been effectively tackled We are still far behind the state’s 50,000 affordable housing units goal while anyone with a pair of eyes can still see the tremendous homeless population throughout Hawai‘i If our state wishes to increase civic engagement we must end Hawai‘i’s one-party rule and enable candidates from different parties to run for office Incorporating more town halls and debates between candidates from opposing parties would expose people to different ideas and offer alternatives to the Democratic Party If the people of Hawai‘i truly yearn for change Honolulu Civil Beat is a nonprofit organization and your donation helps us produce local reporting that serves all of Hawaii Kala‘e Kong is a student at Saint Louis School and a staff reporter for the school newspaper Ideas is the place you'll find essays, analysis and opinion on public affairs in Hawaiʻi. We want to showcase smart ideas about the future of Hawaiʻi, from the state's sharpest thinkers, to stretch our collective thinking about a problem or an issue. Email news@civilbeat.org to submit an idea Sign up for our FREE morning newsletter and face each day more informed It causes young people to leave and contributes to social problems for residents who stay From experienced incumbents to political newcomers the 14 people campaigning for seven Kauai County Council seats are a diverse group but one thing they agree on is that the lack of affordable housing for the working class is tearing at the fabric of this island community Council chair Mel Rapozo put it this way at a candidate forum last week: “It’s not fair that our kids have got to move (out of state) to live a life and not be able to enjoy the life that we were able to enjoy growing up.” First-time candidate Butch Keahiolalo concurred “There’s not a lot of kids here in their 20s You look around the workforce; they can’t afford to live here.” Census Bureau data backs them up: The two smallest age groups on Kauai are residents 20-24 and 25-29 years old A report published in May by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization found that Kauai has the second-highest level of median asking rent in the nation — second only to Maui Landlords were seeking an average of $1,800 for one-bedroom units more than $2,500 for a two-bedroom residences and about $3,600 for three-bedroom units More than 47% of renters on Kauai pay nearly a third of their income in rent and 23% of renters pay more than half of their income in rent nearly 37% of the 426 single-family homes sold on Kauai were acquired by out-of-state buyers more than 60% of the 296 units sold were purchased by out-of-state buyers The median price of a single-family home in 2023 was $945,000 on Kauai The median price of a condo was nearly $800,000 Civil Beat to host forum: The Kauai Council event is Oct. 18 The squeeze is especially severe for the middle class said the council must support housing programs for working class people as a way to alleviate the high cost of living for local families but the housing that we need to be supporting in the future is housing where families don’t qualify for low income-housing but cannot afford houses in excess of a million dollars,” Kaneshiro said The current council has taken a few steps to try to address this A resolution approved May 29 established a tax hike for hotels and vacation rentals Proposed by Council member Billy DeCosta and introduced by Rapozo the measure will add nearly $8 million to the county’s Housing Development Fund for the next fiscal year The fund already contains more than $20.3 million for the current fiscal year “The county right now has a checkbook where they can go out and buy land build infrastructure and work with the development of middle-class housing,” DeCosta said Another bill in its early stages would allow construction of one guest house per existing dwelling in residential, agricultural, commercial, open and university zones. This guest unit could never be used for short-term rental. Bill 2933 is on the council’s agenda for a public hearing Wednesday and will be taken up by the council’s Planning Committee after that At last week’s two-night forum organized by the YWCA moderator Lexi Jones said an average of 15,000 Native Hawaiians leave the state each year It’s a problem that directly affects even council candidates “My parents just retired and moved to Alabama,” Keahiolalo said “They can’t afford to live here.” Council member Felicia Cowden said the issue means “a whole lot” to her his wife and their young children moved to Kentucky “While I’m happy to see them thriving there it’s hard for me to be separated,” Cowden said She said she would like to see the county pursuing a first-time homebuyer program that would fund a repayable down payment of $200,000 to $300,000 most of the displacement from the island happens because of housing problems which are exacerbated by infrastructure problems citing old and deteriorating infrastructure especially potable water and wastewater systems Many of the issues brought up at the forum are not core responsibilities of the county candidates said the county can and must work in partnership with state and federal governments roads and county facilities as the county’s core responsibilities But he noted the county has created its own housing department And the housing problem can lead to other challenges for the county YWCA Executive Director Renaé Hamilton-Cambeilh said after the forum the shortage of affordable housing often results in social harms that affect women: destabilization of households child endangerment and even sex trafficking That’s why candidates were asked to address problems of particular significance to women and girls A main cause for women to become houseless is domestic violence safe housing becomes an even more urgent need Incumbent KipuKai Kualii said the state and county are partners when it comes to ensuring a good quality of life “I think we must do everything we can to lessen people’s suffering and struggle and to make their lives better in every way than we can,” Kualii said of social services also pointed to the county’s core responsibilities She too emphasized the housing crisis as a critical need on Kauai and said the county will need “all levels of government on deck to kind of figure out solutions together.” said the biggest part of finding solutions is building strong partnerships with state and federal governments to bring money for different services Council member Addison Bulosan said that during his first two years on the job he applied his life lessons to collaborate with county department heads and state and federal officials to come up with solutions but really most of the time we spend is nurturing and taking care of relationships and making sure we’re all working together,” he said Community members must also help each other who added it’s “foolish” to think seven council members a governor and even a president can solve all of society’s problems “Hold the justice system accountable” instead of letting domestic violence offenders off easy Apilado and Keahiolalo both said they are dealing with relatives who need mental health treatment and would support any county program or nonprofit organization addressing mental health can’t even help one of their own family members Rapozo called mental health a national crisis and said it’s one of the issues county officials focus on when they meet with Hawaii’s congressional delegation or a mom or dad to call for help and be told there’s a waiting list.’ How can there be a waiting list for mental health?” Rapozo said “I get emotional about this because it’s wrong and we lose so many people unnecessarily.” Hawaii was ranked the second most expensive state for childcare Many candidates said they are directly affected by that DeCosta praised the county administration for building a day-care facility at the county building Cowden suggested paying mothers or fathers a stipend to allow them to care for their own children because “sometimes nobody does a better job.” “We currently have programs in place that can help at different levels Kagawa said one of his grandchildren attends a school in Lihue that provides childcare for up to 25 children If parents cannot get their children enrolled Anything that the federal or the state government can do would be a tremendous benefit whether it would be through providing tax credits or preschool for kids everyone realized how important childcare was He said the state is looking to provide preschool for all children by 2032 gender equity in law enforcement and firefighting is lacking on Kauai Jones said there are no active women firefighters and only 11 out of 85 Kauai Police Department patrol officers are women There are no female detectives and no women in leadership positions above the rank of lieutenant Kualii said the Kauai Fire Department chief told him there were two women in last year’s recruit class “It’s very clear that in order for our county to achieve gender equity — more female representation in our fire and police departments — we need to do a better job with our recruiting,” Kualii said Cowden said women might make different types of police officers by approaching situations differently the average age of sex trafficking victims on Kauai was 19 with 43% of victims Native Hawaiian girls and women Kagawa said he has been told by the county prosecuting attorney and the police department they need help to address sex trafficking He was not aware of the scope of the problem perhaps because police and prosecutors may withhold details out of privacy concerns But as a father of two grown daughters and a grandfather of three young girls “Sex trafficking isn’t what I thought it was,” Kaneshiro said who had just watched a presentation on the topic said it can be as simple as someone sending pictures in exchange for money such as someone “doing things” because of a financial burden He said the perpetrator is usually someone close to the victim’s family noted young homeless women out on their own usually get solicited within the first two days for some type of sexual activity The YWCA invited seven candidates to attend each night Bart Thomas was absent due to a medical emergency Hamilton-Cambeilh said Sherri Cummings and Jakki Nelson did not respond to invitations Civil Beat will host a Kauai County Council candidates forum Friday at the Kauai Community College Fine Arts Auditorium Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A police officer kisses a girl outside a school following a stabbing attack in Azambuja near Lisbon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ana Brigida) Police officers cordon off the area outside a school following a stabbing attack in Azambuja near Lisbon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ana Brigida) People stand outside a school following a stabbing attack in Azambuja near Lisbon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ana Brigida) LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal was shaken Tuesday when a 12-year-old boy stabbed and injured six other children in a rare episode of violence inside a school. Portuguese national police said that the victims were from 11 to 14 years old in the attack at the school in Azambuja near Lisbon. One boy was seriously injured with a chest wound but his life is not in danger, Azambuja Mayor Silvino Lúcio said. The boy had been taken to a hospital in Lisbon. The mayor said five girls suffered light wounds to their arms. The attacker was in custody, the police said. No motive was immediately given for the attack. Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro condemned the attack and wished for the quick recovery of the injured children in a message posted on social media platform X. He called it an “isolated attack” that was extremely rare in his country. “It was an isolated act and a strange occurrence in Portuguese society, but one that should make everyone who works in public space reflect with a sense of responsibility,” Montenegro wrote in Portuguese. Text description provided by the architects. The Vaulted Cork Pavillion was built for Amorim Isolamentos Lda., to demonstrate its cork building materials at Concreta 2013, a biennial building fair held at Exponor, Porto. This architecture and research project was developed by Pedro de Azambuja Varela, Maria João de Oliveira and Emmanuel Novo, who were sponsored by Amorim Isolamentos Lda. while studying in the Digital Architecture Advanced Studies Course (CEAAD), a joint venture between ISCTE-IULisboa and FAUPorto. All the fabrication was carried out at VFABLAB-IUL, and the coordination was carried out by Professors Alexandra Paio and José Pedro Sousa. © Joao MorgadoThis construction started out as challenge to materialize concepts and investigation developed within CEAAD 2012/2013, all related with expanded cork agglomerate. These concepts are: the possibility to span vaults with cork alone, a compound translucent cork material, and a system for radiation and acoustic optimization. All these concepts ought to be shown within the pavillion in a symbiotic relation formalized by the continuous and metamorphic shape. © Joao MorgadoCork characteristics were a main driving force to the space conception. The floor and walls are smooth and soft, and the smell is very particular. Inside the space one has the feeling of being inside another environment, such is the effect of changing light, sound, smell and touch. The grass in the exterior - showing the possibility of using cork on living roofs - creates a symbiosis of living plants and cork bark. © Joao MorgadoAfter a starting phase of brainstorming an algorithm was created to test different variations of the form in a parametric level with many variables responsible for curvatures and dimensions another algorithm was crafted to automatically create the geometry of the hundreds of unique blocks that were to be CNC cut at the VFABLAB All the blocks were labelled with a meaningful system easing the work of the Amorim Isolamentos Lda You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email londonall images courtesy of marlon de azambuja madrid-based artist marlon de azambuja has created a series of bird cages rendered as scale models of some of the most prominent museums from around the world the aviary habitats take their framework and silhouette from architecturally renowned exposition spaces — the tate modern in london brazil’s são paulo museum of art and new york’s guggenheim and new museum each structure seamlessly imitates the composition of the building it is modeled after acting also as a functional area for the birds to rest — frank loyd wright’s sweeping cylindrical contours inherent in the guggenheim act as small nooks for the birds to perch in while the new museum’s stacked masses present multi-level posting for feathered fowl inside tate modern and são paulo museum of art AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Two teams of engineers have taken separate approaches to enable drones to carry out research or rescue operations with a reduced risk of crashing By Alex Wilkins The RMF-Owl is designed to be collision-tolerant for subterranean exploration Prototype drones capable of navigating dangerous and unpredictable environments without crashing could prove useful for search-and-rescue teams Paolo De Petris at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and his colleagues have developed a flying drone that aims to avoid crashes altogether. The robot, called RMF-Owl, made its debut while winning a competition hosted by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in which it had to navigate an underground mine and perform rescue-related tasks De Petris and his team designed the drone to focus on… Advisory committee members say the county Planning Department’s changes will contribute to an unsustainable future for the greater Kīhei area More than two years of community-led planning culminated in a sweeping vision for South Maui centered on more affordable housing an emergency escape route and road improvements protection from natural disasters and better quality of life for the nearly 30,000 people who call Kīhei But the county Planning Department has since changed key parts of the 171-page plan so much that residents feel it no longer would lead to the future they envisioned through dozens of community meetings, according to longtime Kīhei resident Mike Moran, former president of the Kīhei Community Association They worry about too much development — and not enough affordable housing — happening too fast for the small coastal town to absorb The revised draft went back before the county Planning Commission on Tuesday with two vacancies and only one member representing South Maui can accept the Planning Department’s changes reinstitute the original language or make its own recommendations before sending it on to the County Council for final approval later this year “It’s changing so much of what we did,” said Moran who chaired the Community Plan Advisory Committee that drafted the plan’s update said the plan — with or without changes — won’t stop developers from building thousands of homes already approved for South Maui But he is worried that the changes proposed by the Planning Department would worsen longstanding problems such as traffic and water “Have you ever been on Piʻilani Highway at 4 o’clock Census projects the area will hit at least 32,000 by 2045 That growth requires 800 to 1,700 new homes in South Maui on top of the current inventory of 11,100 homes But seven major developments — some already approved — could add 7,355 new homes to South Maui, with only 20% deemed affordable, he said. That’s on an island where the median home price was $1.37 million in December, according to the Realtors Association of Maui This could mean an additional 19,000 people and 14,600 cars in South Maui And it’s not just the inconvenience of sitting in traffic The congestion has created a public safety risk “When there’s flooding or fires and people need to get in or out underscoring the community’s concerns with the Planning Department’s changes that allow for more development During a meeting co-sponsored by the Kīhei Community Association at the ProArts Theater in October, presenters called out a “wave of luxury development headed for South Maui” threatening the district’s sustainability The luxury Honua‘ula Project was heavily criticized at that meeting because developers are seeking a significant reduction in affordable housing requirements set in 2008 Intermixed with the debate over more housing is where the water will come from to serve the new developments Most of the water for South Maui is piped over from the Wailuku aquifer on the northern side of the island. South Maui is on top of the Kamaole aquifer, but it is brackish at lower elevations and would need desalinization for drinking water, an expensive undertaking with possible environmental consequences, according to a presentation by the county Department of Water Supply in 2016 Much of Maui is currently under a water restriction including Kīhei where residents can now only irrigate their yards twice a week Restaurants can serve water only upon request and hotels may give guests the option of not laundering sheets and towels daily The South Maui Community Plan is a legal document established by the Maui County Code It is intended to support the community’s vision and provide the growth framework policies and action guidelines for the next 20 years from Māʻalaea to Kanaio All of Maui’s community plans are supposed to be updated every 10 years but the last time South Maui’s plan was reviewed was in 1998 and only three have been updated in the last decade four are even older than South Maui’s plan the county spent a year gathering community input to come up with a document that would serve as the basis for the plan’s update a 13-member committee picked by Mayor Richard Bissen and the County Council held 42 public meetings but 35 of the community’s suggestions were incorporated into the final draft the Planning Commission started reviewing the committee’s draft along with the Planning Department’s proposed changes accepting some of its recommendations and rejecting others the department has replaced more restrictive language with “encourage” and “to the extent practicable.” Moran said this type of language takes away the lawful requirements the committee had proposed in the plan and turns them into suggestions A section of the advisory committee’s draft says affordable housing obligations must be met within the plan’s subarea So if a developer is required to include a certain number of affordable units those would have to be at the same place as opposed to some other part of the island The Planning Department wants the plan to say “encourage” instead of making it a requirement The department also proposed deleting a part of the plan that banned developers from using affordable-housing credits instead of building the actual units The community advisory committee’s draft also called for new hotels and expansions to be “water neutral.” The department changed this requirement by adding “to the extent practicable,” which the Planning Commission has already agreed to incorporate The commission has also already adopted the department’s recommendation to soften a restriction that would have barred construction of a development unless there was infrastructure available Maui Planning Director Kate Blystone said in a statement Tuesday that in some cases, the designations the advisory committee recommended would not have lead to the outcome they were intending so her department offered alternatives for the commission to consider “Our job is primarily to protect health but we also have a responsibility to listen to the community especially when it comes to long-range planning,” she said it is based on what we heard from the community and balancing that with what we know about the regulatory framework in which we exist We are constantly working to craft a solution that gets our community where they want to go to the extent that we can within our state and county’s regulatory context.” Another requirement the department is seeking to change is a proposed 3-mile bypass road east of Piʻilani Highway that would connect Lipoa Parkway to Maui Veterans Highway “One of the things we have in the plan is that before they develop above the highway they have to build another road up there,” he said anyone in any new development in South Maui must go through Piʻilani Highway to enter or leave the area creating more traffic jams and safety issues Weltman said the community is not requiring developers to build the collector road before they build homes They are just requiring that no one moves in before the road is built something he said some developers had agreed to but are now backpedaling the commission kept the requirement that the road be built prior to or concurrent with development of North Kīhei Mauka but deleted the requirement about people not being able to move in until it’s finished Weltman said it can be done and pointed to the Lipoa project formerly known as the Research and Technology Park Developers have already widened Lipoa Parkway from two to four lanes for the first phase of the collector road even though they haven’t started the development yet “It’s just that if companies are not forced to do it Many homes near the shore in Kīhei will be affected by an estimated 3.2-foot rise in sea levels by 2050. The advisory committee used a University of Hawai‘i forecasting tool to identify empty lots that most likely will be partially or completely underwater by then The committee opposed development on those empty lots and recommended they be designated as open spaces which would help to absorb water from surrounding properties that will also be exposed to flooding The Planning Department says the community plan’s land use designation is not the appropriate tool to prevent development on parcels that may already have entitlements it recommended the commission remove the open space designation in most of the area and designate 21 lots as residential and six lots as small town center At the commission’s most recent meeting Tuesday who lives in Wailea and was appointed to represent South Maui motioned to designate four large parcels in Wailea as “resort and hotel,” despite the advisory committee’s recommendation to keep them “residential.” Ward withdrew his motion after pushback from his colleagues. They wanted more information before making a decision that would have major consequences for nearly 800 units on the Minatoya list. The mayor has proposed converting the roughly 7,000 short-term rentals on the list into long-term housing to address the island’s housing shortage The commission indicated the issue will be revisited in a future meeting If commissioners approve the “resort and hotel” designation for Wailea those units could be allowed to continue to be used as short-term rentals Maui Tomorrow Executive Director Albert Perez said he is concerned the council will receive an altered plan that does not reflect the community’s wishes The nonprofit participated during the draft process and in the Planning Commission’s ongoing review Perez said the right thing would be for the council to receive the original committee’s draft with the commission’s recommendations attached to it This would give the council a clearer view of what the community decided and what the commission changed The review process by the commission was set to end in November but the council gave it an extension until May 14 She said the commission is now in the middle of section three of five in the draft Takakura said it’s difficult to say when the commission will finish its review because some sections take longer than others The commission’s next meeting is Jan may have figured prominently in the thinking of some Hawaii voters (AP) — Patrons at Murph’s Tavern are toasting not just Donald Trump’s return to the presidency but the fact that he carried their northern New Jersey county a longtime Democratic stronghold in the shadow of New York City the reasons behind Trump’s win were as clear in the runup to the election as the shot glasses lined up on the high-top tables A mother raising two kids on her own in Passaic County on a barkeep’s income she saw it not just in light of her own situation but those of the people around her “Anybody can see what’s going on And me being a single mom?” she said “I notice that when I go shopping – just like everybody else does.” Although Trump’s win once again reflected a deep political divide across the United States Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s New York City congressional district to reliably liberal Hawaii Trump gained ground even as support for Kamala Harris a far-reaching survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide found that Trump made substantial gains among Black and Latino men and nonwhite voters without a college degree Common themes emerged in the AP VoteCast data Voters were most likely to see the economy and immigration as top issues facing the country More voters said their family’s financial situation was “falling behind,” compared with 2020 Trump supporters were thinking about high prices for gas groceries and other goods and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border dominated by Democrats since the 1950s when labor unions organized sugar and pineapple plantation workers who built the state’s middle class where many plantations have given way to suburban development flipped one state House district in the heavily blue-collar Diamond Garcia held on to a seat he turned Republican two years ago Democrats still control supermajorities in both chambers but the GOP’s nine House and three Senate seats are the most the party’s had in the Legislature since 2004 Samantha DeCorte said voters in her Waianae district west of Honolulu have long been frustrated by a lack of resources for basic needs such as public safety Residents feel like they have to look over their shoulders when they are pumping gas “They don’t want to go to the grocery store at night because they have to walk back to their car in the parking lot,” she said On an island where the median cost of a single-family home tops $1.1 million including large numbers of Native Hawaiians have been forced to move to the continental U.S AP VoteCast showed that Trump grew his support among nonwhite suburban voters and younger women in addition to the demographic swings that showed up nationally the survey showed especially large movement toward Trump among nonwhite men without a college education although a majority of that group still supported Harris About half of New Jersey voters said Trump would better handle the economy while about one-third said this about Harris giving him a slightly bigger advantage on the issue there compared with national numbers Few places better demonstrated Trump’s strength in traditionally blue areas than Passaic County where Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the county in more than three decades Interviews with voters and experts suggest Trump’s hammering on the economy influenced how people voted or whether they stayed home “Those people taking the subway into Manhattan they live in a very different world than those people who live in Manhattan,” said Richard F a political historian at Cornell University “They live in very different worlds in terms of the pressures that they feel and they don’t want to be preached to.” a member of the Air Force stationed in Del Rio said it was a “no brainer” to vote for Trump despite having supported Democrat Joe Biden four years ago “Just the current trajectory of the United States these last four years have obviously been downhill,” he said a 66-year-old writer and community activist in the Queens borough of New York said he voted for Trump and encouraged others to do so despite being a registered Democrat who had voted for Democrats in the past four presidential elections and even ran unsuccessfully for the Legislature as a Democrat who came to Queens more than three decades ago blamed Biden administration immigration policies for the explosion of prostitution illegal brothels and unlicensed food carts that have bedeviled his neighborhood in recent years The White House’s position on the war in Gaza peeled away some Muslim voters in key swing states such as Michigan executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New Jersey said he voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein over Harris “It’s a protest vote,” he said “We’re not going to just give you our vote.” who previously captured a House district claimed by Trump in 2020 carried Passaic County in his winning Senate race that people see local and state issues differently than national ones He said voters have told him they appreciate his focus on “broken politics.” “If these are people who are distrusting of government look I am also frustrated with how things are happening.” invited split-ticket voters to weigh in on social media about how they could back both Trump and her That resonated across the Hudson River in New Jersey a patron at Murph’s and a Trump supporter said he respected her for asking the question Trump’s performance could force a reckoning among Democrats in places where they are accustomed to winning regularly a former state legislator from northern New Jersey because he had been tested in the primaries something Harris did not face because of Biden’s late withdrawal from the race in July “Those days are over where you just put somebody up for election and think they’re going to win because they’re on a Democratic ballot,” Caputo said “They can’t win automatically.” Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page FAD Magazine FAD Magazine covers contemporary art – News Exhibitions and Interviews reported on from London De(re)constructed Utopias is an ambitious presentation of new and recent works by Marlon de Azambuja and Arash Hanaei Both artists have gained a substantial international reputation for their multifaceted work and installation – often exploring themes including urban architecture and ideas of utopia expressed in experimental urban planning De(re)constructed Utopias will be the first dual presentation by de Azambuja and Hanaei and marks their London debut Both de Azambuja and Hanaei are fascinated by the universal language of modern architecture and urban planning they try to reconstruct and deconstruct this universality to reveal a hidden subjectivity within the built environments they come from a site-specific spatial identity is defined through the medium of concrete This process resembles a long history in non-European countries such as Brazil and Japan where ‘concrete’ architecture emerged from the presence of a global and universal discourse but turned into an attempt to escape the restrictions of this discourse by adapting it de Azambuja engages with pre-existing things and transforms them into memorable settings of future by the association of a relevant story or a noteworthy past: the previous life of a concrete block a monument or a host of industrial elements the suburbs of Paris become the realisation of Derrida’s theory of ‘hauntology’ The present is historicised and it is the past that haunts it in the form of the future-to-come The cities of future are ideas from our past and the futures that haunt our now were once promised in the past the bio-colonisation of Hanaei’s specific housing project on an outskirt of Paris frames a rebirth and hence the latent but suppressed life in abandoned built forms This biological uprising goes hand in hand with de Azambuja’s reconstruction of buildings where ‘An imaginary city grows up from scratch in London where Brutalism once emerged in the 1950sas a promise for future cities.’ In de Azambuja’s work we are presented with multiple possibilities and opportunities for the architectural spaces he imagines depicted both as highly detailed architectural drawings and constructed in three dimensions For De(re)constructed Utopias he will create Brutalismo (2022) monumental site-specific work in London brick – spanning the length of the main Pavilion Gallery space In this work we are confronted with the bare DNA of modern construction materials which are prosaic but also fundamental essential and enduring – providing the kernel from which aspirations for future cities might emerge Hanaei’s work is inspired by a different kind of ‘future city’ – a built environment which is both humane and ecological the Pierre-Semmard Housing estate in Paris is a unique ‘back to the future’ development which reimagines the best societal and functional aspects of the medieval town with its organic flow of streets and communal open spaces but incorporated with a modern eye to ecology and sustainability was fascinated by the relationships of scale and connection in the natural and built environment stating (a) “tree is leaf and a leaf is tree –– a city is not a city unless it is also a huge house – a house is a house only if it is also a tiny city.” Following the fate of so many pioneering architectural projects the Pierre-Semmard has also fallen into neglect and been reclaimed by the natural world it emulates – echoing the scenarios created by writers such as JG Ballard who have imagined our futuristic urban landscapes recolonized by nature distorted by global warming Hanaei takes these rich and evocative ideas as his starting point for a sequence of work in video and photographic still which examine the relationship between architecture and public/private spaces – natural and manmade – and how architecture might transport us into future spaces This is a world in a constant Escher-like pathway of de(re)construction conceived during an unprecedented period in modern times where the enforced constraints of the pandemic have made us more acutely aware of personal and public spaces 1978 Brazil) is interested in architecture Even though his work is based on photographs a commentary on the built world always emerges he invents new ways of observing our immediate environment His work has been shown in numerous solo exhibitions internationally De Azambuja work is held in prominent public and private collections including: Kadist Art Foundation CAAM – Atlantic Center of Modern Art CGAC – Galician Center for Contemporary Art De Azambuja currently lives and works between Paris and Madrid Iran) studied photography at Azad University Tehran where he focussed on the work produced during the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War Hanaei currently lives and works between Paris and Tehran.His practice combines mediums and techniques to create a ‘vernacular’ of image-making in the tradition of photo documentary The subject of numerous international solo exhibitions internationally he was recently awarded the prestigious BMW Art Makers prize Recent solo exhibitions include An archaeological study of a star Iran (2019).Hanaei’s work is held in prominent collections including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Salsali Private Museum Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazine - Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm have been selected to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion For 2025 the Antepavilion brief returns to the location at the origins of the competition: the North-West corner of the Hoxton Docks rooftops As part of a comprehensive long-term plan for investment in Rotterdam’s cultural infrastructure developed by Droom en Daad Foundation alongside […] Join the FAD newsletter and get the latest news and articles straight to your inbox Psst. Come closer. Did you hear the gossip? Chismoso is open in downtown Knoxville That's right, Chismoso Cocktails and Comida had a soft launch on Gay Street serving up "Mexicanized American food" and traditional cocktails with a twist in clay mugs Co-owners Emmanuel Perez and Corbin Azambuja have taken over the former Anaba Japanese Cuisine space at 131 S and gossiping is what Perez and Azambuja want folks to do inside The local word of mouth has helped fill up the restaurant during its first few nights open I'm just so happy that it came together like it did," Perez said Chismoso Cocktails and Comida is the talk of downtown KnoxvilleThe space invites Knoxville in with pink neon signs green painted walls and terracotta-colored tables Old phones hang on the wall next to newly painted logos Perez's favorite phone — a T-Rex shaped one — can be found atop the liquor shelves behind the bar A few really old phones are scattered throughout the restaurant The menu is small but packs a punch with unique dishes like spaghetti verde green chorizo tacos and potato masa puppies The cocktail menu features drinks inspired by the flavors of honey Most of the ingredients are locally sourced and the liquor is additive free "I like that we're pretty much selling like an art as opposed to just food and drink," Azambuja said The food menu will rotate around every two weeks with new dishes to try while the cocktails will stick around for longer with one or two changing at a time but just different setups," head chef Will Stagg said Food dishes are $5-$16 and cocktails are $9-15 Some of the Chismoso owners' favorite dishes and drinks to try: we're trying to run a little bit of the opposite way," Stagg said The future of Chismoso Cocktails and Comida on Gay StreetThe restaurant will operate in a limited capacity until more staff members receive training and Knoxville can get a chance to gossip over some good tequila "We treat everybody with respect here," Stagg said Future phases of Chismoso include opening for dinner on Monday and Tuesday But those won't happen for a while until they feel ready They will require time to establish Chismoso's flow and cultivate the staff's synergy Perez has two potential dates in mind for a grand opening: around Memorial Day or when the Anaba sign finally gets taken down "We'll celebrate the day they take it down," Perez said Chismoso Cocktails and Comida is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5-10 p.m Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team You can reach him by email at keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at knoxnews.com/subscribe Have you heard what's coming to Gay Street a new bar and restaurant that will offer Mexican spins on American food so I guess our play on that is how when people go out to dinner Get together and gossip," co-owner Emmanuel Perez said The restaurant is aiming for a spring 2024 opening but could get delayed due to permitting and renovations at the 131 S Anaba Japanese Cuisine previously operated there before it closed Chismoso will let them experiment with the food and drinks but Perez and Azambuja shared a couple of ideas including Smash Burguesas (their Mexican take on smash burgers) and Mexican chicken wings using Mexican hot sauce as a base trendier Mexican places will do Americanized Mexican food," Azambuja said "We wanted to flip that and do Mexicanized American food." They will test out some of their experiments at the food truck with a heavy emphasis on tequila and mezcal drinks including Mexican-infused classic cocktails and classics like margaritas a drink from the Mexican state of Jalisco served in a clay cup and made with fresh juices "We're being really picky with our tequila so we're not doing any celebrity tequilas," Perez said "All the tequila we're procuring is (distilled) probably like 35 minutes to an hour from where my parents are from We will definitely be traveling to Mexico." Chatting in person or over the phone at ChismosoAlong with cleaning and getting equipment Chismoso will need to paint over a giant anime mural on the wall This new venture will give Perez and Azambuja the freedom to design the restaurant however they want One aspect of their design plans will lean into the gossip theme with telephones they've collected uniquely designed phones and old payphones They want to capture an atmosphere that's approachable and accessible Chismoso will be a place without a dress code somewhere folks can come casually to enjoy time with friends or dress up a little bit to enjoy a nice evening Chismoso Cocktails and Comida doesn't have a set opening date yet Knoxville will have a new place to spill the tea over cocktails Columnist: Kofi Ellison « Prev Next » Comments (0) Listen to Article Some have argued that Dr GOT A STORY?Email or Call (01) 661 1062 WITH AN asking price of no less than €5.5m the Georgian Kilquade Hill House outside Greystones in Co Wicklow is one of the pricier piles to come on the market in recent times this “manageable sporting estate” on five acres was “totally transformed” over a three-year period with the help… Read more » Get access to The Phoenix online for as low as €1.50 per week Read all the regular online only Phoenix stories AND receive the packed digital edition every fortnight (25 per year) Subscribe Now! 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