Before then, he worked as an editor or reporter at the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner and San Jose Mercury News (twice). Prior to becoming a professional journalist, Nakaso was a reporter and the top editor at the San Jose City College student newspaper before becoming a reporter and the top editor at the San Jose State University Spartan Daily newspaper. He attended San Jose City College and San Jose State University simultaneously to get as much newspaper experience as possible. During his college years, Nakaso had six professional newspaper internships, including two at the Los Angeles Times and was hired as a full-time reporter two weeks into his second internship at the Times.
At the Star-Advertiser, Nakaso covers a wide range of stories but has focused on coverage of homeless issues since 2015. He is currently assigned to the Star-Advertiser's Capitol bureau.
House Bill 371 would make it illegal for state and county contractors — and their immediate family members — from making campaign contributions while their companies are under contract for county or state projects. Read more
Businesses are “stressing” with the likelihood of increased, tariff-driven prices while simultaneously dealing with COVID-era loans and deferred rents, said Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. Read more
The increase would go to the Hawai‘i Cancer Research special fund while simultaneously making it more expensive to buy cigarettes across the islands, with the goal of reducing cancer rates. Read more
The Behavioral Health Crisis Center opened in 2024 across the street from the Institute for Human Services’ men’s shelter in Iwilei and has seen 1,182 people ever since to address issues including substance abuse and mental health, which are considered critical underlying reasons why people end up and remain homeless. Read more
Hawaii’s auto dealers ended 2024 down 3% in sales and were expecting a rebound this year until the enthusiasm was abruptly halted when President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign auto imports and auto parts this week. Read more
The state Department of Human Services will have to shut down its ongoing relief efforts for 4,431 remaining survivors of the 2023 Maui wildfires on April 4 unless the Federal Emergency Management Agency lifts a funding freeze, according to a federal lawsuit filed by attorneys general from both Republican and Democratic states. Read more
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The challenges of balancing work with family time provides a daily reminder of the need to do more to help struggling families just like themselves, most of whom are now new committee chairs and House leaders. Read more
The messages from Canadians who have already canceled their trips offer a reminder that Trump and his policies are hurting Hawaii’s largest economic driver, tourism. Read more
None of the bills by themselves represent a dramatic overhaul of how elections and politics work at the state and county levels. Read more
House Speaker Nadine Nakamura said it’s too soon to say whether legislators in future sessions would vote against accepting their raises. Read more
The Commission on Salaries on Thursday will consider finalizing recommendations that would give the governor a series of pay raises totaling 27% until mid-2030, in addition to 44% overall pay increases for state legislators over the next five years. Read more
Perennial efforts to allow different forms of gambling, such as a lottery, and legalize adult recreational marijuana use, however, once again appear dead, among hundreds of other bills that have stalled. Read more
Gov. Josh Green said he has chosen a more conciliatory, collaborative approach with President Donald Trump if it means preserving as much federal support for Hawaii as possible. Read more
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda remains alarmed over ongoing job cuts among Hawaii-based federal workers, which could lead to more workers leaving the islands while residents lose access to federal services they rely on. Read more
Hawaii Rep. Ed Case called Trump’s address “by far the most divisive, polarizing and destructive” out of 11 he’s witnessed while in Congress, including seven by Republican presidents and four by Democratic presidents. Read more
The new Aala medical respite shelter on North King Street has taken in and treated some of Oahu’s oldest and most seriously ill homeless patients and gotten several lives pointed in positive directions so that 14 have been reunited with their-once estranged families, mostly on Oahu, and another six have gone back to the mainland in barely nine months since opening. Read more
About 30 percent of survivor households live below the poverty line in West Maui, where landlords continue to drive up rents following the August 2023 wildfires that destroyed nearly 4,000 structures, most of them homes. Read more
The first of 24 homeless patients are scheduled to move into the newest joint state-city homeless shelter of its kind focused on treating mental health, memory and brain injuries. Read more
Legislators in both the House and Senate are working to move out bills ahead of the March 6 deadline to send bills that originate in the House or Senate to the opposite chamber . Read more
Trump’s attack on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility places a target directly on UH, according to political analyst Neal Milner. Read more
