Local and Community Investigative Journalism

To Reclaim Ancestral Land, All Native Hawaiians Need Is a $300,000 Mortgage and to Wait in Line for Decades

A 100-year-old program created to provide Native Hawaiians — especially poor ones — land to live on after the U.S. annexed the islands is failing. Thousands have died waiting in line and even more can’t afford the mortgages they’d need.

by Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica

Oct. 24, 6 a.m. EDT

Promised Land

How We Found Low-Income Hawaiians Were Left Behind by the Homesteading Program

ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis showed that a Native Hawaiian housing program left behind much of the community it was supposed to help. Here’s how we did it.

by Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Oct. 24, 5:59 a.m. EDT

Defenseless

Maine Officials Propose Doubling Budget for Agency Charged With Defending the Poor

Lawyers proposed opening Maine’s first two public defender offices and a substantial pay raise for court-appointed counsel in a $35.4 million budget approved by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services.

by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor

Oct. 25, 8:10 a.m. EDT

Power Play

Inside the Utility Company Lobbying Blitz That Will Hike Electric Bills

Democrats who campaigned against Virginia’s largest public utility, Dominion Energy, swept into office. Then the company’s lobbying efforts kicked into high gear.

by Patrick Wilson, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Oct. 9, 5 a.m. EDT

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