I was interning for Honolulu Star-Bulletin Big Island correspondent Jack Bryan during the 1968 election when a tall, fair-haired man in his mid-20s entered the office with a bit of swagger, chewing an unlit cigar someone gave him.

It was my introduction to Tom Coffman, the Star- Bulletin’s new chief political writer who was in Hilo for a rally and looking to pump the veteran Bryan for knowledge.

I listened intently to an old master and an upcoming one display their chops.

“Smart boy,” Bryan said, noting Coffman was only a few years older than me.

When I moved to Honolulu the following year to try out as a reporter at the Star-Bulletin, I was surprised Coffman remembered me as he approached in welcome. Here I was, terrified I’d fail at a job I dearly coveted, and this alpha hotshot was treating me like a regular colleague.

“Act like you belong,” he said.

Coffman, who died Dec. 15 at 83, went on to become perhaps Hawaii’s most influential modern historian.

His books and documentary films told not only of the politics that shaped Hawaii, but the stories of its people and their cherished environment. He shined a probing light on injustices suffered by Native Hawaiians and heroic fights against prejudice by local Japanese and their allies.

His tenure as a newspaper journalist lit the passions and forged the meticulous reporting skills that enabled those masterpieces.

A native Kansan, Coffman arrived in Hawaii in 1965 seeking a newspaper career. By the time I met him three years later, he’d advanced from junior political reporter at the Advertiser to top gun at the then-larger Star-Bulletin.

His personal nature was often quiet and sensitive, but his appetite for the story was voracious.

Night after night, he was out covering speeches, stew-and-rice rallies, fundraisers and coffee hours — anywhere candidates and voters interacted.

By day, he roamed the Capitol and worked the phones, getting the latest from campaign managers, shadow advisers, business leaders, donors big and small, advertising consultants, pollsters — anyone who could help him understand the next election or the last.

Today, most political reporters more likely just call Colin Moore, the University of Hawaii political scientist, for analysis.

No knock on reporters, squeezed for time by shrinking staffs, or Moore, a solid academic who gives an honest take. But voters are poorer when most political analysis is filtered through one guy — no matter which news outlet you get it from — instead of reporters like Coffman at multiple outlets with deep expertise to do their own analysis. Academics called him.

Covering politics that way put Coffman in position to write his first and best-known book, “Catch a Wave,” on the landmark 1970 governor’s race involving John A. Burns, Thomas Gill and Samuel King. It’s still read as a basic source on Hawaii political history.

It started a rich legacy of works that advanced the understanding of Hawaii at home and abroad including “Nation Within: The History of the American Occupation of Hawai‘i,” “The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawai‘i” and “Inclusion: How Hawai‘i Protected Japanese Americans from Mass Internment, Transformed Itself, and Changed America.”

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Three of Hawaii’s Congressional Delegation released statements on Saturday, Jan.3, in response to President Trump’s overnight operation in Venezuela.

Others echoed concerns about the legality of the operation, pointing to both international law and the U.S. Constitution. While acknowledging Venezuela’s political situation, some members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation said military action raises serious questions that extend beyond the actions of any one leader.

Case also emphasized that Congress plays a critical role in decisions involving war and military force.

Senator Brian Schatz also weighed in, saying the operation could put American lives and interests at risk.

Hawaii’s congressional lawmakers stressed that, while the situation in Venezuela is complex, military action should not be taken lightly.

With questions still surrounding the operation, Hawaii’s congressional leaders say transparency and oversight are critical moving forward. They stated that decisions of this extent should not be made without the involvement of Congress or the public.

HONOLULU — Mike Lambert heard fewer illegal fireworks exploding in his suburban Honolulu neighborhood in the months after a chain of blasts at a house party last New Year’s Eve led to the deaths of six people, including a 3-year-old boy.

As the director of Hawaii’s Department of Law Enforcement, Lambert wondered if the tragedy had sparked a shift in Hawaii residents’ penchant for igniting illegal fireworks. In some neighborhoods, it would be common to hear loud booms any time of day or night — for sporting events, celebrations or no apparent reason at all.

But this year, authorities are armed with stiffer laws created in the wake of the tragedy and will be giving out citations to offenders, Lambert warned.

“We have no delusions that you can have a tragedy New Year’s, you can sign a law in July and then not have anything go off the following year,” he said. Still, he expects that some people will decide not to set off fireworks, either because of last year’s deadly accident or the stepped-up enforcement and new laws.

“Before, you could shoot it off with impunity,” said state Rep. Scot Matayoshi, who authored two of the five anti-fireworks bills. “Everyone knew they weren’t going to bust you.”

Police can now issue $300 tickets to those who shoot off fireworks, while repeat offenders and people whose actions cause serious injury or death could get prison time for felony crimes.

Matayoshi said he began working on legislation the morning after the tragedy, which took place at a New Year’s Eve 2025 celebration when crates of illegal fireworks tipped over and ignited in the Aliamanu neighborhood, illuminating the sky in a terrifying set of explosions that left more than a dozen people with severe burns.

“It affected me a lot,” Matayoshi said. “I couldn’t imagine being the neighbor of someone who had basically bombs in their house going off and hurting and killing my kids.”

None of the the 12 people arrested have been charged with a crime. Honolulu police said they’re working with prosecutors in seeking charges.

A hopeful sign was an amnesty event last month where people turned in 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of illegal fireworks, Lambert said. His department has also increased searches at all ports, noting that illegal fireworks shipped to Hawaii often have ties to organized crime.

As of earlier this month, Honolulu police said officers had issued 10 fireworks citations. Matayoshi said the number is an improvement from zero in past years. He expects it to jump dramatically on New Year’s Eve.

Firecrackers to ring in the new year have long been popular in Hawaii, but about a decade ago, professional-grade aerials started becoming common.

“You’re seeing fireworks that were meant to be let off at like stadium and hotel events,” Lambert said. Those pyrotechnics have a 900-foot (274-meter) blast radius, but are exploding in tightly packed neighborhoods where homes are often just a few feet apart, he said.

Army veteran Simeon Rojas grew up on Oahu in the 1980s and ’90s and enjoyed setting off firecrackers and lighting sparklers on New Year’s Eve. He considers fireworks part of the local culture and tradition.

But when fireworks suddenly explode when he’s at home in Honolulu’s Kalihi Valley, “it does rock my heart,” he said. It also triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It gives me flashbacks,” he said. “I stay with my wife and kids on New Year’s Eve, so I feel safe.”