Every May, the Administration for Community Living leads our nation’s observance
of Older Americans Month. The theme for 2021 is "Communities of Strength."
This years Outstanding Older Americans awards for Hawai'i go to Yoshiko "Dimples"
Kano, Russell Maeda, Dr. Mary Trotto, Bob Carroll, Annie Kuamo'o Ka'aukai, Hugh
"Nash" Keel, and Rose Leong.
Click HERE for video.
April 5, 2021
Art at the Capitol 2021
The annual Art at the Capitol tour is online. It’s a chance to see Hawai'i's
public art collection and get a different perspective on lawmakers. This year,
legislators chose one of the pieces in their office from the state collection
to talk about on video.
Hawai'i has a law setting aside 1% of new state building construction costs for art.
That has allowed the state to acquire some of the finest works of art ever made here,
in addition to works by off-island artists.
click to playApril 5, 2021
2021 Youth Capitol Commentary
Through 'Ōlelo Community Media's Youth Capitol Commentary, students are
given the opportunity to interview lawmakers and community members. These
interviews are then aired on 'Ōlelo's cable channels and internet platforms.
This year I was interviewed by James Campbell High School student Tiffany Liu.
click for videoMarch 30, 2021
Now that we are more than half way through the session Rep. Gregg Takayama takes a few minutes to review some of the pending legislation. Specifically measures affecting the University of Hawaii, and kupuna care.
click for videoFebruary 5, 2021
Talk Story With House Majority - David Lassner & Rep. Gregg Takayama
2021 legislative priorities for the University of Hawai'i System: wins,
opportunities, and challenges.
click for videoFebruary 5, 2021
Talk Story with House Majority: Rep. Gregg Takayama
House Majority Leader Rep. Della Au Belatti interviews Rep. Gregg Takayama on
what's in store for him this session. How can the University of Hawai'i cope
with budget shortfalls without compromising the strenght of programs?
Is Warrior football moving to Manoa?
click for videoFebruary 2, 2021
University of Hawaii stadium on campus will cost $5M
January 28, 2021
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The cost to build a temporary stadium would be $5 million
if the University of Hawaii (UH) football team plays its home games at the
Manoa campus. Lawmakers would have to approve the funding and some say there
are many benefits in the proposal.
View full news reportFebruary 27, 2020
The Conversation: Gun Control Bills at the Legislature
by Catherine Cruz
The Honolulu Police Department is advocating for changes to Hawaii's gun
laws in light of last month's fatal shooting of two of its officers.
Representative Gregg Takayama, chair of the House Public Safety Committee,
explains the proposed legislation that will be up for a vote today.
Link to page to hear interviews.February 26, 2020
Police chief makes public plea to lawmakers ahead of votes on tougher
gun control measures - Hawaii News Now
By Lynn Kawano
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard
publicly pleaded for lawmakers to approve controversial gun control
measures ahead of key floor votes in both the House and Senate set for
Thursday.
"We're asking them to please, please pass these bills, for law enforcement
, for all of our public safety, for the safety of our officers, for the
safety of our community,” Ballard said at a press conference Wednesday
morning that included Jim Howe, Director of Emergency Services, and Rep.
Gregg Takayama.
View full news reportFebruary 25, 2020
Youth Capitol Commentary 2020
Student Reporter Cole Yoshimoto of Hawaii Technology Academy was part
of the team interviewing legislators for real world journalism experience.
February 21, 2020
Rep Takayama Community Update 2020
Highlights from the 2019 session and January 2020 updates.
February 10, 2020
Our Kupuna, Our Kuleana:
Senior Care Crisis in Hawai'i - Hawai'i Business Magazine
Medicaid will cover long-term care but people often have to impoverish themselves to qualify, says
state Rep. Gregg Takayama.
View full articleApril 26, 2019
Taking care of our Kupuna
by Kirstin Downey
The state Department of Public Safety may soon be subject to more
effective public scrutiny, improved conditions in the jails for
inmates and people suspected of crimes and see much-needed pre-
sentencing reforms.
View full articleApril 16, 2019
Taking care of our Kupuna
HONOLULU (KHON2) - From housing to caregiving, the Kupuna Caucus was
formed to advance specific goals for our seniors and to enact
legislation to implement those needs. State Representative Gregg
Takayama joined us in studio to talk about a couple of bills in
legislation to support our seniors.
View full articleApril 15, 2019
Lawmakers & Staff Donate Clothing for YWCA’s Dress for Success Program -by Big Island Now
“This will be a great help for recently incarcerated women to look their best
when applying for and working at a new job,” said Rep. Takayama, chair
of the House Public Safety, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. "I want
to thank everyone for their compassion and generosity to help these women,
especially the members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus."
View full articleApril 10, 2019
Live at the Legislature 2019 with Rep. Gregg Takayama
Carolyn Tanaka interviews Rep. Takayama about the recent events
at Maui Community Correctional Center, prison overcrowding, bail
reform, and this year's legislation addressing Public Safety issues.
View full articleApril 1, 2019
Editorial: Pursue purchase of federal jail - Honolulu Star Advertiser
The state is pursuing plans to build a new jail. A 280-page environmental
impact statement recommended building a new facility on the animal quarantine
station site in Halawa, and Gov. David Ige wants $5 million to figure out
how to finance it. The estimated cost of construction is about $525 million.
Or, as state Rep. Gregg Takayama has proposed, the state could try to buy
the FDC. If the federal Bureau of Prisons is amenable, it could be a better
solution, and less expensive than the financial and political minefield of
a major state construction project.
Takayama introduced House Bill 1177, which would put money on the table to
convince the feds that the state is serious about buying the facility. The
current administration, he noted, has “not said no.”
View full articleMarch 24, 2019
Volcanic Ash: Hawaii deal for federal jail could be win-win solution
by David Shapiro
We so seldom see fresh ideas from local government that it’s a shame when a
good one goes to waste.
Yet that seems the case with Rep. Gregg Takayama’s bill to explore state
purchase of the underused Federal Detention Center near the airport to
replace the decrepit Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi.
The measure sailed unanimously through the House and had the support of
the Ige administration and Oahu Democratic Party but was abruptly killed
in Senate committee with little explanation.
View full articleMarch 21, 2019
Prison reform frustrations: Bills to address overcrowding stalls in Senate
Overcrowded jails in Hawaii is a problem that has at least one State lawmaker claims the legislature this session is doing nothing about.
Representative Gregg Takayama fears more riots like last week's case at the Maui Community Correctional Facility will continue to happen if nothing gets done to reduce the state's prison population.
The House passed two bills this session that could've addressed the issue according to Takayama but both were shot down by the Senate this week.
(video no longer available)
March 12, 2019
Hawaii immigrant sanctuary bill dies in state Legislature.
March 12, 2019
Associated Press
A bill that would have made Hawaii the third so-called sanctuary state for immigrants
who are in the U.S. illegally has died at the state Legislature.
The state Senate passed the bill and sent it to the House. But Rep. Gregg Takayama,
the chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, said Tuesday he won’t be hearing
it in his committee. That effectively kills the bill.
Takayama said that because most law enforcement occurs at the county level, he
believes it would be more appropriate for the counties and not the state to consider
creating sanctuaries. He noted local jurisdictions on the mainland have done so.
View full article View PDF file
March 4, 2019
The Roadblocks Are Rising For Much-Touted Bail Reform:
Despite passing the Hawaii House with unanimous support,
the bill may face a rockier time in the Senate.
by Kirstin Downey
. . . In an interview, [Rep. Gregg] Takayama said that holding people in jail who are “obviously not dangerous to the community” is costing Hawaii millions of dollars a year, at an average cost of $180 per inmate per night, money that he thinks could be better spent elsewhere.
CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC
Takayama said he isn’t sure what will happen with the legislation but he hopes it will pass.
“I think we have talked about bail reform for far too long to put it on a back burner now,” he said.
View full article
March 4, 2019
Here’s What’s Not Passing The Hawaii Legislature This Year
by Kirstin Downey
Only about 10 percent of bills usually pass, however, and that means most
measures won’t make it this year — although they do carry over to the 2020 session. It’s even possible some bills may be resurrected before session ends May 2.
For now, here’s a rundown of important legislation that did not make the cut.
View full article
February 22, 2019
Hawaii Could Really Use This Federal Prison That Has Plenty Of Empty Cells
State Rep. Gregg Takayama, chairman of the House public safety committee, has a big idea.
He wants the state to buy the underutilized Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, a plan he thinks
could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and provide a quick fix to Hawaii’s overcrowded
corrections system.
Hawaii’s eight jails and prisons are jammed to the rafters, forcing the state to ship more than 1,400
people to the mainland to a private for-profit prison. Meanwhile, the Federal Detention Center, a
modern high-rise built in 2001 near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, houses only 400 prisoners
but has capacity for 1,200, according to Takayama.
View full article
February 7, 2019
‘It’s A Crime’: Will Legislature Fix Hawaii’s Broken Bail System?
Many people sit in jail awaiting trial on fairly minor offenses simply because they can’t afford to get out.
This may be the year that changes.
View full article
February 6, 2019
Addressing Drug Addiction Key In Improving Safety
Nothing prepares you for the shock of returning home to find that your private space has been invaded,
plundered and left in disarray. That happened to me and two other nearby Pearl City homes on the same November weekday...
View full article
January 28, 2019
Federal Detention Center eyed to replace Oahu Community Correctional Center
by Kevin Dayton
State Rep. Gregg Takayama hopes to convince the federal government to sell the
Federal Detention Center next to the Honolulu airport to the state to use as a
replacement for the aging Oahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi.
“It’s in good shape, and it’s in good shape largely because it’s mostly unused,”
Takayama said. The website for the facility indicates it is holding about 400
prisoners today, he said, but about 160 of those are Hawaii inmates who are being
held in leased beds at FDC because there is no room for them in OCCC.
“In view of that, and with Congress passing a federal prison reform act that is
expected to reduce the population of their prisons and jails, I think it makes
sense for us to put money on the table and offer to buy it,” Takayama said.
View full article
January 24, 2019
Bill Proposes Purchase of Honolulu Federal Jail
“The federal jail is very under-utilized, while OCCC is tremendously overcrowded
and in need of replacement,” said Rep. Takayama, chair of the House Public Safety,
Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
View full article
February 23, 2018
The Conversation: Options for Addressing School Shootings
February 23, 2018
By Chris Vandercook & Catherine Cruz
After last week’s mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida students,
parents, and officials across the nation are all proposing steps to prevent future
incidents. What should be done here in Hawaii? Our panel addresses school safety
and some of the proposals improving security.
Link to panel discussionJanuary 19, 2018
Hearing on False Missile Alert - Hawaii News Now Jan 19, 2018
January 3, 2018
Kupuna Caregivers Program A Shining Example - Civil Beat
Credit Hawaii leaders for creating social infrastructure for our future.
This first-in-the-nation program has captured the attention of national experts and media, with the New York Times, MSNBC
and the Washington Examiner running lengthy pieces on the new initiative.
The national praise for the program tends to focus on the innovative approach to supporting family caregivers and kupuna,
but it is also worth celebrating the strategic coordination from Hawaii’s legislative leaders as a case study in making progressive change.
View full article
December 19, 2017
One of the smartest ideas for balancing work and life just went into effect in Hawaii
Hawaii, the US state with the longest life expectancy, is the first in the US to implement this type of
direct subsidy for long-term care. Germany, Austria, Japan, and a handful of other industrialized nations
have developed universal insurance programs for their elderly’s long-term care.
View full article
December 5, 2017
Hawaii prepares to deliver New Year's present to caregivers - Washington Examiner
After 21 years of trying to pass long-term care legislation, Hawaii this summer became the first state to pass a bill that
gives funding to caregivers who assist family members who have become disabled as they age or have cognitive challenges as
their brains succumb to dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
View full article
November 8, 2017
‘Preferred’ Jail Site Currently Houses Animal Quarantine Station - Civil Beat
“The reason that I think it’s important to build a drug rehabilitation facility as part of OCCC is that, in the long term,
it will help reduce recidivism rate of our drug offenders,” [Representative] Takayama said. “Right now, they’re not able to
access drug treatment programs because of limitations in program space, and this will enable us to move forward in a constructive way.”
View full article
February 24, 2017
Task force and legislators rethink new jail
A 13-member task force led by Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Michael Wilson is
recommending that the state hold off on its plans for building a new jail on Oahu until
the group can issue a final report at the end of the year that provides a road map for
reforming the state’s correctional system.
View full article
2017 Youth Capitol Commentary
July 19, 2016
Star Advertiser 2016 Interview
I’ve served my community by getting on my knees to plant grass for a new playground while also fighting
for more than $30 million for improvements to Pearl City schools in the past four years. Our district needs
someone willing to invest “sweat equity” and be an effective advocate.
View full article October 17, 2014
Hawai'i Herald : Gregg Takayama
It was a smooth transition from covering politics to becoming a politician for
freshman State Representative Gregg Takayama.
“Listening and communicating to people is what journalism is all about,
and it’s essential for elected officials,” said Representative Takayama,
a former award-winning news reporter at KHON-TV and former aide to the late U.S.
Senator Dan Inouye. View full article
March 31, 2014
Takayama: From Observer to Participant
MIDWEEK- Gregg Takayama seems both too old and too traveled to be a freshman legislator. Yet there he was last week, sitting in the State House on opening day, beginning his second session as the representative from Oahu's 34th District (Pearl City, Waimalu, Pacific Palisades).
He is, in fact, 61 years old, and he has indeed been around.
I first met Takayama when he was a young reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, I a newly minted assistant professor at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu.
For virtually every day of his life since graduating from college in 1974, Takayama either covered
government as a reporter, or worked as a spokesperson for some of the state's most visible government
leaders. Last fall, he decided to pursue a different view of government - from the inside -
working on behalf of his neighbors in the newly created state House District 34 (Pearl City,
Waimalu and Pacific Palisades) and articulating his own concerns.
View full article
February 14, 2013
Older Isle Residents Unprepared for Cost of Long-Term Care
(AARP Hawaii) A new survey exploring the views of older Hawaii residents on long-term care shows that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of people 50+ are not confident they can afford to pay for one year in a nursing home. Fifty percent of respondents say they are not confident they can afford the cost of care for one year in their home. The survey of 800 residents statewide-more than half of whom reported annual household income of less than $75,000-is the latest evidence that many residents are unsure how they'll pay for their care needs as they get older. View full article
February 11, 2013
Gregg Takayama: Bird Feeding Bill
(Hawaii News Now) - Representative Gregg Takayama introduced a bill that would allow people to sue each other for injury or property damage from the birds... more specifically the poop. He joined Steve on Sunrise to discuss it in more detail. Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL
February 11, 2013
Lawmakers amending bill to ban pigeon feeding
A bill to make it illegal to feed feral pigeons is heading through the Hawaii Legislature, although not everyone agrees on the dirty details.
Neighbors living near people who feed pigeons say they are being held hostage by the birds and their droppings. Now a group from Pearl City has teamed up and is trying to help write the law.
View full article
February 11, 2013
Pigeon problem pits neighbor against neighbor in Pearl City
Pigeon poop and feral feathers flying! It's a mess that's pitting neighbor against neighbor in Pearl City.
Residents say two nearby homeowners won't stop feeding, what's become, a daily flock of pigeons. It's a chronic, decade-long problem that they've tried to solve on their own - to no avail. The neighbors in question say: all these complaints - are for the birds.
View full article
February 11, 2013
Hawaiian panel OKs public LTC plan bill
Lawmakers in Hawaii are moving ahead with a public long-term care insurance (LTCI) program study measure.
Members of the Hawaii House Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee voted 10-0 Wednesday to approve an amended version of House Bill 1.
If passed as written, H.B. 1 would require the director of the state's executive officer of aging to hire actuaries to analyze the idea of setting up a "limited, mandatory, public" LTCI program for Hawaii's workers, according to the state legislative tracking system.
View full article
by Kevin Dayton
“The federal jail is very under-utilized, while OCCC is tremendously overcrowded
and in need of replacement,” said Rep. Takayama, chair of the House Public Safety,
Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Credit Hawaii leaders for creating social infrastructure for our future.
This first-in-the-nation program has captured the attention of national experts and media, with the New York Times, MSNBC
and the Washington Examiner running lengthy pieces on the new initiative.
The national praise for the program tends to focus on the innovative approach to supporting family caregivers and kupuna,
but it is also worth celebrating the strategic coordination from Hawaii’s legislative leaders as a case study in making progressive change.
For virtually every day of his life since graduating from college in 1974, Takayama either covered
government as a reporter, or worked as a spokesperson for some of the state's most visible government
leaders. Last fall, he decided to pursue a different view of government - from the inside -
working on behalf of his neighbors in the newly created state House District 34 (Pearl City,
Waimalu and Pacific Palisades) and articulating his own concerns.
View full article
