Continuing an Oahu tradition, the year begins with an ending as President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama flash shakas before boarding Air Force One in early January, closing the books on another Hawaiian holiday vacation.

New Gov. David Ige gives his State of the State speech in late January after the convening of a new legislative session.

Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi speaks to a legislative committee at the Capitol in late January. Within months, he’d be embroiled in a scandal over his use of a government-issued pCard for private expenses. He remains under investigation.

The drudgery of wading through 4,000 pages of testimony is telling during a House hearing in February on bills to restrict aquarium fishing.

In March, development lobbyist Carleton Ching enters a conference room for the second day of a contentious Senate hearing regarding his nomination to become director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The nomination drew strong opposition, especially from environmentalists.

Senate President Donna Mercado Kim hugs Ige’s chief of staff, Mike McCartney, after he delivers a letter on the Senate floor withdrawing the nomination of Ching. Ige pushed hard for Ching, but gave up when it became apparent there weren’t enough votes of support in the Legislature. In November, Ching was named director of land development for the University of Hawaii.

In late March, a ceremony was held to dedicate the Honouliuli National Monument at the site where 400 civilians were incarcerated alongside prisoners of war during World II. The civilians were some of the 120,000 Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps nationwide. Carole Hayashino, executive director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, listens to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell speak.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Gov. David Ige throw rose petals at the close of the Honouliuli National Monument dedication ceremony.

Construction equipment at the planned Thirty Meter Telescope site on Mauna Kea in early April. The $1.4 billion project was opposed by protesters atop the mountain and at the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Students from hula schools throughout the state sing and dance to support the TMT protest efforts, which resulted in what was described in April as a brief construction moratorium.

Late-night negotiations in early May to allow establishment of marijuana dispensaries, 15 years after medical marijuana was legalized in Hawaii, are on the verge of breaking down due to obstacles thrown up by chief Senate negotiator Josh Green. Senate President Donna Kim casts a glance at Green, and hours later joins a move to oust him from the conference committee, which ultimately results in the bill passing and being signed by Gov. Ige.

Days later, Donna Kim herself is ousted as Senate president in a coup just before the end of the legislative session. She hands the gavel to the new president, Sen. Ron Kouchi of Kauai. The shakeup also affects the Senate’s committee alignment and results in several chairmanships changing hands.

Quinton Pedroza celebrates after receiving his degree during the University of Hawaii commencement in mid-May at the Stan Sheriff Center.

When a TMT caravan again attempts to reach the Manua Kea construction site in June, scores of stones are strewn near a hairpin turn along an access road. The TMT workers once more abandon their efforts to reach the site.

A TMT demonstrator is arrested as he lies on the road and refuses to move out of way of vehicles that are attempting to reach the telescope construction site.

A roughed-up Rep. Tom Brower holds a press conference at the Capitol to give his account of a run-in he had with homeless teens in Kakaako. He said he was attacked without provocation. They said it occurred after Brower refused to stop taking pictures of their encampment without permission. He later decides to press charges against two boys, 14 and 17.

Solar Impulse 2 approaches Kalaeloa Airport in early July after a record five-day flight over the Pacific from Nagoya, Japan. It’s one leg of an around-the-world flight for the solar-powered aircraft.

State Sen. Mike Gabbard breaks in the playground slide in late July as officials gather to celebrate the upcoming opening of the new Hookele Elementary School in Kapolei.

In early August, thousands of Native Hawaiians and other residents march in Waikiki in a massive show of strength that organizers hope to translate into ongoing political actions, including opposition to construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea.

Thirty Meter Telescope opponents sing after attorneys present oral arguments at the Hawaii Supreme Court in late August regarding whether the state acted properly in approving a construction permit in 2011 before conducting a contested case hearing. In December the high court invalidates the permit, meaning TMT officials must seek a new one if they still want to build the telescope.

A homeless encampment on Ohe Street in Kakaako in early September. Squeezed by the city’s sit-lie ban and state laws closing parks at night, some homeless people moved into shelters, some dispersed to other parts of Honolulu and many others simply toggled from one part of south Kakaako to another as necessary during city or state sweeps.

City maintenance crew workers prepare to haul away the possessions of the homeless people during a September sweep in Kakaako. The immediate disposal of property was challenged in a federal class-action lawsuit filed Sept. 16, and the city entered into a court-sanctioned agreement to stop the practice.

A family on the move along Ahui Street during a city sweep in Kakaako in early October.

While the city and state play a cat-and-mouse game with people living on the streets of Kakaako, a different sort of homeless community continues to function near the Waianae Boat Harbor. Hundreds of people congregate in an encampment, seen here in October, featuring sturdier structures and a semblance of self-government.

Twinkle Borge is The Harbor’s de facto governor, helping to bring a sense of order to the residents and representing them in the wider community that so far has been willing to let them stay where they are.

A surfer free-falls after being separated from his board as waves pound the Banzai Pipeline during a North Shore competition that coincided with high surf warnings in early December.

In late December, the Obamas are back for another Hawaiian vacation. Viewed through a fence, President Obama loses his hat to the wind at the Mid Pacific Country Club in Kailua before recovering nicely to chip in a 40-foot shot on the 18th hole.

Continuing a Christmas Day tradition, Barack and Michelle Obama speak to service members and their families at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe before mingling with the attendees for photo opportunities.