Civil Beat Staff

Alex Eichenstein

Alex Eichenstein was a reporting intern for Civil Beat. She recently earned her master’s degree from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Previously, Alex worked as an audience engagement and social media producer at the Center for Public Integrity. At Public Integrity, she wrote investigative articles about eviction during the pandemic, a shareable flier and resource guide on Medicaid expansion and “Gentrified Identified,” a pop-up newsletter series on gentrification in Washington, D.C. She also created a survey to crowdsource low-income renters’ experiences during the pandemic and wrote a viral Twitter thread on the release of documents related to President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

As Protocol’s social media editor, Alex worked to grow the newsroom’s social presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Additionally, she started the organization’s Reddit account to engage with dedicated, hyper specific communities.

Alex is a native New Yorker and earned her bachelor’s degree in English, political science and women and gender studies from the University of Delaware. There, she worked as a writing tutor at the university writing center and served as the editorial editor of The Review, the university’s weekly student-run newspaper. Upon graduating, she was awarded the English department’s Margaret Lynam Tindall Memorial Prize in English Literature and the political science department’s Robert Barrie Ulin Award.

Alex is hopelessly addicted to television and her favorite movie is “The Devil Wears Prada.” You can email her with tips at aeichenstein@civilbeat.org or find her on Twitter.

Will The Maui Wildfires Cause Insurance Companies To Rethink Coverage In Hawaii? Army National Guard photo

Will The Maui Wildfires Cause Insurance Companies To Rethink Coverage In Hawaii?

The concern aligns with a national trend of increasing rates and limited coverage in areas at a high risk of the effects of climate change.

Removal Of Mauna Kea Telescope Has Begun Screenshot: California Institute of Technology

Removal Of Mauna Kea Telescope Has Begun

The important astronomical instrument has been in decline for years.

Honolulu Restores Limits Under Short-Term Rental Law David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Honolulu Restores Limits Under Short-Term Rental Law

The city had suspended the law to facilitate emergency housing for Maui wildfire survivors but says that's no longer necessary.

Eia Ke Kumu O Ka Uku ʻAna He Pāono O Nā Kānaka Noho ʻĀina Hoʻopulapula Ma Luna Aʻe O Nā Kānaka Noho Kalana Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Eia Ke Kumu O Ka Uku ʻAna He Pāono O Nā Kānaka Noho ʻĀina Hoʻopulapula Ma Luna Aʻe O Nā Kānaka Noho Kalana

Makemake ʻo DHHL e hoʻohana aku i kekahi māhele o ke kālā he $600 miliona i hoʻokaʻawale ʻia no nā ʻāina hoʻopulapula no ka hōʻoi ʻana aʻe i ka ʻōnaepuni, e laʻa ke kiʻi wai ʻana. 

Honolulu Suspends Short-Term Rental Law To Aid Wildfire Survivors David Croxford/Civil Beat/2022

Honolulu Suspends Short-Term Rental Law To Aid Wildfire Survivors

The law was enacted to limit the use of residential properties as vacation rentals.

City’s Bonds Sale To Fund Rail, City Improvements Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

City’s Bonds Sale To Fund Rail, City Improvements

The rail project is slated to receive $11 million from the transaction.

USDA Program Helps Hawaii Farmers Offset High Shipping Costs Ken Love

USDA Program Helps Hawaii Farmers Offset High Shipping Costs

Of the $3 million allotted to the federal program last year, farmers in Hawaii received over $1.2 million.

Why Some Hawaiian Homesteaders Pay 6 Times More Than County Users For Water Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Why Some Hawaiian Homesteaders Pay 6 Times More Than County Users For Water

DHHL hopes to use some of the $600 million appropriated for homelands last year to improve infrastructure, including water access.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser Is Cutting More News Staff Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Honolulu Star-Advertiser Is Cutting More News Staff

At least four editorial staff members have accepted a buyout.