Senior Reporter

Kevin Dayton

Kevin Dayton is the former Capitol Bureau chief for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He was formerly Capitol Bureau chief and Big Island Bureau chief for The Honolulu Advertiser, which was Hawaiʻi’s largest circulation daily newspaper until it closed.

He also reported for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in Hilo, the Honolulu bureau of the Associated Press, Sun Press weekly newspapers in Kāneʻohe, and the Tucson Citizen.

He also worked as an executive assistant and executive director for Hawaiʻi County Mayor Billy Kenoi, and is a former U.S. Army infantry sergeant.

He holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona.

He and his wife Mahealani have eight children, five of them grown. They have been state-licensed foster parents since 2009.

Green And Kawakami Swamp Opponents To Win Governor, Lt. Gov. Jamm Aquino/Civil Beat/2026

Green And Kawakami Swamp Opponents To Win Governor, Lt. Gov.

Green won easily with more than 72% of the vote, giving him another four years as governor. Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami won election to the LG’s job.

Plans For New Jail To Include Community-Based Treatment Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Plans For New Jail To Include Community-Based Treatment

Alternatives to jail are picking up momentum as state officials seek to replace the overcrowded Oʻahu Community Correctional Center.

New Plan Aims To Extend Honolulu Rail Line For An Extra $4 Billion Craig Fujii/Civil Beat/2026

New Plan Aims To Extend Honolulu Rail Line For An Extra $4 Billion

A subcommittee of HART tentatively endorses extending the Skyline system to Ala Moana Center and to Ka Makana Aliʻi shopping center in Kapolei.

Tech Troubles Trip Up Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare System David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024

Tech Troubles Trip Up Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare System

Contractor flaws and delays in a complicated $18M tech upgrade pose ‘substantial risks’ to the state, according to consultants.

Judge Rules State Must Pay $1.1M In Oʻahu Jail Suicide Ku‘u Kauanoe/Civil Beat/2022

Judge Rules State Must Pay $1.1M In Oʻahu Jail Suicide

Diamond Simeona-Agoo, 21, had a well-documented history of mental illness and suicide attempts before she hanged herself at Hawaiʻi’s largest jail.

Underdog Gov Candidate Takes On The Democratic Machine — Again Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2021

Underdog Gov Candidate Takes On The Democratic Machine — Again

Republican and small businessman Gary Cordery says his children had to move away because they could not afford to stay. He wants to reduce the cost of living.

TMT Doubles Down On Mauna Kea, Declines Spain’s $1B Proposal AP Photo/Caleb Jones/2015

TMT Doubles Down On Mauna Kea, Declines Spain’s $1B Proposal

TMT’s preferred site for the telescope is still on Mauna Kea on the Big Island, after its board could not agree on Spain’s effort to build it in La Palma.

Storm-Scarred Areas Of Big Island Brace For Another Hurricane Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2026

Storm-Scarred Areas Of Big Island Brace For Another Hurricane

Residents from the southern tip of Hawaiʻi island, in Ka’ū and Nāʻālehu, prepare and worry as Hurricane Nolo approaches.

This Farmer-Artist Questions Hawaiʻi’s Statehood. He Wants To Be LG Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2024

This Farmer-Artist Questions Hawaiʻi’s Statehood. He Wants To Be LG

GOP lieutenant governor candidate Daniel Anthony says he’s tired of fighting against the government, and wants to help lead the way to “generational change.”