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 Hawaii’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 Kaneohe, and the Tucson Citizen.

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

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

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

Hawaii Prison Oversight Meetings Are Missing A Key Player — The Prisons Director Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

Hawaii Prison Oversight Meetings Are Missing A Key Player — The Prisons Director

Tommy Johnson told the oversight coordinator that neither he nor his staff will attend the meetings, though they'll engage in other ways.

HART Board Approves New Financing Deal For Rail Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

HART Board Approves New Financing Deal For Rail

The agreement, which still needs City Council approval, would pave the way for the feds to provide another $125 million for further Skyline construction.

Honolulu, Feds Reach Draft Deal To Help Fund The Rail Project Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Honolulu, Feds Reach Draft Deal To Help Fund The Rail Project

Under the agreement, the federal government would contribute slightly more than 17% of the cost of the rail line from Kapolei to downtown.

Ke Noi Aku Nei Ke Keʻena ʻĀina Home Hawaiʻi I $6M No Ka Noiʻi ʻAna I Ka Ikehu Wela Honua Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Ke Noi Aku Nei Ke Keʻena ʻĀina Home Hawaiʻi I $6M No Ka Noiʻi ʻAna I Ka Ikehu Wela Honua

Wahi a ka noiʻi, ʻekolu māhele ʻāina o DHHL i kūpono i ka hana ikehu wela honua. 

Halawa Prison Electrical Problems Leave Inmates Sitting In The Dark Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2017

Halawa Prison Electrical Problems Leave Inmates Sitting In The Dark

The Department of Public Safety is trying to determine the scope of the problem, and what it will take to fix it.

Hawaii’s State-Run Psychiatric Hospital Is So Crowded Patients Sleep In Conference Rooms Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Hawaii’s State-Run Psychiatric Hospital Is So Crowded Patients Sleep In Conference Rooms

The killing of a nurse last week happened outside the main secure facility, but it cast a spotlight on concerns about staff safety.

Suspect In Hawaii Hospital Stabbing Death Described As ‘Aggressive’ Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Suspect In Hawaii Hospital Stabbing Death Described As ‘Aggressive’

Amid questions over the decision to discharge the psychiatric patient, the head of the union representing hospital employees calls for a thorough review of operations.

Fatal Stabbing Of Nurse At Hawaii State Hospital Raises Safety Concerns Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Fatal Stabbing Of Nurse At Hawaii State Hospital Raises Safety Concerns

The killing was a first for the state-run psychiatric hospital, officials said, although it has a history of other violence against both staff and patients.

‘High Likelihood’ Of More Delays In Critically Important Honolulu Rail Work Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

‘High Likelihood’ Of More Delays In Critically Important Honolulu Rail Work

Relocating utilities along Dillingham Boulevard has been a complex problem from the start. The HART board is asking probing questions about the schedule.