Columnist
Lee Cataluna
Lee Cataluna has been telling Hawaii stories for 25 years and has worked in local radio, television and newspapers.
She was born on Maui and raised on the neighbor islands as her family moved frequently for her father’s job in sugar. She went to nine different schools before graduating from Baldwin High School, so if you think she was your classmate, you might be right.
She received an undergraduate degree from the University of the Pacific and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California-Riverside.
Her writing outside of journalism includes Folks You Meet in Longs, which has been in print since 2005 and was named one of the 50 Essential Books About Hawaii by Honolulu Magazine. She has been writing for the stage for more than 20 years and her plays have been produced and workshopped around Hawaii, in California and New York. Her recent work includes “Home of the Brave,” a play about the lives of children from military families, which she wrote after interviewing hundreds of kids, teachers, parents, principals, active duty and veterans from all branches of the military.
Craig Fujii/Civil Beat/2026
Lee Cataluna: Gov. Green Still Can’t Leave The State
By swapping an un-elected bureaucrat for scandal-tainted Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Green has not solved the problem of leaving the leadership of the state to the political equivalent of a substitute teacher.
Photo by Bart Asato
Lee Cataluna: Why People Were Waiting In Lines Across The State This Week
In an era where so many basic things are unaffordable for the most frustrating, unfair reasons, this bit of Hawaiʻi exclusivity is still obtainable by the middle class.
Erin Nolan/Civil Beat/2026
Lee Cataluna: Being Ready for Storms Should Be More Than Political
Recent weather woes in Hawaiʻi exposed a lack of just-in-case thinking.
Chad Blair/Civil Beat/2026
Lee Cataluna: Republicans Did Not Score On This Defection
Rep. Elle Cochran hasn’t been much of a player at the Legislature in recent years.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022
Lee Cataluna: When The Stickler Doesn’t Stick To Her Own Standards
As House Finance chair, Sylvia Luke was a tough inquisitor. Now she’s the one in the hot seat.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2021
Lee Cataluna: What A New Las Vegas Zippy’s Says About Leaving Hawaiʻi
If there’s a Zippy’s, we must be close to home.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025
Lee Cataluna: This Is Not The Way To Deal With Bad Drivers
Proposals to bring back a written test to renew a Hawaiʻi driver’s license are missing the point.
AP Photo/Elise Amendola/2018
Lee Cataluna: Bribery Mystery Becoming Most-Watched True Crime Story
Everybody wants to know who got the $35,000 in the paper bag.
Lee Cataluna/Civil Beat/2025
Lee Cataluna: The End Of A Particular Type Of Tourist Attraction
The last lū‘au at this popular West Oʻahu venue ends on a bittersweet note. But it may lead to a new cultural beginning.