Civil Beat Staff

Richard Wiens

Now an at-large editor for Honolulu Civil Beat, Richard Wiens has been helping to run newsrooms big and small for more than 40 years.

He served as news editor at Civil Beat for five years, and has continued to help coordinate its election coverage while editing the Candidate Q&As. Now he is one of the editor/opinion writers involved in the news organization’s Let The Sunshine In project tracking efforts to improve government accountability and transparency in Hawaii.

Before coming to Civil Beat, he was editor and publisher of the Del Norte Triplicate, a newspaper in the far-northern California town of Crescent City, also known as the tsunami magnet of the West Coast.

There, he coordinated coverage that won numerous statewide awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, including first place for spot news coverage of a tsunami — spawned by the Japanese earthquake of March 2011 — that destroyed Crescent City Harbor.

Prior to that, he helped run the city desks of the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Spokane (Washington) Spokesman-Review and the Los Angeles Daily News. After graduating from the University of Oregon School of Journalism in 1979, he got his start in newspapering at the Hillsboro (Oregon) Argus, where he advanced from reporter to managing editor during his seven-year tenure.

He has won statewide first-place awards for feature writing and military coverage, and helped direct coverage of the standoff between white supremacist Randy Weaver and federal agents at Ruby Ridge in North Idaho that was the Pulitzer runner-up for spot news in 1992.

Throughout his career, he has pushed for coverage that helps citizens better understand — and hopefully improve — the community they live in.

Contact Richard at rwiens@civilbeat.org.

The Legislature Is Addicted To Dysfunction. It’s Time For An Intervention Caleb Hartsfield

The Legislature Is Addicted To Dysfunction. It’s Time For An Intervention

It's been 45 years since the last constitutional convention. Another one is desperately needed now.

Rep. Jeanne Kapela: State Budget ‘Failed Massively’ By Spending Too Much Here, Too Little There David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Rep. Jeanne Kapela: State Budget ‘Failed Massively’ By Spending Too Much Here, Too Little There

The Big Island legislator says the tradition of finishing up a secretive spending plan at session’s end creates unnecessary havoc.

Let’s Be Real: Hawaii Legislators Can Pretty Much Serve As Long As They Want David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Let’s Be Real: Hawaii Legislators Can Pretty Much Serve As Long As They Want

There are legitimate reasons to oppose term limits, but we shouldn’t pretend they somehow already exist.

Why Won’t Hawaii Lawmakers Let The Public Vote On Important Policy Questions? Caleb Hartsfield

Why Won’t Hawaii Lawmakers Let The Public Vote On Important Policy Questions?

From serious measures to trial balloons, none is coming soon to a ballot near you.

Rep. Elle Cochran: Bills Entered ‘Twilight Zone’ As Legislators Rushed To Adjourn Screenshot/2023

Rep. Elle Cochran: Bills Entered ‘Twilight Zone’ As Legislators Rushed To Adjourn

Nothing she saw during eight years of open government on the Maui County Council prepared her for her first chaotic session at the Capitol.

Q&A With Will Espero: True Reform ‘Takes A Champion’ Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2018

Q&A With Will Espero: True Reform ‘Takes A Champion’

The former senator battled for years to finally create boards to monitor law enforcement. But with the state’s lack of follow through, sometimes even hard-fought victories are diluted.

Hawaii’s Longest-Serving State Lawmaker Talks About The True Power Of Legislators David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Hawaii’s Longest-Serving State Lawmaker Talks About The True Power Of Legislators

Sen. Les Ihara believes rank-and-file lawmakers could be asserting themselves in committees and on the floor.

Plenty Of Legislators Support Term Limits. So Why Won’t They Let The Public Vote On Them? Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

Plenty Of Legislators Support Term Limits. So Why Won’t They Let The Public Vote On Them?

Civil Beat surveyed many of Hawaii's 76 lawmakers or researched their positions on term limits. Here's what we found.

Rep. Gene Ward: ‘Reform Proposals Will Be Very Disappointing This Session’ David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Rep. Gene Ward: ‘Reform Proposals Will Be Very Disappointing This Session’

The veteran GOP lawmaker thinks the one-party dominance of Democrats is a hindrance to efforts to bring more transparency to the Legislature.