Updated: The state agency paid $614,000 to litigate Akana vs. Machado, while insurer AIG paid for $265,000.

Updated: Former Board Chair Rowena Akana has penned an apology to other trustees, and each party will cover their own legal costs.

Updated: The legal action follows a ruling allowing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to go forward on a mountain considered deeply sacred by many Native Hawaiians. 

Two high-profile challengers will spice up the races for the embattled Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ board vote reversed an earlier decision to use a third party to distribute the funds.

Civil Beat also owes its readers more transparency about why the OHA trustee is no longer a columnist at the news organization.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee admitted using his position to benefit his private company.

Four other trusts, derived from the wealth of Native Hawaiian royalty, support a wide range of philanthropies and hold vast business interests.

UPDATED: Trustee Rowena Akana, who’s in a legal battle with other board members, disclosed the money in a recent ethics report.

The Native Hawaiian agency claims it’s becoming more open all the time, but a national study says otherwise.