Civil Beat Staff

Stewart Yerton

Stewart Yerton reports on business and the economy for Honolulu Civil Beat. Those are subjects he spent more than a decade reporting on — at publications in New York, New Orleans and Honolulu.

He’s written about the U.S. treasury bond market, the business of big law firms, controversies surrounding the world’s largest gold mine on the island of New Guinea and corruption in the Louisiana casino industry. His reporting on the human cadaver trade, published in The Times-Picayune newspaper, won the Society of American Business Editors & Writers 2005 Best in Business Award for Enterprise Reporting in the large newspaper category.

Stewart’s first big newspaper story, for The Birmingham (Ala.) News, was about a political battle between a small-town mayor and the volunteer firefighters who were trying to oust him from office because of the mayor’s 30-year-old conviction for making moonshine whiskey. The story briefly thrust the tiny town of Brookside, Ala., into the national spotlight when The Washington Post came to write about the comic-gothic brouhaha.

A member of the Hawaii State Bar Association since January 2012, Stewart graduated cum laude from University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law, where he earned the environmental law certificate. His paper “Procedural Standing and the Hawaii Superferry Decision: How a Surfer, a Paddler, and an Orchid Farmer Aligned Hawaii’s Standing Doctrine with Federal Principles” was published in the Asian Pacific Law & Policy Journal in 2011. In law school, Stewart externed for U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra and served as the law school’s first Jarman Environmental Law Fellow. Stewart also has worked as an analyst with the Hawaii State Auditor’s office.

When not working, Stewart can often be found practicing yoga and Argentine tango, attempting to play guitar, and chauffeuring his two daughters around Oahu.

HECO’s Report On Maui Wildfires Mirrors Prior Investigations Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2024

HECO’s Report On Maui Wildfires Mirrors Prior Investigations

Utility does not dispute earlier findings its equipment started the fire that destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023.

HECO’s Shaky Credit Prompts Proposal For Help From State Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2023

HECO’s Shaky Credit Prompts Proposal For Help From State

The utility is working with lawmakers on a plan that would make the state take over energy contracts if HECO defaulted, a situation lawmakers say is unlikely to occur.

Luigi Mangione’s Hawaiʻi Friends Shocked By Arrest In UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting Surfbreak Hawaii

Luigi Mangione’s Hawaiʻi Friends Shocked By Arrest In UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting

Luigi Mangione lived at the Surfbreak co-living community near Ala Moana Park on Oʻahu. He was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting of an insurance executive.

UH Contract Specifically Hides President Search Details From The Public Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

UH Contract Specifically Hides President Search Details From The Public

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents' contract with a national search firm includes a "special condition" giving control of candidate information to the company.

Former State Archaeologist Faces Ethics Probe Into Revolving Door Allegation Civil Beat/2011

Former State Archaeologist Faces Ethics Probe Into Revolving Door Allegation

Law requires state workers to wait a year before doing work for pay before former agency.

New UH President Was Accused Of Discrimination At Two Posts Before Hiring David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024

New UH President Was Accused Of Discrimination At Two Posts Before Hiring

The chair of the University of Hawaii's Board of Regents is staunchly defending the vetting of incoming president Wendy Hensel, saying it aligned with national best practices.

Judge: All Maui Wildfire Insurance Claims Must Be Made Public Screenshot/Hawaii News Now/2024

Judge: All Maui Wildfire Insurance Claims Must Be Made Public

Maui Judge Peter Cahill's ruling will provide a rare glimpse into insurance business.

Maui Fire Settlement Cases Inch Toward Victim Payout David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024

Maui Fire Settlement Cases Inch Toward Victim Payout

A proposed settlement could become final by early 2025.

State Agency Backlog Is Stalling Building On Maui (Google Earth/2024)

State Agency Backlog Is Stalling Building On Maui

Experts say the bureaucratic limbo facing a Maui couple trying to rebuild their home outside of Lahaina reflects a broader problem