David Raatz Ⓥ

@raatz.bsky.social

1321 Followers 1869 Following

Living liver donor, vegan, tennis player, basketball fan, founding member of Hawai'i State Bar Association's Animal Law Section. He/him.

Brown dog with white face lounging on a mat in an office.

View from Ka’anapali Beach of sun sinking into the Pacific Ocean with Molokai in the far-right distance under some puffy clouds

View from Ka’anapali Beach of sun sinking into the Pacific Ocean with Molokai in the far-right distance under some puffy clouds

The exterior of Hilo’s Vegan Shop restaurant at 516 Kinoole Street. Signs say “OPEN” and “VEGAN SHOP.”

A colorful plate of food with curry, sweet & sour tofu, brown rice, and quinoa.

Flyer produced by Hawai’i State Bar Association’s Animal Law Section titled “Volunteer with us!” to advertise a volunteer day at Leilani Farm Sanctuary of Maui on May 16 at 9 a.m. The flyer includes event details and pictures of rescued animals.

Flyer produced by Hawai’i State Bar Association’s Animal Law Section titled “Volunteer with us!” to advertise a volunteer day at Leilani Farm Sanctuary of Maui on May 16 at 9 a.m. The flyer includes event details and pictures of rescued animals.

Hawaiian Electric's map of Maui County showing location of power outages as of 3:28 p.m., March 13, 2026

The image is a flyer announcing a free webinar on March 12, 2026, at noon HST on "Keeping People and Pets Together," with Ross Barker, Program Director for Pet-Inclusive Housing.

View of Ho’okipa Beach Park, Maui, Hawai’i, just before sunset, February 26, 2026.

The wall at Wailuku Coffee Company on Maui displays more than a dozen pieces of art with Valentine’s Month messages. My favorites include: “Be kind,” “‘Make coffee, not war,” and “No hate in the 808.” Hawai’i’s area code is 808.

Coastline at Baldwin Beach Park, Maui, Hawai’i, USA, 5:55 p.m., February 14, 2026, with clouds and mountains in the distance.

Beautiful black dog

Singer Tanama and band entertaining crowd at Kalana o Maui, Wailuku, Hawai’i, January 19, 2026.

The photo is of the Pacific Ocean from Kama’ole I Beach Park. In the left foreground, palm trees are swaying in the tradewinds. The Island of Kaho’olawe is visible in the left background. The shoreline has both grass and dirt. The water is dark blue. The sky is light blue with puffy white clouds on the horizon.

Flyer announcing a webinar on Thursday at noon HST (2 p.m. PST, 5 p.m. EST): “War Animals: The Law and History of Our Nonhuman Military Heroes” by Jamie McLaughlin, Esq. The flyer includes Jamie’s photo and bio, details about her talk, the availability of CLE credit, and the Zoom link: tinyurl.com/AnimalLawSection. The event is cosponsored by the Hawai’i State Bar Association’s Animal Law Section and Government Lawyers Section.

Evening view of Kahului Harbor from Downtown Wailuku, Maui, Hawai’i

The image is a screen shot from Hawaiian Electric's website with information on a power outage in Wailuku. Information includes: "Customers Impacted: 361." "Outage Start Time: 7:56 PM HST."

Waves as seen from the cliff overlooking Ho'okipa Beach Park, Hawai’i, USA

Hundreds of people at pro-democracy rally, 5:30 p.m. HST, Oct. 18, 2025, Kahului, Hawai’i. One big sign says: “Defend Democracy.”

Baldwin Beach, Maui, Hawai’i USA

Brown-and-white, adult male dog relaxing on a mat while looking at the camera

Maui children’s artwork displayed on a fence at Kalana o Maui, Wailuku, Hawai’i, USA, on Aug. 8, 2025. Messages include: “Maui can get through anything.”
“We love Maui!!!” “We will adapt.” “Maui Strong.” “Lahaina Strong.”

Empty Stadium Court at Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch, Maui, Hawai’i, USA

The image provides a view of Kahului Harbor from the 7th Floor of a building in Downtown Wailuku, Maui, Hawai’i, USA, at about 7:45 in the morning. The sun is glistening on the water. Puffy white clouds are in the distance.

The image is a view of Ho’okipa Beach Park, Maui, Hawai’i, USA, from a nearby cliff. The sand is beige, the water is blue-green, and the sky is blue with windswept white clouds.

Sunset view of the Pacific Ocean from the cliff overlooking Ho’okipa Beach, Maui, Hawai’i, toward the Island of Molokai, under partly cloudy skies. Some patient surfers are awaiting waves.

Partial view of Indivisible rally under sunny skies in Kahului, Hawai’i, June 14, 2025. In Hawaiian, ‘a’ole means no. One sign reads: “‘A’ole Trump, ‘A’ole ICE, ‘A’ole fascism.”

Rescued animals relaxing near a red barn in the lush pasture at Leilani Farm Sanctuary of Maui

Adoptable dog named Koa from Maui Humane Society. He has a beige coat with black stripes, a white face, and white feet.

Bright, multicolored poster recruiting volunteers for Leilani Farm Sanctuary of Maui

Dr. Michael Klaper is shown presenting on “What I Wished I Learned in Medical School About Nutrition” to a large audience at J. Walter Cameron Center, Wailuku, Hawai’i, April 13, 2025. His talk advocated for a vegan diet to help people, animals, and the environment, and he demonstrated the science and compassion behind his advocacy. Vegan Society of Hawai’i sponsored the talk.

Flyer announcing "Aftermath of Martial Law: What South Korea Tells Us About Resistance and The Form of Democracy," a panel discussion among University of Hawaiʻi professors on Friday at 3 p.m. HST (6 p.m. PDT, 9 p.m. EDT). Photos and brief biographies are included for the panelists, Tae-Ung Baik, Myungji Yang, and C. Harrison Kim, all faculty members at UH Mānoa.

Screenshot from Honolulu City Council's YouTube page on April 1, 2025, displaying the following words in banner: "RESOLUION 25-89: Accepting a gift, valued at $5,692, to the City from Lei Pua ‘Ala Queer Histories of Hawai‘i for the preparation and installation of a site marker at Queen’s Surf Beach Waikīkī honoring Hawai‘i’s diverse LGBTQ+ Māhū communities of the past, present, and future."

View of the Second Circuit Courthouse (left) and Wells Professional Building (right), with the puffy white clouds over the Pacific Ocean in the distance, in Wailuku, Hawai’i

This image is a flyer announcing a free screening of the movie "I Could Never Go Vegan" on March 21, 2025, at 6 p.m. HST, at J. Walter Cameron Center, 95 Mahalani Street, Wailuku, Hawaiʻi, USA. The flyer was produced by Vegan Society of Hawaiʻi and includes the organization's website address: www.vsh.org. The flyer also includes a picture of a cow with a numbered ear tag, signifying that she's owned by a person or company that intends to make money by killing her and selling her flesh for human consumption. The flyer also includes quotes from favorable reviews of the movie. The flyer states that a "mini resource fair and networking" with vegan food will precede the screening a 5:15 p.m. and that a discussion will follow the screening until 8 p.m. The flyer states: "Refreshments made possible by the generosity of Down to Earth Organic and Natural and other donors."

Poster announcing celebration of life for Glen Simkins at 5:30 p.m., March 7, 2025, Koki Beach, Maui

Front view of a bag of Coconut Glen’s Coconut Candy

Sign saying that Tabay’s Minsful Kitchen is “CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE”

Post-sunrise view of Kahului Harbor and the eastern slopes of Haleakalā from Downtown Wailuku, Hawai’i

Main Street in Downtown Wailuku, Hawai’i, United States, approaching the intersection with Market Street, with the green Mauna Kahālāwai in the distance under a clear, blue sky.

Screen shot of Stevie Nicks singing at FireAid LA Benefit Concert

Island of Kaho’olawe in the distance, grass-lined shoreline in the foreground, palm trees swaying on the left, the blue Pacific Ocean on the right, as seen from Kama’ole I Beach Park, Kiheī, Hawai’i

Fluffy, dark-gray cat in silhouette while standing on the window sill at the front-passenger seat of a dark-blue car.

Outdoor tennis court with Haleakalā Summit in the background

The picture shows a view of Haleakalā, a dormant volcano in Hawai'i, from Downtown Wailuku, with the Island of Maui's central plain in the foreground. Haleakalā is under cloud cover this morning, with a thin layer of snow at its summit.

Early-morning view from Downtown Wailuku, Maui, Hawai’i, USA, with Kahului Harbor on the left and Haleakalā on the right. The sky is light blue, with low, puffy white clouds over the harbor and the glistening sun over Haleakalā.

Flyer with a picture of Terry Shintani, MD, JD, in a white coat, and voluminous text inviting all to attend his Zoom webinar on Jan. 12, 2025, at noon HST. Title: "The Peace Diet - How to Reverse Disease Naturally." Zoom link: vsh.org/zoom Sponsor: Vegan Society of Hawai'i.

The photo shows Downtown Wailuku from the vantage point walking on the sidewalk on Main Street heading toward Market Street. Two-story, peach-colored buildings line the street. A utility line juts into the light-blue sky on the right. In the distance is the lush, dark-green Mauna Kahālāwai, which translates to House of Water and is also referred to as the West Maui Mountains. The sky is almost cloudless. The street is free of traffic at 7:20 a.m. on December 23, 2024.

Upper left: Tall palm trees swaying in the tropical breeze. Bottom left and right: Green lawn next to a shrub-lined rocky coastline. Middle and upper right: Dark-blue, placid Pacific Ocean from Kama’ole I Beach Park on the Island of Maui, under a light-blue sky with wind-whipped, puffy white clouds, with the Island of Kaho’olawe in the distance.

Looking at the Pacific Ocean from the Lahaina Civic Center parking lot on a cloudy late afternoon with a big tree on the right

Beautiful brown dog standing on her back legs to look out the windows in an office.