10:00 A.M. Monday, April 18 State Department of Taxation, 830 Punchbowl St., Honolulu Photography by Olivier Koning >> The room handling incoming tax returns was busy but orderly on April 18. That Monday was the deadline for federal returns…
Tal Ziv lives a double life and feels he serves a noble cause in each one. He works fulltime at Sopogy, helping develop micro-concentrated solar-power technology for a renewable energy future. And several times a year, he wears the uniform…
K.D., A General contractor on Oahu, has a hint of dismay in his voice when he talks about not yet getting fully paid for a job completed at the end of 2009. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are still owed…
Critics say The state Public Utilities Commission is slow, inefficient and secretive, but this small agency has a lot on its plate. It regulates: 4 electric utilities; 1 gas company; 176 telecommunication companies; 38 private water and sewer companies; 4…
The state got just what it was expecting in its Christmas stocking. Unfortunately, it was another lump of coal – more bad news about the state of Hawaii Employee Retirement System, which covers both state and county employees. In its…
To the Office of the Governor State Capitol Honolulu, Hawaii Dear Gov. Abercrombie: I must admit that I had my vote reserved for someone else when we chatted in August at the Dole Ballrooms. You may not remember our brief…
Watching the death of Act 221 was like watching the Superferry ordeal unravel all over again,” says attorney Jay Fidell, president of ThinkTech Hawaii. “Why this state continues to oppose progress and kill measures that so many people and businesses will benefit from…
There’s no question the business community came into the 2010 elections with more than a few concerns about candidate Neil Abercrombie. While Abercrombie has been a good friend of the Hawaii economy through his work on military appropriations in Congress…
Businesses must pay GET earlier, but state takes longer to cash checks For decades, the state has taken weeks on average – even months – to cash taxpayers’ checks. Now, with government-worker furloughs and restrictions on temporary hires, the check-cashing…
Imagine the huge cost to your small business if the 2010 Legislature had raised the general excise tax or failed to cut unemployment insurance premiums. Every year at the state Capitol, similar make-or-break laws are debated and that’s why it’s…
Hawaii’s people have lost control of their economy, but this election campaign is a great opportunity to begin taking back control and restoring common sense to our future. If we succeed, we can preserve what is precious about Hawaii, because…
Some Republicans and Democrats stand out as best, but when we tried to ID the worst, business leaders were reluctant to name names. In this time of severe budget cuts, lots of people are unhappy with their state lawmakers. But…
Top candidates for governor explain how they would make it easier for businesses to succeed. Those in Hawaii struggling to maintain a business or start a new one can rest easy on one thing: Our next governor has no plans…
People love to blame politicians for the problems our country faces. “They’re all crooks” and “Throw them out” are the most common solutions in casual political conversations between friends and neighbors. The problem is that, Republican or Democrat, all of…
Ask Ernest Nishizaki what the single most important thing is that Hawaii could do to revitalize its visitor industry and economy, and he does not hesitate with his answer: Fix Honolulu International Airport and fast. “We’re talking about the first…
Except for college and graduate school, Jodee Crane has spent her whole life on Kauai and she can’t remember when the job situation has been so bleak. She says there’s desperation in their words as unemployed workers wonder what will…
A vast, illegal economy operates just beneath Hawaii’s legitimate society, and many people who earn their money in the legal economy spend part of it in the black one. The narcotics trade serves both street-corner junkies strung out on crystal…
One billion dollars a year. That’s the estimated taxes in Hawaii that don’t get paid by contractors and waiters, accountants and attorneys, hairdressers and everyone else who hides all or part of their cash income. Just about everyone contributes knowingly…
What a difference a billion dollars makes. Until recently, the state treasury – officially, the Treasury Management Branch of the Financial Administration Division of the Department of Budget and Finance – has operated in relative obscurity. With its staff of…
In January, Hawaii’s three former governors offered this plan for fixing our school system. The effort was organized by a nonprofit group called Hawaii’s Children First, which is dedicated to reforming public education in Hawaii. (Disclosure: Steven Petranik, editor of Hawaii…
YES Hawaii’s fisheries need adaptive regulations to ensure that we and future generations can continue to catch fish and preserve cultural practices. Fishing has been regulated in Hawaii since ancient times. Long before Western contact, Native Hawaiians regulated catch based…
People who grew up on a Hawaii plantation often have fond memories of that time. Their families were poor and there was hardship, but the sense of community was so strong that people acted generously, cared for each other and…
YES John Carroll, Attorney, Republican candidate for governor and former state legislator From territorial times until 1982, almost all Hawaii state senators were elected from multimember districts. This practice ended when a lawsuit for which I was a lead counsel…
For most people, government is simply the sum of the services it provides: security and safety, for example, in the form of police and fire departments; education, in the form of schools and libraries; and transportation, in the form of…