How to Fix the Honolulu Zoo
If you grew up in Hawaii, chances are you’ve seen these exotic animals during a family visit or class field trip. And, if you’ve come back as an adult, a visit to Hawaii’s only zoo might have felt strangely similar…
Government
Trump's Effect on Hawaii
Interviewed for this story are the four members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, all Democrats: Sen. Mazie Hirono Sen. Brian Schatz Rep. Colleen Hanabusa Rep. Tulsi Gabbard FIVE RISKS 1. OBAMACARE (The repeal of Obamacare would) have…
“Big Stick” Heads to Sea
We love this picture, but it took a while for the Navy to give us permission to publish it. It shows the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt leaving Pearl Harbor in November 2015, piloted by harbor pilot Captain Jason Stephens…
Tracing a Virus
This summer was a blur for Sarah Park, who is the state epidemiologist and head of the Department of Health’s Disease Outbreak Control Division. Each year, an average of 10 Hawaii residents contract Hepatitis A, which is considered a normal…
Shifting Salaries
Buffy Owens of Kamaaina Kids was meeting with consultants from the HR management company ProService Hawaii when news broke that the federal government would update the Fair Labor Standards Act by doubling the minimum pay for salaried employees. Without missing a…
Bring Back Our Beach!
Oahu, Kauai and Maui are outlined by nearly 170 miles of sandy beaches, but about 70 percent of them are slowly shrinking from erosion, storms and a rising sea, according to a USGS report. Hawaii has the technology and expertise…
Storm Warning
Hawaii's current building code does not require construction that could withstand a storm as powerful as Hurricane Iniki. In fact, some new local homes are built under the assumption that wind gusts won't exceed 100 mph - much less than…
Mobile Networks for Battlefields and Other Hotspots
Pelatron Networking-On-The-Move Product: Networking-On-The-Move is a battlefield-ready networking and telecommunications system designed and manufactured by Pelatron, a Native Hawaiian-owned engineering and technology firm based in Mapunapuna. Senior VP and chief engineer Branson Aken describes NOTM as a mobile, modular “command-and-control”…
Did You Know: Hawaii Last in Registered Boat Ownership
Hawaii, the only island state, has the fewest boat owners in the nation, both in absolute numbers and per capita. Hawaii’s 14,835 registered boats number little more than half the 28,249 boats registered in Wyoming, a landlocked state with the…
State Speeds Up Check Cashing
The state says it now cashes excise tax payments much faster than it did a year earlier. In 2010, tens of thousands of GET checks from local businesses would remain uncashed by the government for a month or longer, but…
Military Money By the Numbers
“How Much Does Military Spending Add to Hawaii’s Economy?” is the name of a study by the Rand National Defense Research Institute. Here are numbers from the report, including some that received little media attention when it was released in…
Real Property – Taxed and Untaxed
Last year, the state of Hawaii was worth $298 billion – at least as far as the taxman was concerned. That was the total valuation of all the taxable real property in the state, according to the latest figures compiled…
Spin Zone: Do School-Impact Fees on West Hawaii Property Owners Make Sense?
Yes "It’s an equitable method for requiring some of the costs of future schools be paid by those who would use them." For several decades, public policy…
The Price of Global Exposure: Up to $20 million for Security
Invite 21 heads of state or other leaders to a party in your hometown and you have a security challenge that could cost up to $20 million. That’s what faces local law-enforcement officials at the massive Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)…
Free Training for Military Spouses
Spouses of active-duty military men and women are eligible for up to $6,000 in workforce training — but don’t hesitate to apply, as the money may not last long. In 2009, the Defense Department started the Military Spouse Career Advancement…
Preservation’s Payoffs
Preserving historic buildings and sites in Hawaii makes sense culturally and morally, says Rep. Cindy Evans, but it also makes good economic sense. Preservation boosts the economy by attracting tourists, who enjoy visiting Iolani Palace, heiau, museums, Pearl Harbor, fishponds…
Snake Stowaways Could Cost Us $2 Billion a Year
If brown tree snakes sneak aboard the increasing number of flights from Guam to Hawaii and establish themselves here, the damage on Oahu alone could top $2 billion a year, according to a new study. The report in January’s Pacific…
State Hawaii Taxes By the Numbers
Many organizations rank the tax climate in the 50 states, but one of the most respected rankings is by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan educational organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1937, its mission “is to educate taxpayers about…
Better Harbors, by the Numbers
Last year, the Legislature authorized $842 million over six years to improve and expand the state’s harbors. Among Hawaii’s shipping companies and other harbor users, the feeling was, “It’s about time,” after what they saw as nearly 20 years of…
Good News, A Small Power Elite No Longer Runs Hawaii. Bad News, Nobody Does…
If Hawaii is to answer the major questions confronting the state – How do we create a healthy economy while preserving what makes Hawaii special? How do we improve our public schools? How do we sustain effective government? – we…
The Inouye Legacy
What he’s doing now to ensure Hawaii’s future Sen. Daniel Ken Inouye has long been Hawaii’s most powerful and influential individual, a man who has brought billions of dollars into his home state and forged or supported industries in astronomy,…
Paving Hawaii Green
Where we see black asphalt streets, Elisabeth “Betsy” Wilson envisions green roads. As president of family-owned Alakona Asphalt Paving Specialists, Wilson hopes the state and counties will share her vision of increasing the amount of recycled asphalt in our roads…
