Entries for 'Keli'i Akina PhD'

... Hawaii’s income tax rates are among the highest in the country, and its business climate is consistently ranked poorly. Meanwhile, residents continue to flee the state for less expensive mainland locales ....

... peoples’ homes and businesses are at stake, and their right to those properties must be defended ....

... we cannot afford to further burden our economy with our usual high-tax and high-spending habits ....

... “Nani ka noho mehameha ʻana o ke kūlanakauhale i piha i kanaka! Ua like hoʻi me ka wahine kāne make!” How lonely sits the city that was once full of people! (Lam. 1:1) ....

... a family of four earning Hawaii’s median income of $88,005 a year would have a state income tax bill of $5,086. At that income level, only Oregon families face a higher tax burden ....

... among the heartbreaking losses earlier this month in fire-ravaged Lahaina were three healthcare clinics that served approximately 30,000 patients ....

... most cities in the U.S. have required arbitrary amounts of parking to be built with every new building or new business ....

• waiving property taxes for the affected property owners
• clearing the way for out-of-state medical professionals to attend to the needs of those affected by the tragedy

... the outpouring of compassion that we are witnessing from the people of Hawai‘i is the silver lining through the dark cloud of despair ....

... how regulations and building codes have made constructing small apartment buildings more expensive and less efficient ....

... Imagine an island with no doctors permanently living there, where patients must travel by air to access specialized medical care ....

... How long should Oahu residents have to wait for a permit to repair or renovate their homes? A few days? Weeks? Months? ....

... especially the many “whereas” justifications for why the emergency order was issued — which states many of the points I’ve been making for years regarding the bad policy and inaction that have characterized Hawaii’s approach to homebuilding ....

... Multiple bills have already passed, and many council members have asked for more information about how to reform the property tax systems in their counties ....

... the final rail cost now is estimated at about $12.4 billion, making it the most expensive light rail project in the world ....

... the Declaration of Independence set our nation on its course to become the leading light for freedom throughout the world ....

... concerns raised by OHA’s administration in response to the directive to end telework ....

... physicians from around the country will enjoy an expedited path to licensure in our state ....

... Green plans to trim approximately $1 billion from the Legislature’s proposed biennial budget via 22 separate line item vetoes ....

... Legal reforms can go a long way. But when it comes to putting a stop to longstanding corruption in Hawaii, the biggest impact of all will ....

... the messaging OHA uses to promote this development project could be connected to our failure to rally support in the legislature ....

... increasing taxes on anyone can come with its own set of problems ....

... the “empty homes” theory is just another distraction from the real cause of Hawaii’s housing crisis, which is regulations that block homebuilding ....

... It’s a rare man who enters politics and leaves this world mourned as much by his political adversaries as his friends and allies ....

... use his line-item veto power to trim back this massive spending overreach, including the $200 million “slush fund” ...

... Since bad bills tend to outnumber good ones, that means we played a lot of defense ....

... higher property taxes could make homeownership unaffordable for some residents; landlords might have no choice but to increase what they charge their tenants; and businesses might have to raise prices ....

... On today’s episode of 'Hawaii Together,' host Keli'i Akina speaks with Mayer about the state of Hawaii’s meat industry ....

... the restriction was put in place before OHA chose to acquire the property ....

... On April 5, 2023, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court denied Hawaiʻi State Auditor Leslie Kondo full access to minutes of closed executive sessions of the OHA Board of Trustees ....

... it finally became clear which big-ticket items were going to make it to the governor’s desk for signing — or hit the cutting room floor ....

... If Hawaii’s politicians aren’t careful, they might kill the goose that lays the golden egg .... 

... SB1057 would hurt the people it is aiming to help by hamstringing those who are best able to help them — their potential employers ....

... how Hawai'i can reduce the costs and the improve service quality of its various mass transportation systems ....

... No one likes the idea of our county governments profiting from Hawaii’s high cost of living.  But that’s what is going to happen soon unless we engineer some property tax relief ....

... Audits can be a difficult pill to swallow ....

... adaptive reuse ....

... medical professionals have found Hawaii to be an increasingly uninviting place to practice ....

... SB1522 would replace the HTA with a new “Office of Destination Management.” ....

... Wednesday was Gov. Josh Green’s 100th day in office, and I think it’s safe to say his honeymoon period with voters and the Legislature has come to an end ....

... The state has used numerous strategies to achieve that goal, but with mixed success ....

... avoid becoming another boondoggle ....

... your cousins will have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to the family barbecue at Ala Moana Beach Park ....

... more Hawaiians are moving out of Hawaiʻi every year ....

... Housing expert says Hawaii fits pattern of areas losing residents ....

... Now living in Seattle, Tongi was asked by judge Lionel Richie, “Why on Earth would you leave Hawaii?” ....

... to combat government corruption, waste, mismanagement and inefficiency ....

... there are still tax hikes moving through the Legislature, threatening to further increase Hawaii’s already-astronomical cost of living ....

... On Oct. 19, 2022, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that it would host its first-ever consultation policy with the Native Hawaiian community. ...

... Some members of the Hawaii County Council are proposing tighter regulations on hosted short-term rentals ....