Back to the Hill
Hawaii companies will return to Washington in June to show that the Aloha State's economy is more than just tourism and the military If you want to make a splash, sometimes you have to cross the ocean. The challenges faced…
Government & Civics
Hawaii Business Environmental Report: Fuel Leaks
Two years ago, 27,000 gallons of jet fuel leaked from the military’s giant Red Hill underground storage tanks. The Navy more fully explains what went wrong then and answers the question: Will further or bigger leaks happen and contaminate a…
One Size Does Not Fit All
It doesn’t look like a homeless shelter – and that’s the point. Cheery paint and graphic shapes tie together the 22 bed areas, creating a hip, treehouse feel. Bathrooms are private and gender neutral, a recognition of the fact that 40…
Yes, We Can Solve Hawaii's Housing Crisis
To solve homelessness, we need to build lots more affordable housing, but Hawaii has failed to do that for decades. Three men with very different visions are trying to fix that. It’s an improbable place to build affordable housing:…
What's Astronomy's Future in Hawaii
For weeks, the astronomers, technicians and support staff working on Mauna Kea watched the protesters. Native Hawaiians and others opposed to the massive Thirty Meter Telescope gathered near the 9,000-foot mark, their encampment near Hale Pohaku, the small campus where…
Workers: Know Your Rights
There are many myths and misunderstandings about employment rules and regulations. Here’s our guide to workers’ rights and employers’ obligations, but please take note: We are not lawyers and this guide is no substitute for legal counsel. In many ways,…
Privatizing Building Permits
It’s no secret that Hawaii is a bit, shall we say, constipated when it comes to building permits. Permits can take six months or more. A 2013 study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders found the median time…
Lodgers and Tax Dodgers
It was dark and raining when my plane touched down in Honolulu for my mini-vacation, so I used my GPS to guide me to where I would spend the next two nights. But, instead of taking me to Waikiki’s well-lit,…
Are You Licensed to Do That Work?
The state’s Professional & Vocational Licensing Division is one of those government agencies that operates quietly, without much public notice – until people need its help. In 2012, a hailstorm damaged hundreds of roofs in Kailua, which meant hundreds of…
Preparing For When This is Not a Drill
"Are you breathing?" Emergency-room doctor David Williams leans over a “patient” covered in realistic-looking ash and blood. Surrounding him in the pop-up hospital tent lie a dozen more volunteer victims, ready for triage after a plane has crashed at Kahului Airport.…
Follow the Money
Dozens of local charities work with homeless people. All have boards of directors and staff. Most have an office and equipment, like a bus or kitchen, to maintain. And almost all face the same need to raise funds and provide…
Did You Know?: Shearwater Protection Extends Out to Sea
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT Newell’s shearwaters, the birds native to Hawaii that are also known as Hawaiian shearwaters, are a protected species. But did you know their protection extends beyond the shore, including enforcement on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of…
Attention Passengers: This Form Is Really Important to Hawaii
YOU ARE ENGROSSED IN the latest action movie, noise-canceling headphones in place, halfway through your book chapter or, worst, sleeping. The flight attendant comes down the aisle, interrupting everyone’s mid-flight routine, and says, “Please fill this out.” You get the…
Broken: Stuck in Permit Purgatory
George Atta, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting and a former principal at the architectural firm Group 70 international, knows just how swamped Honolulu's permitting system is. Hideo Simon can barely contain his frustration. “It took me six…
Talk Story: Amy Kunz, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Superintendent, State Department of Education
Kunz oversees a budget of $1.9 billion that pays for a staff of 25,000 and 289 public schools, including charter schools. Q: Energy costs for the schools are one of the largest parts of the annual budget. How are you tackling…
Talk Story: Randy Iwase, Public Utility Commission Chair
G ov. David Ige surprised many when he appointed Iwase to replace Hermina Morita at the PUC. Clearly, the former city councilman, state senator, deputy attorney general and chair of the state Tax Revenue Commission has administrative and political chops,…
Did You Know: Size Matters
The Hawaii Community Development Authority, the agency that oversees development in Kakaako and a few other places on Oahu, runs its shop with a mountain of rules and regulations, as you might expect. Whether you agree with HCDA’s rules or…
How Much Will it Cost Us in the End?
"For one thing,” he says, “we’re not over budget at all, at this point. We’re estimating that, because construction costs are escalating so quickly in the current year, that next year, when we’re signing the remaining construction contracts, we’re going…
Something Old, New, Borrowed & Green
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE ELEMENTS OF THE 19TH, 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES? Start with the U.S. government’s oldest scientific agency, with roots stretching back to the early 1800s; add historic Ford Island aircraft hangars that survived the…
Talk Story with David Ige
David Ige surprised political observers last year by upsetting incumbent Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary, then beating Duke Aiona and Mufi Hannemann in the general election to become governor. Senior writer Dennis Hollier asked Ige about successes and controversies…
Meaning Built Into the State Capitol
Some say symbols are all around us if we know how to look and that’s certainly true at the state Capitol, which is imbued with representations of Hawaii’s culture, history and aina. One major theme of the design is the…
How Does Hawaii’s 529 Plan Rate?
HI529, Hawaii’s College Savings Program, now boasts assets of $67 million and some 4,260 participants – an average of about $16,000 per investor set aside for a keiki’s education. National analysts give Hawaii’s program good marks on the investment returns…
State Website Turns Heads
It’s three years into the state’s Business and Information Technology Transformation 12-year plan and some improvements are becoming noticeable. This year, the newly redesigned hawaii.gov website won seven awards, including the Center for Digital Government’s top award for 2014, best…
Yes, you can become an Affordable Housing Developer
Some people think that a partial solution to Hawaii’s critical shortage of affordable housing is right in our own homes. These advocates want to boost the supply of affordable rentals by relaxing restrictions on ohana units – known officially as…