Push to feed Hawaiʻi kids more local food is ‘structural disaster’
The DOE has not taken the effort seriously and has no real plan for how to meet a legislative mandate to spend 30 percent of its food budget locally by 2030, according to a state audit.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers debate scaling back promised tax cuts
In 2024, lawmakers passed sweeping tax relief under Act 46, promising phased income tax reductions for Hawaiʻi residents over several years. But the state’s financial outlook has changed.
Balancing the state budget could require pauses to income tax cut plan
With federal funding cuts on the horizon, state lawmakers are advancing measures proposed by Gov. Josh Green that would pause some of the “historic” state tax cuts passed in 2024.
5 Questions: Will White, Appleseed Hawaiʻi executive director
This year marks an inflection point for Hawaiʻi. We can either accept the federal government’s retreat from our public benefits system, or reinvent and reinvest in new systems that work to support Hawaiʻi’s most vulnerable families.
Green suggests Hawaiʻi might scale back on income tax cuts
The governor also says he will likely tap into the state’s “rainy day” reserve to draw down hundreds of millions of dollars to balance the state budget.
More Hawaiʻi residents are going hungry, new statewide report shows
The report was produced at a time when food security was bad in Hawaiʻi. But now, advocates say, it’s even worse.
No one will say why school lunch costs Hawaiʻi DOE $9 a plate
Lawmakers have pushed the education department for more details on the costs of running its school meal program.
Housing: Lawmakers fund more housing, not special treatment for locals
Housing advocates unsuccessfully pushed for bills that would have given cash incentives for deed restrictions that require a property owner to be a resident working in the state.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers plan special sessions to address federal funding cuts
State lawmakers are blocking off three dates in the coming months for a special legislative session to address federal funding cuts.
Hawaiʻi wants to purchase voluntary deed restrictions to preserve more homes for locals
This new approach would help buffer Hawaiʻi homes from speculation and encourage more locals to actively contribute to addressing the Islands’ housing challenges.
The gap between median home prices and household income in Hawaiʻi? It’s ‘scary’
Based on Honolulu’s median home price of $1,085,800 and median family income of $120,100, the index said a mortgage requires 73 percent of the median paycheck.
Tenants facing eviction hope state will convert Kauaʻi’s Waipouli apartments to affordable housing
Affordable housing advocates are pressuring the State of Hawai‘i to purchase the apartment building and transform all 82 units into affordable housing.
Finland delegation brings new homeless housing ideas to Hawaiʻi
Nonprofits who have come to the conference say they've learned a lot. It's public funding that pays for housing the homeless in Finland. Housing is considered a fundamental right there.
‘People are really struggling:’ Hawaiʻi food banks scramble to meet increased demand
Rising food costs and the end of pandemic-era assistance programs are driving a spike in demand for food assistance.
Blueprint for Hawaiʻi housing? UH project for students and faculty is going up at relatively little cost
A Hawaiʻi lawmaker says the public private housing partnership could be a model for state-owned affordable rentals.
Tap more child nutrition, school-lunch subsidies for isle keiki
The “Feed Our Keiki” report finds that the federal school meal reimbursement rates for Hawaiʻi currently should be 62% higher than other states, but it has been stuck at only 17% higher since 1979.
Why rent relief in Hawaiʻi became a national model
The government program helped over 13,000 households. One reason it succeeded may have been that people who had experienced housing instability had a seat at the decision-making table.
Hawaiʻi missed out on $200M in federal funding for school meal programs, report says
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed study found that federal programs meant to reimburse organizations that feed Hawaii’s children have not taken into account more than 40 years of increases in local food costs.
Hawaiʻi’s federal child nutrition funding is outdated and insufficient, report finds
Federal reimbursement rates for child nutrition programs in Hawaiʻi do not currently reflect the high cost of living, a new report found.
A pandemic program that fed schoolchildren last summer is now in jeopardy
The USDA is in the middle of examining its reimbursement rates for school meals in Hawaiʻi, but its findings aren’t expected to be released for a few more years.