Why understanding Hawaiʻi’s budget is an important civic duty
An engaged and informed public is the most powerful tool for change we have.
Honolulu’s early eviction mediation and rental assistance program’s success
The next step is for more opportunities to uplift the statewide efforts advancing housing stability through early intervention and cross-sector collaboration.
Legislature mulls jaywalking measure
Jaywalking enforcement leads to hostility toward pedestrians, over-policing of black and brown communities and loss of state revenue from the low collection of assessed fees versus the cost of public resources expended to make citations.
Bill to allow jaywalking in Hawaiʻi makes progress in the House
State legislators are moving along a measure to ban police from enforcing current jaywalking laws.
Hawaiʻi taxpayers are paying a high cost for evictions
Every year there are about 2,500 evictions in the islands. And many fear more people will be out on the streets because of the high cost of housing.
Report: State law successfully limited evictions during COVID-19 pandemic
A state-mandated free mediation program was a resounding success in preventing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report.
Planning averts spike in COVID-era homelessness in Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi Appleseed last week released the results of a study showing “a pre-litigation mediation program” known as Act 57 helped renters and landlords and reduced both court costs and a strain on the Judicial system.
Deal will keep rent affordable at Front Street Apartments
Residents celebrate as legal battle to keep rent from rising comes to an end.
Hawaiʻi prisons are finally moving forward with an ID program for inmates
A law passed in 2017 required the state to provide convicts with identification upon release to help them manage on the outside.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers mull mediation to prevent mass evictions after moratorium lifted
A bill would require landlords to enter mediation upon a tenant’s request, but some advocates say the measure doesn’t do enough to protect renters at risk of eviction.
Tenants at Lahaina Front Street Apartments celebrate federal court win to keep rent affordable until 2051
Tenants of the Lahaina Front Street Apartments low-income housing project welcomed a federal court decision this week that ensures that the project will stay affordable until 2051.
No one is speaking up for Hawaiʻi’s renters
There is no organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of tenants, and a new study finds they lose nearly every eviction case.
How house leaders scuttled better pay for foster parents
House Speaker Scott Saiki said attorney fees were too high in a multi-million-dollar settlement of a lawsuit challenging foster care payment rates.