The Conversation: Increased enrollment in summer school lunch programs
It is an undeniable fact of being human: hunger never takes a holiday. For kids in summer school, being hungry doesn’t take a vacation either.
Number of Hawaiʻi students eating free summer meals increases
More students in Hawaiʻi took advantage of free summer meals last year, according to a national report released this week.
Women majority of elders in poverty, UH finds
Women being less financially secure in old age stems from lifelong pay and opportunity inequalities between the genders.
Hawaiʻi’s child well-being 17th in latest national rankings
High housing costs remain a significant challenge in our state. When families spend so much of their income on housing, they have fewer resources to meet other basic needs.
Hundreds of low-income Maui residents may face eviction
Their taxpayer-subsidized apartment building was supposed to be affordable for 50 years. But a loophole could end that arrangement far sooner.
Mayor unveiling affordable-housing strategy overhaul
After more than two years of analysis, number-crunching and talks with developers and housing advocates, the details of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s affordable-housing strategy package is expected to go public today.
Kudos to schools for more free meals
While there’s a lot more work to be done, congratulations should be offered when deserved. This is one of those moments.
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.
Opposition to foreign condo sales raises legal questions
Did a City Council member create legal risks by suggesting the council might deny a development permit if the condos were sold to Chinese buyers?
City searches for a way to encourage affordable housing near rail stops
The council considers a bill Wednesday to give developers a break on zoning laws if they sell almost a third of their units as affordable housing.
Lawyering for Social Justice
Grassroots Institute’s Keliʻi Akina interviews Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s Gavin Thornton on the work Appleseed does to help low-income families find the legal resources needed to navigate the inequities and power imbalances of our current socioeconomic system.
Give low-income workers tax break
After years of putting it off, the legislature finally approved an important measure to help Hawaiʻi’s working poor—a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), based on the federal credit.
Affordable-housing rules are tightened
Affordable-housing advocates maintain that a city proposal for interim housing requirements for projects with zoning exemptions in transit-oriented development areas does not go far enough to meet Oʻahu’s housing shortage.
Hawaiʻi's $28B budget a mixed bag on homelessness, housing
While lawmakers committed more money this year to homelessness services and enforcing rules prohibiting living on sidewalks than they did last year, housing advocates say the money set aside for affordable housing development won't go far enough to allay Hawaiʻi's housing and homelessness crisis.
Advocates fear Hawaiʻi’s sick leave bill abandons workers in need
But industry groups say bills that mandate paid sick leave for workers and expand the state’s current family leave law will push prices higher.
Affordable-housing stakeholders argue city’s plan
Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s affordable housing proposal has generated mixed reviews from the development community and housing advocates.
Town Square: temporary vacation rental regulation
Two bills currently at the legislature allow transient accommodations brokers to register as tax collection agents and have explicit requirements regarding the general excise and the transient accommodations taxes. Today on Town Square we’ll consider the bills in detail.
Model home offers closer look at ADUs
It’s estimated that 120,000 lots on Oʻahu could accommodate a 400- to 800-square-foot ADU, which is supposed to be used as a long-term rental unit and not for vacation rentals.
Housing advocates build small home on Hawaiʻi capitol lawn
The 400-square-foot studio was built there to showcase the growing interest in units that can be built alongside existing homes.
Tiny homes highlight one solution to Hawaiʻi's housing shortage
Habitat for Humanity teamed up with the Hawaiʻi Appleseed to build the accessory dwelling unit to help raise awareness about ways to help ease the state's affordable housing shortage.