Appleseed Center urges tough vacation rental rules
Hawaiʻi Appleseed released a report Monday as the city council prepares again to debate a bill addressing the issue after years of public frustration.
New Sky Ala Moana project moves ahead with affordable and market-priced units
Hawaiʻi needs 65,000 more units of housing by 2025 to meet demand, the bulk of which must be for households making $75,000 or less.
Gap keeps growing between rich, poor
The gap continues to widen between rich and poor. And there is no sign it will ever shrink.
Hawaiʻi tax system places larger burden on low income residents
The Hawaiʻi tax system is considered highly regressive, due to heavy reliance on the General Excise Tax. This is despite a progressive, graded state income tax and the lowest property taxes in the nation.
Kauaʻi residents receive enticing letters to list homes as short-term vacation rentals
Last week, residents from Waimea to Hanalei reported receiving form letters from VRBO, looking for homeowners who want to cash in by listing their properties as short-term vacation rentals.
State’s poor face nation’s second-largest tax burden
The least wealthy income earners in Hawaiʻi pay the second most in taxes of any state in the union, according to an analysis of tax systems across the country.
Affordable Hawaiʻi starts with housing
While the official poverty average from 2015–2017 makes Hawaiʻi look like an economic paradise, the supplemental measure puts Hawaiʻi at the 10th-highest rate.
Planning commission rejects short-term rental regulations
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice supports the effort to regulate short-term rentals, but opposes this measure.
Hawaiʻi income stats climb, but so does the cost of living
When taking into account the cost of living—especially housing costs—Hawaiʻi has the 10th highest poverty rate in the country.
Update on state's homelessness plans
A $766 million investment over a decade could house the 1,700 chronically homeless individuals across Hawaiʻi and save the state $2 billion in healthcare costs.
One in 10 county residents lives below poverty line
With supplemental data, Hawaiʻi falls to the 10th highest poverty rate in the nation at 15 percent, or 210,000 residents in poverty, according to Hawaiʻi Appleseed.
What new census data says—and doesn’t say—about Hawaiʻi
Incomes are slightly higher but housing costs are still among the worst in the nation.
Hawaiʻi sues for info on Airbnb owners who aren't paying taxes
The state is taking action to crack down on vacation rental owners who aren't paying taxes.
69 public schools offer free summer meals. But most kids don't claim them
Low participation in summer meal programs robs the state of more than a million dollars a month in federal reimbursements for the meals.
New Kakaʻako affordable housing rules set
The rules include a 10-year wait period for buyback, while affordable housing advocates had wanted at least 30 years.
Maui renters need to work 123 hours a week to afford 2-bedroom apartment
Hawaiʻi has the highest “housing wage” in the country, at $36.13 per hour, according to a new national report released today, or over $75,000 per year.
The crusade to keep Hawaiʻi kids fed this summer
While the Department of Education provides meals on summer school campuses, other efforts are afoot to deliver food to non-school venues.
Why are isle residents struggling, income-wise?
Numbers don’t lie, but they sometimes tell tall tales. And often, they leave a lot of people scratching their heads, wondering why the data don’t seem to reflect the same reality they see.
Here’s how much Hawaiʻi CEOs make compared to their employees
The gap between CEO pay and the median salaries of their employees for Hawaiʻi’s publicly-traded companies is narrower than nationwide.
National hotel group wants Hawaiʻi to tax, regulate short-term rental sites like hotels
No matter the outcome, this is a topic that affects thousands. The Hawaiʻi Appleseed report found that one out of every 24 housing units in the state is now a vacation rental.