Addicted to Airbnb: Hawaiʻi’s tourism economy depends on illegal vacation rentals
While calls for a crackdown on short-term rentals grow louder, their rapid expansion accounts for a big chunk of the recent growth in the state’s largest industry.
Is housing sacrificed to attract more tourists?
One gets little sense that there is a plan behind Hawaiʻi’s tourism growth beyond sustaining it.
It takes everyone to bring fresh local food to keiki
Under the ʻĀina Pono initiative, schools are serving nutritious meals using locally sourced ingredients.
Hawaiʻi Interagency Council on Homelessness legislative priorities: $218M
The coalition of state, county, faith-based and social services organizations is setting its priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
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.
Council must be forceful to reduce illegal short-term rentals
The Honolulu City Council must push forward for the sake of establishing a balance between collecting taxes owed and deterring further illegal vacation rentals.
Policing Hawaiʻi’s illegal vacation rentals
Honolulu’s weak law makes it hard to crack down on illegal vacation rentals, but a new law is in the works.
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.