A living wage will help keep families here
Hawaiʻi trails 11 other states where the minimum wage is higher than ours.
Top 10 cities where vacation rentals rake in the most cash
The short-term rental business has experienced 97% growth in America’s 100 largest cities over the past three years, totaling more than 360,000 active rentals.
Short-term rental regulation advances at Honolulu Hale
On Wednesday, the Honolulu City Council held a public hearing on the latest proposals to rein in Oʻahu’s vacation accommodations, like those rented on Airbnb.
State must lead on housing crisis
The failure to deal with the housing shortage in any meaningful way has led to Hawaiʻi’s highest per-capita homelessness rate in the nation.
The call for a living wage
Lawmakers are looking to raise the minimum wage to $12.50 in 2024 for those who get healthcare from their employers; an increase of about $0.50 an hour each year, and simply not enough.
Right moves on vacation rentals
It’s encouraging that the Honolulu City Council Planning Committee put forward a bill that aims to rein in the vacation rental industry’s presence here.
Short-term vacation rentals on Oʻahu could soon be regulated
A 2018 report from Hawaiʻi Appleseed stated more than 80 percent of short term vacation rentals in Hawaiʻi are not owner-occupied.
Advocates urge larger minimum wage hike
The Senate Committee on Labor will hold a public hearing today regarding a bill that would increase minimum wage rates throughout the state.
WAM sends minimum wage bill to Senate
The Senate’s Ways and Means committee passed Senate Bill 789 on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, setting it up for a final vote on the Senate floor.
Who really benefits from illegal vacation rentals?
Will we prioritize investors’ ability to wring profits out of their second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) homes, or will we preserve our neighborhoods for the benefit of those who actually live in them? The choice is ours.
More kids need school breakfast
Fewer than 4 in 10 low-income students who eat school lunch are also eating school breakfast in our state.
How to encourage healthy diets and support local agriculture
Nutrition incentive programs like SNAP help stretch budgets and put good food on tables.
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.
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.
Oʻahu residents are likely to see their rent go up
The increase is triggered by the U.S. Department of Housing, which raised the limits for affordable housing. It does mean more people will qualify for it. But it comes at a higher price.
Gradually raise minimum wage
The call for a minimum wage that keeps pace with cost-of-living price tags will never go away.
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.
Should we change the minimum wage to a living wage?
Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage workers are faced with an impossible challenge: dealing with the biggest gap nationally between a state’s minimum wage and the basic earnings required to meet the local cost of living.
Close gap between low wages, housing
Given that Hawaiʻi has the highest cost of living in the nation, in real terms we pay our workers the lowest wages compared to any other state.