Pandemic fuels spike in childhood obesity in Hawaiʻi
Nearly one in six children between the ages of 10 and 17 are obese in Hawaiʻi, marking a significant increase from four years ago and fueling concerns about the impact that COVID-19 restrictions and school closures have had on the health of the state’s youth.
Amid inflation fears, Hawaiʻi business owners and consumers brace for rising prices
Consumer prices nationwide reached their highest levels in a decade last month, potentially impacting local businesses and consumers.
Why are more people than ever receiving food stamps in Hawaiʻi?
A historically high enrollment in the food stamp program is part of a broader increase in the need for public services during the pandemic.
Rental assistance fell victim to politics, bureaucracy
Nationwide, state leaders set aside $2.6 billion to prop up struggling renters, but a year later more than 16 percent hasn’t made it to tenants or landlords.
Hawaiʻi seeks to be seen as a remote workplace with a view
But advocates say housing is a real concern in a state where there’s an affordable housing crisis.
Let’s not roll back on Hawaiʻi schools’ healthy lunch strides
We need to stand up to the Trump Administration’s misguided attempts to weaken nutrition standards.
Name in the news: Daniela Spoto, Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s anti-hunger director
In a just-released report, the nonprofit’s assessment of the problem is illustrated with three pillars: access to resources, health and nutrition, and community resilience.
Hawaiʻi’s economy will benefit from a higher minimum wage
Opponents can only make disingenuous arguments that rely on irrelevant information.
Minimum wage increase could help over 200,000 workers, report says
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice analyzed the demographics of workers who could be impacted by an increase.
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.
Raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour
In a state that has one of the highest costs of living and lowest unemployment rates, it’s time for lawmakers to put things back in balance for workers.
How to encourage healthy diets and support local agriculture
Nutrition incentive programs like SNAP help stretch budgets and put good food on tables.
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.
It takes everyone to bring fresh local food to keiki
Under the ʻĀina Pono initiative, schools are serving nutritious meals using locally sourced ingredients.
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.
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.
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.