“Beyond the Ticket” report imagines traffic enforcement reforms to reduce harm
Hawaiʻi comes down hard on minor traffic violations that pose little to no threat to the public; this punitive approach does little to advance public safety, harming struggling communities instead.
Community forum will bolster political will behind Universal Free School Meals
Free School Meals 4 All: A Community Forum will take place Sat., March 15 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at McKinley High School auditorium.
Recent state tax cuts leave many struggling families behind, in need of more help
Tax credits can help round out relief efforts at low cost to the state by targeting assistance only to the families that need additional support.
Hawaiʻi poised to offer nutrition support services to Medicaid patients
With approval of Hawaiʻi’s Section 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver, community-based food and nutrition organizations can soon begin to offer healthy food as medicine.
New policy report calls for major shift in Hawai‘i’s transportation spending to address unmet mobility needs, traffic congestion and emissions
Over the last 5 years, 66.3 percent of the state’s transportation budget has gone toward projects that increase vehicle capacity, while only 1.5 percent has gone to reducing vehicle travel.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed releases 2024 report exploring an Empty Homes Tax to address Honolulu’s housing crisis
Honolulu's severe housing crisis is being exacerbated by a growing trend of vacant homes purchased as investments by non-residents. To reverse this trend, Hawaiʻi Appleseed recommends a flat tax of 3–5 percent on empty homes.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed launches 20 year anniversary giving campaign
The nonprofit hopes to raise $100,000 from individual and corporate donors by December 31.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed releases 2024 edition of its Budget Primer product
The biennial budget analysis product is a core service provided by Appleseed researchers.
Estate tax giveaway HB2653 would further concentrate wealth, drive inequality
New data-driven policy brief from Hawaiʻi Appleseed aims to educate lawmakers on the true nature of the policy proposal contained in this 2024 bill.
Freedom to Walk: the high cost of jaywalking enforcement in Hawaiʻi
Enforcement of jaywalking laws is costing taxpayers money while doing nothing to prevent pedestrian traffic deaths; we need a paradigm shift in our thinking about who streets are for.
Hawaiʻi’s conveyance tax can be an effective tool to address our housing crisis
Hawaiʻi lawmakers have an opportunity to tailor the sales tax on real property so that it reinvests nonresident wealth into our island communities through affordable housing development.
New report calls upon the state to join a growing national movement and provide free meals to all Hawaiʻi public school students
Extending free meals to all public school students would cost about $25 million per year—about 1 percent of the DOE’s operating budget.
Hawaiʻi’s tax system makes inequality worse, national study finds
Hawaiʻi lawmakers can improve the economic health of our communities by re-balancing the state’s upside-down tax code.
Hawaiʻi’s low wages relative to its cost of living put a serious strain on society, local economy
In a new report, Hawaiʻi Appleseed researchers demonstrate how chronically low wages have prevented Hawaiʻi’s working families from thriving, and outline the significant cost that poverty exacts from these families, from future generations, and from all of us.
$8 million in additional federal funds now flowing to Hawaiʻi to feed keiki
Hawaiʻi sees first school meal reimbursement rate increase in 40 years.
Hawaiʻi households to suffer deep cuts to SNAP benefits; anti-hunger advocates urge lawmakers to address hunger cliff
The cliff is a result of Congress’ decision to end the federal emergency allotments that were implemented to reduce food insecurity and stimulate the economy for the duration of the pandemic.
After more than 40 years, USDA increases Hawaiʻi’s school meal reimbursement rates
These increased rates are projected to bring an additional $8 million a year to Hawaiʻi to support healthy meals for children.
Hawaiʻi's tenant-landlord mediation program kept hundreds housed amid pandemic fallout
Study aims to ascertain whether or not there are ways to increase housing stability by examining the temporary measures Hawaiʻi put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four local nonprofits team up to curb hunger with new national funding
Four Hawaiʻi nonprofits are jointly launching a new effort to end hunger in the state, thanks to new funding from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a leading national anti-hunger organization.
Report: Hawaiʻi is short tens of millions in annual federal funds to support feeding children
The “Feed our Keiki” report finds that the USDA is providing far less funding to Hawaiʻi than it should, resulting in a financial crisis for Hawaiʻi’s child nutrition programs.