It’s time for a reality check on affordable housing in Hawaii. We are fooling ourselves if we think that current policies and incentives will eventually create enough homes for the tens of thousands of working families who want places of…
When kamaaina think back to the old plantation days, many don’t immediately recall the poor living conditions and backbreaking work. Instead, they reminisce about a tight-knit community of people from all backgrounds pitching in and pooling resources to get things…
“Building affordable housing is complicated,” says Makani Maeva. She should know. As Hawaii director for the VitusGroup, an affordable-housing developer, she recently completed the Lokahi Apartments, 307 rentals in Kona. Between January 2007, when another developer laid the project in…
Participants in this discussion: Kirk Belsby, VP of the endowment for Kamehameha Schools Kyle Chock, executive director of Pacific Resource Partnership Keiki-Pua Dancil, president and CEO of the Hawaii Science and Technology Council State Sen. Carol Fukunaga, Democrat, representing McCully to…
People love to blame politicians for the problems our country faces. “They’re all crooks” and “Throw them out” are the most common solutions in casual political conversations between friends and neighbors. The problem is that, Republican or Democrat, all of…
Ask Ernest Nishizaki what the single most important thing is that Hawaii could do to revitalize its visitor industry and economy, and he does not hesitate with his answer: Fix Honolulu International Airport and fast. “We’re talking about the first…
Except for college and graduate school, Jodee Crane has spent her whole life on Kauai and she can’t remember when the job situation has been so bleak. She says there’s desperation in their words as unemployed workers wonder what will…
The tab has finally come due. For decades, Hawaii neglected its critical public infrastructure. Inadequate roads and highways have left us with mind-numbing traffic jams, not just in Honolulu, but in Kona, Kihei and Lihue. Our harbors – the entry…
Waikiki and other resorts statewide are more crowded these days. Visitor arrivals are up while beaches, stores and restaurants are filling again with tanned people spending their money. But there is a cloud on the horizon: Union contracts covering most…
A vast, illegal economy operates just beneath Hawaii’s legitimate society, and many people who earn their money in the legal economy spend part of it in the black one. The narcotics trade serves both street-corner junkies strung out on crystal…
One billion dollars a year. That’s the estimated taxes in Hawaii that don’t get paid by contractors and waiters, accountants and attorneys, hairdressers and everyone else who hides all or part of their cash income. Just about everyone contributes knowingly…
When Mitch D’Olier left Honolulu’s Victoria Ward Co. to lead Kaneohe Ranch, the largest landowner in Kailua, on Windward Oahu, he thought he would see few tourists on the job. “When I was at Victoria Ward, about 30 percent of…
What a difference a billion dollars makes. Until recently, the state treasury – officially, the Treasury Management Branch of the Financial Administration Division of the Department of Budget and Finance – has operated in relative obscurity. With its staff of…
8:00 A.M., Monday Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Waikiki >> Lou Ellen Kaneshiro, director of housekeeping at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and her assistant, Si Jung Wong, hold a pre-shift meeting with her staff. The iconic pink hotel has 495 rooms and…
Land-use planning, more than any other public policy, shapes the way you live. It’s responsible for your 60-to-90-minute commute from Kapolei or Hawaii Kai. It’s why you live in a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car garage. It’s what influences…
Hawaii Business invited six influential business people and political leaders to talk about development and preservation. The moderator was Jerry Burris, editor-at-large of Hawaii Business. The panelists were: D.G. “Andy” Anderson, developer, former state senator W. Allen Doane, former chairman…
6 leaders discuss power & how to fix Hawaii Who & why Hawaii Business invited six influential people in Hawaii to talk about power in the Islands and how to create positive change. The moderator was Jerry Burris, editor-at-large of…