SCR112: Nursing group should study joining licensure compact

The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Health and Homelessness on April 14, 2023. _____________ April 14, 2023 11:15 a.m. Conference Room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE To: House Committee on Health and Homelessness       Rep. Della Au Belatti, Chair       Rep. Jenna Takenouchi, Vice Chair […]

Rail debt gimmick comes back to bite Honolulu taxpayers

The following commentary was originally published in Honolulu Civil Beat on Friday, April 7, 2023. _____________ In 2012, Honolulu officials thought they could protect the county’s credit rating by not counting bond issues for the Honolulu rail in the county’s “debt affordability limit.” But they were wrong. In early February, Moody’s Investors Service lowered Honolulu […]

Kauai farmers and businesses need tax relief too

The following commentary was originally published in The Garden Island on Saturday, April 8, 2023. _____________ It’s budget season on the County of Kaua‘i, which means county lawmakers have been busy haggling over what to fund and what to cut in Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami’s proposed $402 million budget. The proposed budget contains provisions that […]

How Hawaii can improve its transportation systems

Baruch Feigenbaum pulled no punches on Tuesday when discussing reforms that might solve some of Hawaii’s transportation challenges. Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, told host Keli’i Akina on the latest “Hawaii Together” program on ThinkTech Hawaii that, “sadly, just about everyone in transportation is familiar with the light-rail line […]