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Why is Hawaii so expensive?

Hawaii residents enjoy one of the most beautiful places on earth to live, but they pay a high price to do so. How high is the “price of paradise”? Hawaii’s cost of living is the highest in the nation. The national Tax Foundation found that the real value of $100

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What is the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

If a cruise ship built outside the U.S. is traveling from California to Alaska, it may not drop off its passengers in Alaska unless it stops in another country as part of its itinerary, which in this case would be Canada. That’s because of a little known federal maritime law

Read More →

How to make sure you receive our emails

Sometimes our readers reach out to us to ask why they aren’t seeing any of our new emails. Occasionally they find them in their spam folders, and other times our emails have been delivered to different folders than their main inbox. The best way to make sure you always get

Read More →

Survey shows that Honolulu residents are in a negative mood

This commentary was originally published in Honolulu Civil Beat on April 9, 2021. ___________ But that could change if the government changed. If the government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, it’s doing a pretty terrible job. That’s one conclusion to draw from the 2020 National Community

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Is Bitcoin legal in Hawaii

Is Bitcoin illegal in Hawaii?

Bitcoin has been surging in value ever since it was introduced more than a decade ago; its price has tripled in the past three months alone.  The digital currency is hovering just under $58,000 per coin as of March 29, 2021, up approximately 64,444,444% from its price of 9 cents

Read More →

Why doesn’t Hawaii privatize more public services?

Hawaii’s state and county governments aren’t known for delivering high-quality public services in a cost-efficient manner. Nationwide, Hawaii has the second highest per capita tax burden, yet its taxpayers have the worst “return on investment” in terms of how well their public services are delivered. But what if, in order

Read More →

Self-driving cars another nail in rail’s coffin

Self-driving cars are just around the corner for America, but as we begin to embrace the future, Honolulu’s over-budget and behind-schedule rail project is firmly stuck in the past. Automated vehicles are expected to become the norm in the United States within the next decade. The market research firm RethinX estimates that

Read More →

Unshackle Maui taxis to help them compete

In the wake of the state announcing that ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft can now pick up customers at Kahului and Kapalua airports, Maui airport taxi drivers are expressing frustration that such companies will essentially be operating as taxis while not having to meet the same legal constraints. The frustration

Read More →

The problem with rail isn’t PR

This is a letter to the editor that was published Thursday, Dec. 20, in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. We commend the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for putting the spotlight on the failed public relations efforts of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (“Loss on a rail charter question prompts concerns about community outreach,” Star- Advertiser,

Read More →

Why is Hawaii so expensive?

Hawaii residents enjoy one of the most beautiful places on earth to live, but they pay a high price to do so. How high is the “price of paradise”? Hawaii’s cost of living is the highest in the nation. The national Tax Foundation found that the real value of $100

Read More →

What is the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

If a cruise ship built outside the U.S. is traveling from California to Alaska, it may not drop off its passengers in Alaska unless it stops in another country as part of its itinerary, which in this case would be Canada. That’s because of a little known federal maritime law

Read More →

How to make sure you receive our emails

Sometimes our readers reach out to us to ask why they aren’t seeing any of our new emails. Occasionally they find them in their spam folders, and other times our emails have been delivered to different folders than their main inbox. The best way to make sure you always get

Read More →

Survey shows that Honolulu residents are in a negative mood

This commentary was originally published in Honolulu Civil Beat on April 9, 2021. ___________ But that could change if the government changed. If the government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, it’s doing a pretty terrible job. That’s one conclusion to draw from the 2020 National Community

Read More →
Is Bitcoin legal in Hawaii

Is Bitcoin illegal in Hawaii?

Bitcoin has been surging in value ever since it was introduced more than a decade ago; its price has tripled in the past three months alone.  The digital currency is hovering just under $58,000 per coin as of March 29, 2021, up approximately 64,444,444% from its price of 9 cents

Read More →

Why doesn’t Hawaii privatize more public services?

Hawaii’s state and county governments aren’t known for delivering high-quality public services in a cost-efficient manner. Nationwide, Hawaii has the second highest per capita tax burden, yet its taxpayers have the worst “return on investment” in terms of how well their public services are delivered. But what if, in order

Read More →

Self-driving cars another nail in rail’s coffin

Self-driving cars are just around the corner for America, but as we begin to embrace the future, Honolulu’s over-budget and behind-schedule rail project is firmly stuck in the past. Automated vehicles are expected to become the norm in the United States within the next decade. The market research firm RethinX estimates that

Read More →

Unshackle Maui taxis to help them compete

In the wake of the state announcing that ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft can now pick up customers at Kahului and Kapalua airports, Maui airport taxi drivers are expressing frustration that such companies will essentially be operating as taxis while not having to meet the same legal constraints. The frustration

Read More →

The problem with rail isn’t PR

This is a letter to the editor that was published Thursday, Dec. 20, in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. We commend the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for putting the spotlight on the failed public relations efforts of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (“Loss on a rail charter question prompts concerns about community outreach,” Star- Advertiser,

Read More →