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“Hawaii Together”

There’s always room for more food — and more ‘food freedom’

There’s always room for more food, says Meagan Forbes, an attorney with the Institute for Justice. That means local restaurants, bakeries and other established commercial food outlets don’t have to see food made in home kitchens as a threat to their businesses.  Forbes said on this week’s episode of ThinkTech

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Housing expert says Hawaii fits pattern of areas losing residents

Honolulu fits the pattern of a handful of big cities on the mainland whose residents have been moving away due to lack of housing, according to nationally recognized housing expert Kevin Erdmann.  “If you just looked at the migration statistics,” he told host Keli‘i Akina on this week’s “Hawaii Together”

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Hosted STR owners question Hawaii isle regulatory offensive

Hawaii island landowner, coffee farmer and vacation rental host Joshua Montgomery has called on county officials to honor the first tenet of the Hippocratic Oath for doctors — first, do no harm — as they consider imposing additional regulations on short-term rentals that could negatively affect thousands of families. Hawaii

Read More →

GET exemption is ‘low-hanging fruit’ to help fix Hawaii doctor shortage

Hawaii lawmakers don’t have the luxury of waiting any longer to pass legislation aimed at easing the state’s worsening healthcare provider shortage, according to a longtime Hawaii island radiologist and active member of the Hawaii Provider Shortage Crisis Task Force. Dr. Scott Grosskreutz underscored this urgency, especially regarding neighbor island

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Iwasa urges major review of Honolulu property taxes

The City and County of Honolulu recently increased its valuations of most properties on Oahu, which most likely will result in higher property taxes. So now what?  Natalie Iwasa told Keliʻi Akina on the Jan. 3, 2023, episode of “Hawaii Together” that the City Council will set the rates in

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Institute for Justice urges Hawaii to remove laws holding back workers

Hawaii has the most burdensome occupational licensing laws in the country, according to a public interest law firm based in Arlington, Virginia. Jessica Poitras, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, explained on this week’s episode of “Hawaii Together” that not only does Hawaii license more jobs than most states,

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Why Hawaii zoning laws should be abolished

Hawaii’s zoning laws prevent growth, are socially divisive, contribute to Hawaii’s high home prices and ought to be abolished, according to Nolan Gray, a former city planner in New York and research director for an housing advocacy group called California YIMBY. Gray was the featured guest on the Nov. 22,

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How ‘sandboxes’ could help Hawaii prosper

Some say Hawaii needs more sandboxes — and not just the kind you played in as a kid.  Rees Empey, director of state government affairs at the Libertas Institute, based in Lehi, Utah, says just as childrens’ sandboxes foster imagination, so do “regulatory sandboxes” encourage innovation and job growth, by

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Short-term rental ban faces strong challenge based on property rights

Opponents of Honolulu’s newly enacted ban on short-term rentals of less than 90 days, except in resort areas, have won their first legal battle in defense of property rights. Attorney Gregory Kugle talked about his courtroom win on the Oct. 25, 2022, episode of ThinkTech Hawaii’s “Hawaii Together” program with

Read More →

There’s always room for more food — and more ‘food freedom’

There’s always room for more food, says Meagan Forbes, an attorney with the Institute for Justice. That means local restaurants, bakeries and other established commercial food outlets don’t have to see food made in home kitchens as a threat to their businesses.  Forbes said on this week’s episode of ThinkTech

Read More →

Housing expert says Hawaii fits pattern of areas losing residents

Honolulu fits the pattern of a handful of big cities on the mainland whose residents have been moving away due to lack of housing, according to nationally recognized housing expert Kevin Erdmann.  “If you just looked at the migration statistics,” he told host Keli‘i Akina on this week’s “Hawaii Together”

Read More →

Hosted STR owners question Hawaii isle regulatory offensive

Hawaii island landowner, coffee farmer and vacation rental host Joshua Montgomery has called on county officials to honor the first tenet of the Hippocratic Oath for doctors — first, do no harm — as they consider imposing additional regulations on short-term rentals that could negatively affect thousands of families. Hawaii

Read More →

GET exemption is ‘low-hanging fruit’ to help fix Hawaii doctor shortage

Hawaii lawmakers don’t have the luxury of waiting any longer to pass legislation aimed at easing the state’s worsening healthcare provider shortage, according to a longtime Hawaii island radiologist and active member of the Hawaii Provider Shortage Crisis Task Force. Dr. Scott Grosskreutz underscored this urgency, especially regarding neighbor island

Read More →

Iwasa urges major review of Honolulu property taxes

The City and County of Honolulu recently increased its valuations of most properties on Oahu, which most likely will result in higher property taxes. So now what?  Natalie Iwasa told Keliʻi Akina on the Jan. 3, 2023, episode of “Hawaii Together” that the City Council will set the rates in

Read More →

Institute for Justice urges Hawaii to remove laws holding back workers

Hawaii has the most burdensome occupational licensing laws in the country, according to a public interest law firm based in Arlington, Virginia. Jessica Poitras, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, explained on this week’s episode of “Hawaii Together” that not only does Hawaii license more jobs than most states,

Read More →

Why Hawaii zoning laws should be abolished

Hawaii’s zoning laws prevent growth, are socially divisive, contribute to Hawaii’s high home prices and ought to be abolished, according to Nolan Gray, a former city planner in New York and research director for an housing advocacy group called California YIMBY. Gray was the featured guest on the Nov. 22,

Read More →

How ‘sandboxes’ could help Hawaii prosper

Some say Hawaii needs more sandboxes — and not just the kind you played in as a kid.  Rees Empey, director of state government affairs at the Libertas Institute, based in Lehi, Utah, says just as childrens’ sandboxes foster imagination, so do “regulatory sandboxes” encourage innovation and job growth, by

Read More →

Short-term rental ban faces strong challenge based on property rights

Opponents of Honolulu’s newly enacted ban on short-term rentals of less than 90 days, except in resort areas, have won their first legal battle in defense of property rights. Attorney Gregory Kugle talked about his courtroom win on the Oct. 25, 2022, episode of ThinkTech Hawaii’s “Hawaii Together” program with

Read More →