High Home Values Prompt Calls for Relief. The host for this show is Keli’i Akina. The guest is Natalie Iwasa. Driven by rising land and home values, Hawaii’s property taxes are soaring. Each county has reaped significant revenues from property taxes in the past several years. But with inflation and a housing crisis, is it […]
The Burden of Occupational Licensing (Hawaii Together)
Reform Could Boost Freedom, Create Jobs. The host for this show is Joe Kent. The guest is Jessica Poitras. What do barbers, plumbers and athletic trainers all have in common? In Hawaii, they all need an occupational license to practice their trade. Unfortunately, these mandatory licenses often do far more harm than good. Jessica Poitas, […]
Why Hawaii Should Abolish Zoning (Hawaii Together)
New Book Addresses Important Questions. The host for this show is Joe Kent. The guest is Nolan Gray. Why do cities use zoning? Is it to protect people from noisy neighbors or maintain community character? Does zoning have any downsides? Nolan Gray, a former city planner and currently research director for California YIMBY answers these […]
How Sandboxes Could Help Hawaii Prosper (Hawaii Together)
Could Regulatory Sandboxes Help. The host for this show is Jonathan Helton. The guest is Rees Empey. Hawaii is one of the most difficult states in which to start a business, according to a recent survey by CNBC. But Rees Empey, director of state government affairs at the Utah-based Libertas Institute, says one way Hawaii […]
Easing Housing Barriers on the Big Island (Hawaii Together)
Cut Red Tape for Permitting and Zoning. The host for this show is Joe Kent. The guest is Zendo Kern. Hawaii County has the most housing regulations of any county in the nation, and a frustratingly huge backlog of building permits to prove it. Host Keli‘i Akina talks with Zendo Kern, the county’s planning director, […]
Maui’s New Water Bureaucracy (Hawaii Together)
New Regulations May Slow Homebuilding. The host for this show is Ted Kefalas. The guest is Eva Blumenstein. The Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management recently designated West Maui as a ‘Surface Water and Ground Water Management Area,’ which could delay finding new sources of water and make it harder to build more homes, according […]
Clearing Roadblocks to Housing on Maui (Hawaii Together)
Why Maui Needs to Relax Housing Barriers. The host for this show is Ted Kefalas. The guest is Todd Apo. Todd Apo, vice president of community partnerships and public affairs of the Hawaii Community Foundation, will discuss the foundation’s ‘House Maui’ initiative, which aims to clear away roadblocks to more housing on Maui. Host Joe […]
Hawaii’s Big Government Bureaucracy (Hawaii Together)
How Red Tape Threatens the Individual. The host for this show is Keli’i Akina. The guest is Jensen Ahokovi. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s newest research associate, Jensen Ahokovi, quoted founder Dick Rowland’s quip, “The bigger government gets, the smaller you get,” in a recent commentary in Honolulu Civil Beat. Ahokovi wrote about Hawaii’s stunningly […]
The Maui Chamber on Vaccine Mandates (Hawaii Together)
How COVID Rules Affect Maui Businesses. The host for this show is Keli’i Akina. The guest is Pamela Tumpap. Pamela Tumpap, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, talks with host Keli‘i Akina, president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, about Mayor Mike Victorino’s executive orders mandating customers of restaurants and other establishments […]
First Responders Oppose Vaccine Mandate (Hawaii Together)
Governor’s Vaccine Mandate Challenged. A class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court on Friday for City and County workers who believe they are being forced to take the COVID- 19 vaccine or face termination. Attorneys Shawn A. Luiz and Kristin Cocarro say “Honolulu County workers want reasonable testing mandates, not vaccine mandates. […]