Hawaii news

• Eligible Charges

  12-11-2025 10:23
  Our issue of the week has been brought to us by an alert reader. He noted that some health insurance programs don’t cover general excise tax that we in Hawaii impose on health care charges.  So, sometimes a patient gets a bill for the GET on a medical charge.  As one health insurer’s website states:  […]
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• New Incentives and Rules Prompt Homeowners to Upgrade Fire-Prone Homes

  07-01-2026 11:01 via nytimes.com
  Leaders use a mix of new rules, visual aids and incentives to convince residents to protect their homes — and entire neighborhoods — from wildfires.
  
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• Three things our state legislators could do to make 2026 a great year

  05-01-2026 22:24
  By Keli‘i Akina The first day of 2026 was two days ago, but it’s never too late to make resolutions about how we can improve ourselves. This applies as well to our state lawmakers, who will gather later this month for another legislative session that, for good or bad, will affect all of us who […]
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• Fierce Storm Expected to Wallop Hawaiian Islands

  05-01-2026 18:30 via nytimes.com
  Strong winds will make travel difficult on Monday, and forecasters warned of more than half a foot of snow on some mountains.
  
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• Charitable Giving This Year?

  03-01-2026 06:43
  I’m sometimes asked about what the tax laws are with regard to charitable deductions.  Do our governments allow a tax benefit for donations to charitable organizations such as the Tax Foundation of Hawaii (shameless plug there)? Well, they do, and then they don’t. This year, both the federal and state governments allow an itemized deduction […]
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• Ring in new year with ideas promoting freedom, opportunity, prosperity

  02-01-2026 22:08
  By Keli‘i Akina At the dawn of a new year, it’s always nice to take stock of where we have been and where we are going. It’s also a good time to identify harmful old ideas that have done nothing to help and should be sent to the scrapyard. One of those is that more […]
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• Post-Pandemic Pandemonium: The Reason for our Crazy Times

  31-12-2025 15:47
  For anyone who still looks at the news, the world seems on the brink. Many nations are experiencing internal conflict between increasingly alienated political parties, with free speech being limited and violence surging. Ethnic unrest is challenging the social fabric of many western societies, as nationalists clash with immigrants. At the same time, there is […]
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• Judge Blocks Conditions Imposed on States Seeking FEMA Grants

  24-12-2025 03:16 via nytimes.com
  The Trump administration had sought to require states to account for population losses tied to deportations in order to receive emergency preparedness grants.
  
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• Gaming This Year?

  23-12-2025 22:21
  The revenue news that has been put out recently has been less than encouraging.  Federal support is dropping.  Prices of things are rising.  Tourism numbers are getting softer. At recent events, our Governor said that he wanted to tap into the Rainy Day Fund to help balance the budget, and that the historic tax cuts […]
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• Reworked Christmas song highlights pitfalls of Hawaii’s medical ‘CON’ laws

  23-12-2025 00:24
  By Keli‘i Akina I’ve had a funny old Christmas song running through my head lately — “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. But I’ve changed the lyrics a bit after reading the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s newest white paper about how to improve healthcare in Hawaii by reforming the state’s rules concerning medical certificates of need. […]
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• Plastic Wrapped: The Hazards of Tight, Toxic Clothing

  17-12-2025 18:59
  Adam, of Adam and Eve fame, was probably the first fashion designer. Using fig leaves, he created a loin cloth to cover his nasty bits. Ever since then, people have been covering their entire bodies with clothing, and for all sorts of reasons, including modesty, protection, status display, or just to look cool.  The material […]
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• Exploring Hawaii’s Big Island on a Budget

  17-12-2025 11:00 via nytimes.com
  Rural stays booked on the Hipcamp platform allow budget visitors to save money while reveling in the outdoors.
  
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• More Grief Over SNAP

  15-12-2025 17:00
  We recently wrote about additional confusion surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP for short, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers with assistance from the States.  The program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, serves as a critical resource for low-income individuals and families by giving them monthly benefits to purchase food. What’s […]
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• Hilo fire recovery dependent on lifting burdensome regulations

  08-12-2025 22:13
  By Keli‘i Akina Last weekend, separate fires in Hilo claimed the lives of two people, displaced nearly three dozen other residents and razed at least five buildings. Even amid ongoing investigations and debris cleanup, Hawaiʻi County lawmakers should be taking steps to help business and property owners get back on their feet — and they […]
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• Making a Federal Case Out of the Green Fee

  08-12-2025 17:00
  From recent news, you have probably heard that the 2025 Legislature’s enactment of the “Green Fee” bill not only raised taxes on land-based transient accommodations but expanded the tax to sleeping quarters on cruise ships.  This, not surprisingly, did not go over well with the cruise ship industry.  Its trade group, the Cruise Line Industry […]
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• Grassroot Institute among finalists for Atlas Network’s Templeton Freedom Award

  03-12-2025 23:44
  By Keli‘i Akina This Thanksgiving, I thought a lot about the familiar phrase “Lucky we live Hawaii.” It’s not just a tourism gimmick. There is truth to be found in those words. I am lucky to be living life here. More than that, I’m thankful. Even though, as president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, […]
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• SNAP Confusion…On Us

  01-12-2025 17:00
  We wrote a few weeks ago about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.  In that article we mentioned that under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, States’ feet are going to be held to the fire because if States make mistakes (as judged by the federal government) in how they administer SNAP benefits, they […]
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• How Measuring Blood Pressure Causes High Blood Pressure

  26-11-2025 19:42
  The only things certain in this world are death, taxes, and never being taken off blood pressure medication.  It’s important not to be on medication for blood pressure when you don’t need it, since this causes low pressure that can result in light-headedness, dizziness, fatigue, increased falls, and other side effects from the drug. It […]
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• ‘Focus on making the state more affordable, not throwing more money toward marketing’

  24-11-2025 21:18
  By Keli‘i Akina When you make it difficult for people to visit you, they tend to take the hint and stop coming. That’s a good strategy for dealing with unwanted houseguests, but not the smartest move for a state that depends on visitor dollars to fuel its economy. Hawaii already has some of the highest […]
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• Pitfalls in Tax Appeals

  24-11-2025 17:00
  People sometimes get into a disagreement with the Department of Taxation over the amount of tax they owe, or whether they owe tax at all.  To solve these disputes, there is a tax appeal process.  To help taxpayers understand this process, the Department typically sends two documents to taxpayers who they are auditing:  Tax Information […]
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• My All-Star Gear Update: Reviewed products that continue to perform flawlessly

  24-11-2025 02:10
  Over the past couple of years I’ve reviewed a wide range of consumer products for HawaiiReporter.com—from speakers to safes to tools—and what stands out is how consistently these particular items keep performing long after the review cycle ends. These are the “all-stars,” the products I continue to use because they work exactly as advertised. Here’s […]
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• Honolulu Charter amendments: ‘Let’s make the most of it’

  17-11-2025 20:59
  By Keli‘i Akina Every 10 years, Oahu residents get a chance to vote on suggested changes to the Honolulu Charter. This time around, there are many changes that have been proposed. The Honolulu Charter Commission, which reviews the suggestions, announced this week that more than 250 were submitted by the Nov. 7 deadline. That compares to 154 a decade […]
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• Student Loan Forgiveness

  17-11-2025 17:00
  If you have a student loan and you’re thinking that you might be able to get forgiveness of that loan by working for the government or for a nonprofit, better watch out because there are changes coming to that program. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education adopted a final rule saying that a government entity […]
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• Strange DPP case emphasizes need to keep pushing for permitting reform

  10-11-2025 23:41
  By Keli‘i Akina Is Honolulu’s building permit process so broken that fast-moving approvals are automatically suspicious? A recent Honolulu Civil Beat article tells the strange story of Kim Kehrwieder, who was fired last year from her job as a building plans examiner for the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting. The problem? She expedited permits in violation […]
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• In Alaska and Hawaii, Higher Food Prices Intensified SNAP Anxiety

  10-11-2025 02:13 via nytimes.com
  Some residents are receiving benefits, but the uncertainty over the past weeks has burdened many in the two states, where the cost of food is the highest in the nation.
  
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• My All-Star Gear Update: Seven products that continue to perform flawlessly

  10-11-2025 02:10
  Over the past couple of years I’ve reviewed a wide range of consumer products for HawaiiReporter.com—from speakers to safes to tools—and what stands out is how consistently these particular items keep performing long after the review cycle ends. These are the “all-stars,” devices I continue to use because they work exactly as advertised. Here’s a […]
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• In Alaska and Hawaii, Higher Food Prices Intensify SNAP Anxiety

  10-11-2025 00:58 via nytimes.com
  Some residents are receiving benefits, but the uncertainty over what will happen over the coming weeks has many worried.
  
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• 36 Hours Kauai, Hawaii: Things to Do and See

  06-11-2025 11:03 via nytimes.com
  With its pristine jungles and small towns, this Hawaiian island retains the unmanicured charm of Old Polynesia with few modern intrusions.
  
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• UPS Plane Crash Near Louisville Airport Kills at Least 9, Officials Say

  05-11-2025 15:12 via nytimes.com
  The plane crashed and exploded shortly after taking off from a Kentucky airport, disrupting operations at the delivery company’s main air cargo hub.
  
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• UPS Plane Crash Near Louisville Airport Kills at Least 7, Officials Say

  05-11-2025 04:22 via nytimes.com
  The plane crashed near an airport shortly after takeoff, and two businesses were struck.
  
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