HOOSER: Campaign-finance reform requires your input
Today, June 29, 2022, the Hawaii Commission To Improve Standards Of Conduct (CISC) is scheduled to discuss recommendations on campaign finance reform.
HOOSER: Kauai County Council: An argument over affordable housing
I have a confession. For the first time in over 4 years, I watched an entire County Council meeting.
Affordable-housing initiative back on the table
There is good news, bad news and more good news.
What’s going on in Koloa?
The battle unfolding in Koloa is oh so typical of what happens way too often on Kaua‘i and throughout the islands.
HOOSER: What a novel idea: Lawmakers following the law
Will your state legislator be truthful with you when answering the below 3 questions? Will they seek proactive and positive solutions or will they deny there’s a problem and look the other way? Ask them please!
HOOSER: Tourism and tax policy – go big, go bold
Why does Kauai County have the lowest property tax rates for hotels and resorts in the entire State of Hawaii?
HOOSER: Council votes down $4.5M in tax money
Councilmembers voted to keep TVR (transient vacation rental) tax rates lower and postpone new investments in affordable housing.
HOOSER: Many deserve credit for minimum-wage increase
Assuming Governor Ige’s approval, Hawaii’s minimum wage will increase from $10.10 per hour to $12 in October, then phased increases will continue until it reaches $18 in 2028. In addition working families should celebrate the fact that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was made permanent and refundable.
HOOSER: Why I am here, in 3 minutes or 549 words
I had 3 minutes. The group I was speaking to was a new organization, formed to support candidates whose values supported people and the aina. The question I was asked to speak to was: Why are we here?
HOOSER: Raise the rage; time to take action on minimum wage
Top executives of Hawaii’s largest publicly traded companies received an average pay increase of more than $750,000 in 2021. Their average take-home pay:$4.5 million (HNN).
HOOSER: 2022 elections: Some speculation, some facts
The 2022 Kaua‘i election lineup is slowly starting to take shape. As of 04/15, 10 residents have formally expressed interest in running for the seven-member County Council. In 2020 there were 21 candidates on the primary ballot, with the top 14 going on to the general election.
HOOSER: Tax the rich, cool the real estate market, build affordable housing
Multiple media outlets reported last week that in a bid to cool off a hot housing market, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government announced it will ban foreign investors from buying homes in Canada for two years. The Canadian government took a number of steps to tamp down speculation and demand amid record home prices including higher taxes.
HOOSER: Essential election information – dry but not horribly so
Todays column is unabashedly targeting political junkies, candidates, and those very special people who are helping candidates.
HOOSER: On the dearth and birth of leadership, Kaua‘i style
You really, really, really need to watch this video, youtu.be/HFuKr4ST0w8.
HOOSER: The New Political Reality: Virtual meetings in virtual backrooms
It’s times like this when I wish I had finished law school, or perhaps married a lawyer, or had my children grow up to be lawyers, or had a bunch of money and could just hire a bunch of lawyers.
HOOSER: It’s time to play housing hard-ball
We are in the middle of a housing emergency. I’m getting calls daily from panicked residents being forced out of their long-term rentals. An overheated housing market means an increasing number of landlords are selling out to wealthy investors from the continent.
HOOSER: Government Corruption: If you see something, say something.
Over the past 12 months, Hawai‘i government, at all levels, has been rocked by headline after headline, exposing the criminal activity of a wide range of public officials.
HOOSER: Taking back our government, one seat at a time
Why bother being involved in government and politics when Hawai‘i’s lawmakers are crooks?
HOOSER: Dealing with corruption is our collective kuleana
Do you know firsthand of any corruption involving bribery of public officials or government employees occurring here in our community? I sincerely hope not, but if you do here is the FBI tip line to report it: fbi.gov/tips.
HOOSER: One job should indeed be enough
It’s probably a good time to offer a hearty “thank you” for the introduction and passage of Senate Bill 2018 to Kaua‘i’s own, state Senate President Ron Kouchi, and state Sen. Brian Taniguchi (Manoa), chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts.