Cost of Living

Out of Reach 2014 reveals the drastic difference between what renters need to earn to afford rent and what the average renter actually earns....

...IDG officers and associates gave over $10,000 to Malama Solomon for her tightly contested 2012 primary race against Lorraine Inouye....

FACE said the increase is needed because Hawaii’s utilities are 110 percent higher than the national average, housing is 104 percent higher and groceries are 57 percent higher than other states...

Groceries in Honolulu cost 55.6% more than the national average; utilities 67.9% more....

Among the proposals being considered are a low-income credit; a food and excise tax credit; a low-income household renters’ credit; an earned income tax credit; and a special tax credit for seniors....

...residential electricity rates are three times the national average....

...topics include procurement training for BWS staff, prevention of disclosure of confidential information and the management of multiple change orders increasing the work and value of the contract....

The first report of its scope in nearly 14 years, it examines the past performance of Hawaii’s construction industry and forecasts future growth....

It is expected to cost consumers $800 per year in higher food prices and many products could simply disappear from Hawaii shelves, but SB2521 is on the move thanks to Senator Clayton Hee....

If the legislature is serious about fighting poverty in Hawaii, a broader and more comprehensive discussion is essential....

...the cost of auto insurance varies depending on the month you purchase a policy....

HUD determined that the city’s median income for a household of four is $82,600, down from $86,300 last year....

HECO enjoys full revenue decoupling, fuel and purchased power pass-through recovery, rates based on forward test years...and recovery of increases in certain operating expenses and capital investments between rate cases through riders....

...there’s no “latte loophole,” since any quantity of added sugar makes a drink fall under the ban. Indeed, the only way to get more than a pint of drink at a time is to add booze, as adult beverages are excluded ...

... why should an ever-expanding list of business risks be transferred from the utility to its customers? ....

...a proposed bill containing four components that will significantly improve the economic vitality of low and moderate income households....

...the Insurance Division is now providing Hawaii’s 2014 homeowner and motor vehicle premiums comparison guides through its website....

...7,000 well-paid waiters are being played against 7,000 underpaid dishwashers....

FEMA's maps govern whether home and business owners are required to buy flood insurance....

Because HELCO's renewable energy generation output is in excess of the statutory forty percent, HELCO must demonstrate that the project provides cost reduction benefits to ratepayers....

...impacts on gross state product are estimated to be negative (up to -$63 million)....

They are pushing to grow their industry that may increase availability of organic produce but at a cost that most folks can’t afford....

The Clinton Global Initiative recognized WEfficiency as a change-making commitment. And of course: Money shower!....

A barrel of Brent currently changes hands for $109; WTI fetches just $98; HECO pays $132....

Our state’s lower-income families are faced with almost insurmountable structural challenges to escaping poverty....

... Hawaii Appleseed released a report entitled Reimagining Housing in Hawaii, detailing successful affordable housing models like microunits, ohana housing, modular housing, among others....

This UHERO 101 intends to clarify some of the rate and policy aspects of PV in Hawai‘i, and explores the two opposite driving forces of PV adoption....

While an untrammeled water market would fail to provide the optimal solution, regulators can facilitate efficient water trading by setting appropriate exchange rates....

For a 1br-1ba unit, HCDA's falsified estimate sets the "affordable" price at $655K.  Using realistic assumptions the actual affordability price would be $371K--a difference of $284K....

While most states see cuts, Hawaii's 190,000 food stamp recipients will see an INCREASE from $319 to $330 per month....

...impacts to gross state product are negative (up to -$63 million)....

The net cost of electricity that will be generated by the array will be at 10 cents and 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour....

U.S. candy makers are expanding production in other countries as federal price supports and a global glut of the sweet stuff give an ever-greater advantage to foreign rivals....

Board of Water Supply’s (BWS) unfair billing practices  forced thousands of O‘ahu residents to subsidize the errors caused by BWS' own faulty billing system....

The amount of money necessary to buy a 1,000 square-foot apartment in Dallas would only buy a 460 square-foot apartment in Honolulu....

San Jose, $805,000; San Francisco, $705,000; Honolulu, $679,800; Anaheim-Santa Ana, Calif., $670,700; and San Diego, $485,000 ....

Exhaustive Survey of Nearly 2,000 Markets and 52,000 Listings Shows More Than $2 Million Difference in Price Between Malibu and Cleveland....

His monthly bill is normally around $200....

A couple of weeks ago, this commentary examined some of the hurdles that stand in the way of producing more affordable housing....

HBE is a consortium of three of Hawaii's largest landowners and three venture capital companies....

On Wednesday, I introduced a Charter Amendment to eliminate the Board of Water Supply's retroactive billing policy....

...a FREE consumer education competition open to teens in grades 6-12....