Our first responders—whether they are police officers, firefighters, or lifeguards—take great pride in their professionalism and great satisfaction in knowing they are serving others and their community. If you ask them, they will tell you to a man and woman that they are just doing their job, even when they step into harm’s way. But, ...
Read More . . .and a moment to remember two fallen heroes
Archives by Month:
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
The first thing we agreed to do was to put more money into pockets of working people. But how do you increase wages without increasing the cost of living? The two are joined at the hip. Clearly, increasing the minimum wage alone would not do it. But a modest increase phased over time, combined with ...
Read More Increased minimum wage, tax relief and other solutions
The proposed bill on expanding affordable childcare complements the proposal we made last year to create a universal public preschool system for 4-year-olds. . . .Today, half of our toddlers, about 20,000 statewide, have no access to childcare or preschool programs. By the end of this decade, we want to eliminate that gap, whether it’s ...
Read More Education: Reducing the cost of childcare
In Hawaiʻi, the biggest expense for working families is housing, whether it’s rent or mortgage payments. The spiraling cost of homes is driven by two forces: the high cost of land and real estate speculation. In our joint package of bills, we propose to build 17,000 affordable homes over the next decade on state-owned land ...
Read More New housing approaches to help working families
Building homes is not just about building houses, but also about nurturing communities. From the start of this administration, working with the legislature and the private sector, we have made reducing homelessness a priority. At the time, Hawaiʻi had the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country. Between 2016 and 2019, we increased ...
Read More Hope for homelessness: One family’s story
Perhaps the longest transition we have experienced recently has been the transformation of our agricultural industry from large-scale farming to more diversified farms. But there is one important difference in today’s efforts from yesterday’s: And that’s technology. As in other fields, we have seen the rise of technology change the face of everything in society. ...
Read More Agriculture and self-sufficiency: Sensei Farms, Mahi Pono
How do we sustain our economy, our lifestyle and our natural environment? We do it first by developing clean energy sources. With a flurry of commercial solar projects in the pipeline and local homeowners’ enthusiasm for residential solar power, we will exceed our 2020 goal of attaining 30 percent of our energy needs from renewable ...
Read More Hawai’i leading the way on clean energy
In 2019, the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority shifted its priorities from increasing visitor arrivals to improving the visitor experience, while supporting the quality of life for residents. Through HTA’s Aloha ʻĀina program, 28 nonprofit and government agencies were given funding for programs to help protect Hawaiʻi’s natural resources. Through its Kūkula Ola program, the authority has ...
Read More Sustaining our economy and culture
There is a new danger threatening the ʻāina, and it comes from climate change. No one need tell us how global warming is directly impacting our lives . . .Recently, Time Magazine named Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg its 2019 Person of the Year. She believes we all have a part to play in preventing climate ...
Read More A new urgency for the ‘āina: climate change
Learn more about the state’s department directors and deputies who will be handling the challenges facing Hawai’i. Please go to https://governor.hawaii.gov/about/team/the-governors-cabinet/ (Senate confirmation for directors of Budget and Finance, Defense, Hawaiian Home Lands and Taxation is pending.) Read more in the February Capitol Connection newsletter Subscribe to the Capitol Connection newsletter