Blogs
Benchmarking for a clearer employment picture
By Peter Fuleky, James Jones, Ashley Hirashima, and Rachel Inafuku The most widely cited measure of labor market activity in Hawaii comes from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, jointly managed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). This program surveys a sample of local […]
Read MoreSome thoughts on property taxes and school funding
By Carl Bonham and James Mak Voters will soon be weighing in on a possible amendment to Hawaii’s constitution. The ballot question is, “Shall the legislature be authorized to establish, as provided by law, a surcharge on investment real property to be used to support public education?” 1 Unfortunately, this language provides no definition of […]
Read MoreVog: Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Health Costs of Particulate
By Tim Halliday, John Lynham, and Aureo de Paula Since its inception, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States has proven itself to be effective at reducing air pollution. For the six ‘criteria’ pollutants that the EPA is mandated to regulate, emissions of all six have declined substantially. Particulates have declined by 38% […]
Read MoreVariable Pricing and the Cost of Renewable Power
By Michael Roberts How much will it cost to eliminate use of fossil fuels? There is reason for optimism. Technological progress has lowered the cost of wind and solar power to make them competitive with coal and natural gas on a levelized basis. Despite this progress, a recent study by Gowrisankaran, Reynolds and Samano, “Intermittency […]
Read MoreIs the Hawaii Convention Center Profitable?
By James Mak In his testimony before the House Committee on Tourism on February 13, 2018, Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) CEO George Szegeti said “In CY2017 the convention center turned a net operating profit of $1.1 million, marking its second consecutive year of profitability.” This is surprising news, indeed. Convention centers in the U.S. are […]
Read MoreA Pocket Full of PIMs
By Michael Roberts In the arcane parlance of utility regulation, PIMs are “Performance Incentive Mechanisms.” This is where we’re headed because, slightly against my expectation, Governor Ige recently signed SB 2939, a bill unanimously passed by the legislature that requires that the Public Utilities Commission: “…establish performance incentives and penalty mechanisms that directly tie an […]
Read MoreShould regulators fear bond-rating agencies?
By Michael Roberts It seems that our political and administrative leaders worry about the bond rating agencies. Their fear is understandable. The cost of capital looms large in all manner of infrastructure projects, and the cost of that capital depends on how risky investors perceive repayment to be. The cost of capital also looms large […]
Read MoreLinking land and sea to inform ahupua‘a (ridge-to-reef) management in Hawai‘i – NSF Coastal SEES
By Jade Delevaux A community member from Haʻēna, located on the windward side of Kauaʻi (see Fig 1A), said “come” as she offered her hand inviting me in. I stepped into the forming circle of the pule (prayer), and we stood together silently listening to an oli chanted by a local kupuna (elder) (see Photo […]
Read MoreBringing multiple values to the table in local decision making – NSF Coastal SEES
By Leah Bremer “Want to carry one up?” the natural resource management team with Limahuli gardens in Haʻēna, Kauaʻi asks us as they hand out potted endangered plant seedlings before our hike up the trail toward one of their native forest restoration areas. We arrive 30 minutes later to the first restoration plot and are […]
Read More