State fund eyed for workforce housing subsidies
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund.
1 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income.
2 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August.
3 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August.
State lawmakers are considering diverting a state fund used almost exclusively to develop low-income rental housing to build apartments for residents with higher incomes—topping out well above what most people earn.
A bill to authorize the change, which was proposed by the state agency administering the fund, is in its final stretch at the Legislature.
The shift is intended to produce more subsidized rental housing for residents with a wider range of incomes. Proponents tout it as a way to keep more of Hawaii's workforce from leaving the state due to the high cost of housing. But the change could reduce funding for low-income housing construction.
would allow part of the state's rental housing revolving fund to go toward financing development of apartments for households earning between 60 % and 140 % of a county's annual median income.
At the high end on Oahu, this equates to $136, 500 for a single person and $194, 250 for a family of four. Monthly rent at those income levels could reach $3, 412 for a studio and $5, 060 for a three-bedroom unit.
Current regulations for the fund prioritize projects that serve households earning up to 60 % of the median income, which equates to $58, 500 for a single person and $83, 250 for a family of four. Monthly rent at those income levels could reach $1, 462 for a studio and $2, 169 for a three-bedroom unit.
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A variety of other state and city programs provide financial incentives for developers to build housing for moderate-income residents, and in some cases such housing is a requirement for a portion of large projects. Yet affordable-housing advocates say more subsidized housing is needed for people who, despite moderate incomes, still can't afford market-priced homes.
Susan Le, senior afford able-housing policy analyst for the nonprofit Hawai 'i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, told the House Finance Committee during a Feb. 25 hearing on HB 432 that someone in Hawaii has to earn 200 % of the median income to afford a median-priced home.
'Our workforce is struggling, ' she said. 'That includes firefighters, teachers, health care workers. And without subsidies, these projects don't work out because we have the highest land costs, construction costs and regulatory process in the nation.'
Subsidy split The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., the state agency administering the rental housing fund, sought the change proposed via the bill.
Dean Minakami, HHFDC executive director, said in written testimony that the fund is typically used up by top-priority 'Tier I ' projects, which are for households earning under 60 % of the median income and also obtain federal and state low-income housing tax credits, often in addition to bond financing awarded by HHFDC to make the projects viable.
'This bill is needed so that funding can be available for mixed-income rental projects, or 'Tier II, ' without the need for legislation to finance projects outside the first priority, ' he said. 'These are our working families who earn too much to qualify for low-income housing tax credit units but cannot afford to buy their own homes, such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and nurses.'
Tier II projects are for households earning 60 % to 140 % of the median income.
HHFDC's rental housing fund is supplied with 50 % of real estate conveyance tax revenue up to $38 million annually and legislative appropriations. Fund proceeds are awarded as very-low-interest loans that get paid back decades later, which also contribute to the fund's balance.
Only in recent years has the Legislature infused the fund with annual appropriations of $100 million or more in an effort to better address Hawaii's long-standing affordable-housing crisis.
Those appropriations totaled about $1 billion between 2018 and 2024. And demand for fund awards by low-income housing developers has been high.
In 2022, HHFDC awarded $320 million from the fund to 13 projects, followed by $145 million for nine projects in 2023 and $64 million for four projects in 2024.
One of the projects funded in 2022 was the 95-unit Koa Vista I apartment building in Waipio that opened in March for seniors earning 30 % to 60 % of the median income. The $39 million project was financed in part with $17.5 million from HHFDC's fund.
High demand This year, developers are seeking about $1.1 billion from the fund, which has a roughly $570 million balance, to help finance 28 projects comprising about 4, 000 low-income rental units.
The biggest request is from the developer of a 344-unit initial phase of the 900-unit Leiwili Kapolei project on HHFDC land. The developer is seeking either $123 million or $140 million from the fund to develop the first phase for households earning up to 60 % of the median income.
Leiwili's developer also explored developing the first phase for households earning 80 % to 100 % of the median income as a Tier II project competing for rental fund financing.
Leiwili's second phase with 484 rental apartments is planned for households earning 80 % to 100 % of the median income. A 72-unit third phase is slated to be homes for sale to households earning 110 % to 140 % of the median income.
Through HB 432, HHFDC has requested that Tier II projects receive $150 million over the next two fiscal years. Gov. Josh Green's proposed budget included the same amount for Tier II projects plus $100 million for the fund generally.
HB 432 also would allow transfers within the rental housing fund to a 'mixed-income subaccount ' reserved for Tier II projects, meaning money in the fund could be moved away from Tier I priority projects to Tier II projects.
Balancing challenge Some proponents of the bill say subsidies are needed for both low-and moderate-income housing. But whether future funding for Tier I projects will suffer due to Tier II project funding is hard to discern.
Representatives of the organization Hawai 'i YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard ) said in written testimony, 'It is important for us to continue to fund homes for our lower income residents, but we must target additional funds to our middle-income, working-class families who struggle to compete for market-rate homes.'
Kevin Auger, executive director of the City and County of Honolulu Office of Housing, said in written testimony that development of low-income housing must continue, but that very limited programs exist to help the moderate-income workforce afford housing.
'The creation of a mixed-income subaccount would help to bridge the gap that currently exists and allow more of our workforce—including our teachers, police officers, and medical staff—to remain here in Hawaii, ' he said.
Other proponents of the bill include the Hawai 'i Community Foundation, Holomua Collaborative and Michaels Development, which is a partner in the Leiwili project.
Makana Hicks-Goo, representing Hawai'i LIMBY (Locals In My Backyard ), expressed concern to lawmakers in written testimony that maximum rents for affordable housing under HHFDC regulations can be higher than market prices, which is something the agency acknowledges.
'We concede that affordable housing is hard, but it seems a fair criticism that a program claiming to be affordable ought at the very least to be priced below the market, ' Hicks-Goo wrote. 'It is damning that we neither do so nor build the sort of units needed by locals.'
Because the House and Senate passed different amended drafts of HB 432 earlier this year, House and Senate conferees have been appointed to work on a mutually agreeable version that, if produced, could receive final approval before the legislative session ends Friday.
It's also possible the change sought by HHFDC gets enacted through, which initially proposed something different for the rental housing fund but was amended by a House committee to mirror HB 432.
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29-04-2025
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Hawaii borrowers in default are among millions nationwide affected by end of payment pause
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Current and former students in default of their federal loans will soon start getting billed by the U.S. government as the Trump administration ends a COVID-19-era loan payment pause. At top, people made their way along the McCarthy Mall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Friday. 1 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Current and former students in default of their federal loans will soon start getting billed by the U.S. government as the Trump administration ends a COVID-19-era loan payment pause. At top, people made their way along the McCarthy Mall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Friday. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ A woman walked out of the Student Services Building at UH Manoa on Friday. 2 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ A woman walked out of the Student Services Building at UH Manoa on Friday. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Above is the Financial Aid Services office. 3 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Above is the Financial Aid Services office. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Current and former students in default of their federal loans will soon start getting billed by the U.S. government as the Trump administration ends a COVID-19-era loan payment pause. At top, people made their way along the McCarthy Mall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Friday. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ A woman walked out of the Student Services Building at UH Manoa on Friday. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Above is the Financial Aid Services office. A pandemic-era pause for federal loan borrowers in default is set to end Monday, and millions of former and current students nationwide are bracing for renewed loan collections. The U.S. Department of Education's decision to resume collections is a significant step in winding down COVID-19 relief efforts that have been in place since March 2020. The pending change is causing anxiety for Hawaii residents not only in default on their student loans, but also those who are relying on them now for their education. Monthly loan payments and interest resumed in October 2023 for most federal student loan borrowers. But those in default—meaning they had already missed payments for an extended period—were given more time before aggressive collection measures restarted. That protection is now ending, and borrowers who have not taken action to address delinquencies could face wage garnishments, tax refund seizures and other enforcement actions. The change means that residents in Hawaii and throughout the nation who relied on federal loans to fund their education no longer have the safety net of the collection pause. During the 2024 academic year, 6, 382 undergraduate students across the University of Hawaii System alone received federal student loans, with the majority—3, 988 students—enrolled at UH Manoa. The average loan amount for UH Manoa undergraduates was $6, 404. Additionally, 1, 707 graduate students were awarded federal loans, averaging $19, 143 per borrower. The end of the loan pause is a deep source of anxiety for Jen Kim, a Makiki resident and single mother of three. Her eldest son graduated from UH Manoa for his undergraduate studies, then completed dental school at the University of Washington. He is finishing his dental residency in Nevada. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Between his undergraduate and dental school loans, Kim said her son still owes nearly $200, 000 in federal student debt and has paid back about $12, 000. With interest on those loans resuming at a rate of 6.5 %, she worries that the balance will balloon. 'He's done everything right. He went to school here, got into dental school, and now he's training to serve our people back home, ' Kim said. 'But the interest is brutal. For every payment he makes, it feels like the total barely changes.' Nationally, dental school graduates carry some of the highest student loan debt in the country. The American Dental Education Association estimates that the average debt for the class of 2024 was about $312, 700. While Kim's son's balance is technically below the national average, it still feels staggering to the Kim family—especially with the high cost of living in Hawaii and limited affordable housing options. 'We've already helped him cover basic costs like groceries and rent, ' she said. 'Now we're helping with interest, too, and I'm pulling from my own savings. I just keep thinking : He wants to be a dentist in Hawaii, not in Vegas, but the system makes it hard for him to come home.' The family had hoped the federal payment pause would last until he finished residency, but with the pause ending in 2023 and defaulted loan collections now restarting in May, the pressure is back. 'It's not just the money. It's the stress, the sense that no matter how hard he works, he'll always be behind, ' she said. For Harvey Tagalicud, 23, a junior at UH Manoa's Shidler College of Business, the financial pressure of loans has been a constant companion throughout his academic journey. Tagalicud, a first-generation college student, said his total debt could land anywhere between $18, 000 and $35, 000, depending on how much financial hardship arises during emergencies. His experience with loans has included federal PLUS loans, a short-term 'shell loan ' for emergencies. Taga licud said he has carefully avoided unsubsidized loans thanks to financial literacy support from programs like Upward Bound. 'Loans might be the most valuable way for me to, in the short term, jump through my final semesters in college, ' he said. 'It's kind of a necessary evil—and I believe that's a sentiment for a lot of us in academia right now.' He said choosing the right loan type was just one part of a steep learning curve. 'We're making one of the biggest financial decisions, the first big financial decision in our lives, and something that we can't even comprehend sometimes, Tagalicud said. The psychological toll, he added, is just as real as the financial one. 'We learn in consumer psychology that if scarcity exists for a person, that becomes an overarching thing that always limits in the back of your head, ' Taga licud said. He emphasized that students are not trying to avoid responsibility, and said the current system discourages genuine learning. 'We're not trying to dodge loan repayments. We're trying to learn with genuine passion and curiosity, without being burdened by the financial weight that becomes one of the biggest decisions in our lives, ' he said. 'It's important we create policies that encourage us to become lifelong learners, not just lifelong debt payers.' For Ava Song, a third-year medical student from New York who plans to transfer to UH Manoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine, managing her education means juggling three part-time jobs while taking on more than $180, 000 in student loan debt. Song, who plans to return to Hawaii to serve the community and take advantage of in-state tuition, hopes that JABSOM's unique opportunities and financial aid packages will ease her financial burdens. In New York she's worked as a high school tutor, a clinic assistant sterilizing instruments and a weekend bartender—often logging 14-hour days split between work, classes and clinic rotations. 'It's exhausting, but I don't have much of a choice, ' Song said. 'Every dollar I earn is a dollar I don't have to borrow and a dollar that doesn't rack up interest later.' Alicia Malia, a 37-year-old physical therapist who graduated from UH Hilo in 2011, pointed out that student loan debt does not always end with graduation or even after establishing a career. 'The system told us to get a good education so we could get good jobs and live a good life, ' Malia said 'But the reality is that to get that education, most of us had to borrow a ton of money. We worked our asses off during school just to afford living, and then we graduate into jobs where we still have to work just as hard—not just to live, but to pay back what we borrowed.' Malia said she still owes around $28, 000 in student loans, despite working full time in her field for over a decade. The pandemic-era pause in payments, she said, helped her finally get ahead on other bills and build up some savings. 'That break gave me room to breathe. I could help my parents, fix my car, even take a short trip for the first time in years, ' she said. But now, with payments resumed and collections restarting for those in default, Malia said she's deeply worried about younger generations—including her niece, who just started at UH Manoa. 'They say it's the American dream, but it's just a dream—it's so hard to attain, ' she said. 'We're all chasing this version of success that's tied to college, but the truth is, we were set up. If you don't go to college, it's hard to make a living. If you do, you're buried in debt. By the time we finally pay everything off, our lives have already passed us by.' Students and graduates who are unsure of their loan status can check their accounts at
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Yahoo
State fund eyed for workforce housing subsidies
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. 1 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income. 2 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August. 3 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Monthly rents for studios and one-bedroom units range from $662 for households earning no more than 30 % of Honolulu's median income to $1, 483 for households earning no more than 60 % of the median income. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ The 140-unit Aloha Ia Halewiliko rental apartment complex in Aiea is being built to serve seniors with low incomes and was financed in part by the state's rental housing revolving fund. Prospective tenants will be chosen by lottery, and applications are being taken until April 30 by EAH Housing, which expects to finish construction soon and welcome initial tenants in August. State lawmakers are considering diverting a state fund used almost exclusively to develop low-income rental housing to build apartments for residents with higher incomes—topping out well above what most people earn. A bill to authorize the change, which was proposed by the state agency administering the fund, is in its final stretch at the Legislature. The shift is intended to produce more subsidized rental housing for residents with a wider range of incomes. Proponents tout it as a way to keep more of Hawaii's workforce from leaving the state due to the high cost of housing. But the change could reduce funding for low-income housing construction. would allow part of the state's rental housing revolving fund to go toward financing development of apartments for households earning between 60 % and 140 % of a county's annual median income. At the high end on Oahu, this equates to $136, 500 for a single person and $194, 250 for a family of four. Monthly rent at those income levels could reach $3, 412 for a studio and $5, 060 for a three-bedroom unit. Current regulations for the fund prioritize projects that serve households earning up to 60 % of the median income, which equates to $58, 500 for a single person and $83, 250 for a family of four. Monthly rent at those income levels could reach $1, 462 for a studio and $2, 169 for a three-bedroom unit. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. A variety of other state and city programs provide financial incentives for developers to build housing for moderate-income residents, and in some cases such housing is a requirement for a portion of large projects. Yet affordable-housing advocates say more subsidized housing is needed for people who, despite moderate incomes, still can't afford market-priced homes. Susan Le, senior afford able-housing policy analyst for the nonprofit Hawai 'i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, told the House Finance Committee during a Feb. 25 hearing on HB 432 that someone in Hawaii has to earn 200 % of the median income to afford a median-priced home. 'Our workforce is struggling, ' she said. 'That includes firefighters, teachers, health care workers. And without subsidies, these projects don't work out because we have the highest land costs, construction costs and regulatory process in the nation.' Subsidy split The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., the state agency administering the rental housing fund, sought the change proposed via the bill. Dean Minakami, HHFDC executive director, said in written testimony that the fund is typically used up by top-priority 'Tier I ' projects, which are for households earning under 60 % of the median income and also obtain federal and state low-income housing tax credits, often in addition to bond financing awarded by HHFDC to make the projects viable. 'This bill is needed so that funding can be available for mixed-income rental projects, or 'Tier II, ' without the need for legislation to finance projects outside the first priority, ' he said. 'These are our working families who earn too much to qualify for low-income housing tax credit units but cannot afford to buy their own homes, such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and nurses.' Tier II projects are for households earning 60 % to 140 % of the median income. HHFDC's rental housing fund is supplied with 50 % of real estate conveyance tax revenue up to $38 million annually and legislative appropriations. Fund proceeds are awarded as very-low-interest loans that get paid back decades later, which also contribute to the fund's balance. Only in recent years has the Legislature infused the fund with annual appropriations of $100 million or more in an effort to better address Hawaii's long-standing affordable-housing crisis. Those appropriations totaled about $1 billion between 2018 and 2024. And demand for fund awards by low-income housing developers has been high. In 2022, HHFDC awarded $320 million from the fund to 13 projects, followed by $145 million for nine projects in 2023 and $64 million for four projects in 2024. One of the projects funded in 2022 was the 95-unit Koa Vista I apartment building in Waipio that opened in March for seniors earning 30 % to 60 % of the median income. The $39 million project was financed in part with $17.5 million from HHFDC's fund. High demand This year, developers are seeking about $1.1 billion from the fund, which has a roughly $570 million balance, to help finance 28 projects comprising about 4, 000 low-income rental units. The biggest request is from the developer of a 344-unit initial phase of the 900-unit Leiwili Kapolei project on HHFDC land. The developer is seeking either $123 million or $140 million from the fund to develop the first phase for households earning up to 60 % of the median income. Leiwili's developer also explored developing the first phase for households earning 80 % to 100 % of the median income as a Tier II project competing for rental fund financing. Leiwili's second phase with 484 rental apartments is planned for households earning 80 % to 100 % of the median income. A 72-unit third phase is slated to be homes for sale to households earning 110 % to 140 % of the median income. Through HB 432, HHFDC has requested that Tier II projects receive $150 million over the next two fiscal years. Gov. Josh Green's proposed budget included the same amount for Tier II projects plus $100 million for the fund generally. HB 432 also would allow transfers within the rental housing fund to a 'mixed-income subaccount ' reserved for Tier II projects, meaning money in the fund could be moved away from Tier I priority projects to Tier II projects. Balancing challenge Some proponents of the bill say subsidies are needed for both low-and moderate-income housing. But whether future funding for Tier I projects will suffer due to Tier II project funding is hard to discern. Representatives of the organization Hawai 'i YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard ) said in written testimony, 'It is important for us to continue to fund homes for our lower income residents, but we must target additional funds to our middle-income, working-class families who struggle to compete for market-rate homes.' Kevin Auger, executive director of the City and County of Honolulu Office of Housing, said in written testimony that development of low-income housing must continue, but that very limited programs exist to help the moderate-income workforce afford housing. 'The creation of a mixed-income subaccount would help to bridge the gap that currently exists and allow more of our workforce—including our teachers, police officers, and medical staff—to remain here in Hawaii, ' he said. Other proponents of the bill include the Hawai 'i Community Foundation, Holomua Collaborative and Michaels Development, which is a partner in the Leiwili project. Makana Hicks-Goo, representing Hawai'i LIMBY (Locals In My Backyard ), expressed concern to lawmakers in written testimony that maximum rents for affordable housing under HHFDC regulations can be higher than market prices, which is something the agency acknowledges. 'We concede that affordable housing is hard, but it seems a fair criticism that a program claiming to be affordable ought at the very least to be priced below the market, ' Hicks-Goo wrote. 'It is damning that we neither do so nor build the sort of units needed by locals.' Because the House and Senate passed different amended drafts of HB 432 earlier this year, House and Senate conferees have been appointed to work on a mutually agreeable version that, if produced, could receive final approval before the legislative session ends Friday. It's also possible the change sought by HHFDC gets enacted through, which initially proposed something different for the rental housing fund but was amended by a House committee to mirror HB 432.
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20-04-2025
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Hawaii's 25th medical cannabis dispensary opens in Waikiki
JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 5, 2019 Noa Botanicals was scheduled to open its new retail medical cannabis dispensary at 345 Royal Hawaiian Ave. in Waikiki today. Shown here, cannabis is trimmed at Noa Botanicals growing and production facilities in Kunia in 2019. JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 5, 2019 Noa Botanicals was scheduled to open its new retail medical cannabis dispensary at 345 Royal Hawaiian Ave. in Waikiki today. Shown here, cannabis is trimmed at Noa Botanicals growing and production facilities in Kunia in 2019. The Hawaii Department of Health has approved another cannabis dispensary retail site on Oahu. Noa Botanicals was scheduled to begin sales today at its new retail dispensary at 345 Royal Hawaiian Ave. in Waikiki. Manoa Botanicals LLC, dba Noa Botanicals, was issued a notice to proceed after a final, on-site inspection, health officials said in a news release. The site is Noa Botanicals' fourth retail location, and Oahu's 11th retail dispensary. Statewide, the Health Department has approved a total of 25 retail cannabis dispensaries, including two on Kauai, six on Maui, and six on Hawaii island. As of Feb. 28, a total of 29, 820 in-state patients and 2, 525 caregivers were registered for medical cannabis statewide, the department said. Of that total, 14, 661 patients and 1, 440 caregivers are on Oahu. Registered patients and their caregivers may purchase up to 4 ounces of medical cannabis during a consecutive, 15-day period, health officials said, and purchase a maximum of 8 ounces over a consecutive, 30-day period. After purchase, the medical cannabis must be brought home in a sealed container without being visible to the public. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. All use of medical cannabis must be on private property and may not be used in any moving vehicle, at work, at the beach, on hiking trails or in any other public space, DOH said. Additionally, it is illegal to use or possess medical cannabis on any federally owned property such as military installations and national parks. 'The primary reported condition for registered adult patients is severe pain, ' health officials said in the release. 'The primary reported conditions for patients under 18 are severe pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and seizures.'———More information on Hawaii's Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program is available at. 3 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
