A study of sex trafficking in Hawai‘i has found that homelessness, drug use, adverse childhood experiences, and a need for money are all linked to sex trafficking victimization in the state. The research, conducted by the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women in partnership with Arizona State University and published last week, collected responses to the Youth … [Read more...] about Sex Trafficking Linked to Homelessness and Other Factors, Report Says
Community Groups Challenge Maui Redevelopment Agency’s Authority
Community groups Maui Tomorrow and the Wailuku Good Government Coalition filed a lawsuit Monday against the Maui Redevelopment Agency (MRA), a county agency that claims to operate in accordance with state law pertaining to the Urban Renewal Law. The community groups, represented by attorneys Lance D. Collins and Bianca Isaki, claim that the MRA does not have the power to … [Read more...] about Community Groups Challenge Maui Redevelopment Agency’s Authority
Raise the Minimum Wage and Reduce Suicide, Study Says
[Content Warning: Suicide] Increases to the minimum wage result in a decrease in the rate of suicide among individuals with a high school education or less, found a study published last month in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Researchers involved in the report looked at monthly data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1990 to 2015 and … [Read more...] about Raise the Minimum Wage and Reduce Suicide, Study Says
A Dream Deferred: A week after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the war on the poor continues
“The poor are less often dismissed, I hope, from our conscience today by being branded as inferior and incompetent… The dignity of the individual will flourish when the decisions concerning his life are in his own hands, when he has the assurance that his income is stable and certain, and when he knows that he has the means to seek self-improvement.” -Dr. Martin Luther King … [Read more...] about A Dream Deferred: A week after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the war on the poor continues
Is Regulation to Blame? Perspectives on the prevalence of out-of-state homebuyers and lack of attainable housing in Maui County
“The [Hawai‘i state] legislature pronounced that the problem of the critical shortage [of housing for low- and middle-income earners] was the high cost of housing. The causes of this high cost were said to be the ‘cost and availability of land, the cost of development, the cost and availability of financing, the cost added by government regulation, the cost and availability of … [Read more...] about Is Regulation to Blame? Perspectives on the prevalence of out-of-state homebuyers and lack of attainable housing in Maui County