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Service members occupy nearly 14% of Oahu rentals, Pentagon says – West Hawaii Today

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12 months ago

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Service members occupy nearly 14% of Oahu rentals, Pentagon says – West Hawaii Today


A new Pentagon report on military housing in Hawaii found that nearly 14% of residential rentals on Oahu are occupied by service members and their families.

The annual defense spending bill passed by Congress contained provisions requiring the secretary of defense to conduct a review of the military’s housing needs and their effects on the local housing market and to provide a report to the House Committee on Armed Services.

The Pentagon’s response was a short, eight-page report. Its executive summary succinctly declares that the report, which cost $76,000, “responds to these provisions.”

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D- Hawaii), who sits on the Armed Services Committee and authored the provisions requesting the report, was underwhelmed.

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“This uninspired report from the Department of Defense confirms what we all knew: that the military has a major impact on our housing supply and the availability of housing that our kama‘aina and families can afford,” she said in a news release Friday. “If the military is going to be a real partner to Hawai‘i and a good neighbor in our communities, then it’s high time to step up, get creative, and deliver real solutions and investments towards the biggest challenge affecting our people.”

There are roughly 48,500 active-duty service members and reservists stationed in Hawaii. While many of Hawaii’s political and business leaders have touted their presence and spending as a boost to the local economy, their influence on the housing market has at times been a subject of fierce debate.

Military housing allowances in some cases give service members and their families an advantage in looking for housing, which some have charged contribute to high rents as local families struggle with rising costs of living.

In 2011, the RAND Corp. prepared a report for the Pentagon on the impact of military spending on Hawaii’s economy and found that while most military housing in Hawaii comprises privatized on-base units, roughly half of active-duty members live off base and typically rent their housing.

The Pentagon’s latest report says that 60% of service members stationed on Oahu today reside on military installations. The report cites 2023 American Community Survey estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau that found that of the 105,868 occupied, private rental units on Oahu, the military estimates that 14,700 are occupied by active-­duty service members.

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It also found that 2,150 service members own homes on the island.

The report says the Defense Department acknowledges that the size of the active-duty military component of Oahu’s private rental market — 13.86% — “is not negligible,” but also adds “it is difficult to calculate the comprehensive impact on housing supply and rental prices, without accounting for other, potentially confounding factors.” Those factors include the economic incentives of short-term rentals or “the many intangible benefits of military families living in the community, (i.e., all the ramifications of having two largely separated communities).”

According to a cost-benefit analysis in the report, it would cost the military $10.8 billion to build the 13,614 government-owned housing units needed to house 100% of service members in Hawaii on a military installation, not including infrastructure such as roads and electricity to support those homes.

Additionally, the military would have to increase maintenance costs by $170 million annually and utility costs by $90 million, without adjusting for inflation.

Alternatively, the report estimates that if the Defense Department were to turn to privatized military housing for troops currently renting off base, it would require approximately $3.6 billion in additional government equity under the minimum government equity requirements for privatized housing.

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In a one-sentence conclusion, the report states the department is committed to working with the state and congressional defense committees to ensure service members and military families have access “to livable communities that provide healthy, functional, and reliable housing now and in the future.”

Not enough, Tokuda said.

“When I requested this report, I expected that the Department would do so with fidelity and come to the table with tangible ideas for these shared challenges,” she said. “This report failed to do that. We must hold the Department accountable to the shared responsibility they have to address our housing crisis and deliver real solutions for our people.”

Military spending and construction has continued to grow in Hawaii as the Pentagon shifts its attention to the Pacific, considered to now be the military’s top priority theater of operations amid tensions with China.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), who sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said in a statement that the data in the report “clearly heightens the importance” of efforts over the years by Hawaii’s congressional delegation to ensure more military housing on base and fewer service members in the local housing rental market.

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But Case also highlighted a report finding that one challenge facing both active-­duty service members and nonmilitary residents seeking rental housing on Oahu is that “many private landlords prefer to offer their homes as short-term vacation rentals, thereby decreasing the supply of rental units available to the community.”

“I believe that the continued allowance of widespread short-term vacation rentals and continued inability to fully target illegal vacation rentals, significantly reducing the available supply of private rental units for local residents, is far more of a factor in high housing prices than current servicemember participation in our rental market,” he said.





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Hawaii

Hawaii topples Rockhurst in 4 sets in nightcap despite 24 service errors | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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January 15, 2026

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Hawaii topples Rockhurst in 4 sets in nightcap despite 24 service errors | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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Nick Taylor back to defend Sony. Will it be the last time its played?

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14 hours ago

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January 14, 2026

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Nick Taylor back to defend Sony. Will it be the last time its played?


Nick Taylor won the Sony Open in Hawaii a year ago in dramatic fashion, as he needed a playoff to earn his fifth PGA Tour win. It was the third year in a row the Canadian won a tournament in a playoff.

This year, he’s back on the island of Oahu to defend his title at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. The Sony, traditionally the second tournament of the season, gets lead-off honors in 2026 after The Sentry was canceled.

With rumors swirling about significant schedule changes coming in 2027, the Sony Open might fall off the radar.

“It’ll be a place that I’ll miss a lot, not just this tournament, but the state of Hawaii,” Taylor said during his media session Wednesday after his morning pro-am. “It’s one with Maui being such an awesome event over the years feeling like such an accomplishment to play there. Other than last couple years if win you’re playing in that golf tournament. It just felt like it was a great start to the year.

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“Nothing set in stone. It’ll still be a place I’m going to visit. I don’t know about annually after that. We’ll see. My wife, we’re going to miss it. Yeah, it’ll be a year that I guess we won’t take it as much for granted this year with potentially things changing.”

And if the Hawaii swing does become a thing of the past, the PGA Tour season is likely to have a later start on the calendar.

“You know, if more of an offseason is something that results in this, I have two young kids, that’s something would be very valuable,” he said of those schedule rumors. “I know as much as probably everybody in this room, so there is a lot of the things I don’t quite know. Extending the offseason I think nobody would complain about that, so that would be something I would definitely take advantage of, spend more time with family and be at home.”

Collin Morikawa, meanwhile, is playing the Sony for the first time since 2021.

“I love it. I’ve taken this event off the past couple years and I miss it. It’s a fun event,” he said. “For me, family ties to Hawaii. Always good to be out here. Even the last couple years that I haven’t played we came over for a couple days and hung out for vacation. Just an amazing island to be on.”

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Morikawa’s grandparents were born in Lahaina on Maui, where the Sentry is normally held.

“For me, someone that has ties to Hawaii, you never want to see something go away for good,” he said. “It just makes you realize, stay present this week and enjoy it as much as you can and see what kind of memories we can make. Hopefully finally find a way to win on the islands out here.”



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Here’s How to Protect and Expand Social Security, According to One Hawaii Senator | The Motley Fool

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January 14, 2026

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Here’s How to Protect and Expand Social Security, According to One Hawaii Senator | The Motley Fool


With approximately six years until Social Security benefits must be cut, one group of Hawaii legislators has come up with a simple plan to prevent a shortfall.

It’s no secret that Social Security, as we know it, is in a pinch. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are six years away from insolvency.

The combination of more retirees, fewer people in the workforce, and the impact of President Trump’s big, beautiful bill (OBBBA) leads the CRFB to estimate a 24% Social Security cut in late 2032 if nothing is done. In addition, retirees could face an 11% cut in Medicare Hospital Insurance payments.

This isn’t the first time the trust funds have been in trouble. In 1982, the fund that helped cover the cost of monthly Social Security benefits faced a significant shortfall and was forced to borrow from other funds to pay benefits on time. Congress was able to work together long enough to raise taxes on some, adjust benefits, and prevent insolvency.

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With a similar problem facing the trusts 44 years later, Hawaii’s Senator Brian Schatz and Representative Mazie Hirono (along with Rep. Jill Tokuda) believe they have a simple solution. Here’s what their proposal, called the SAFE Social Security Act, would do.

Image source: Getty Images.

Lift the payroll tax

To ensure payroll taxes apply fairly across the board and that the rich pay their share, the proposal includes a plan to phase out the payroll tax cap so that no one can stop paying into Social Security once their income hits $184,500.

Adjust benefit calculations

The trio suggests adjusting the way current benefits are calculated, a move that would increase the average monthly benefit by more than $150.

Update how cost-of-living adjustments are determined

As of today, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. In theory, using inflation tied to CPI-W is supposed to help retirees keep pace with the rising cost of living.

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For years, however, senior citizen advocacy groups have insisted that the wrong index is being used because working adults and retired adults spend money differently. For example, an older retiree is likely to spend more on medical care than a younger person still in the workforce.

The Hawaii legislator’s plan would address the issue by basing the COLA on an index that tracks inflation related to seniors’ spending. Specifically, they’re talking about the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).

Sen. Schatz believes that the SAFE Social Security Act will expand Social Security and put more money in the hands of those who rely on it. It will also strengthen the program for the next generation of retirees, ensuring today’s workforce has something to look forward to.



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