Hawaii
Hawaii is America's Worst State for Business in 2024, with off-the-charts costs and climate risks rising
An aerial image taken Aug. 10, 2023, shows destroyed homes and buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
First came the Covid-19 pandemic, striking at the very heart of Hawaii’s economy.
Then, just as the state was beginning to recover, came last summer’s deadly Maui wildfires, which killed more than 100 people, destroyed upward of 2,000 structures, did $5.5 billion in damage and paralyzed the state’s tourism industry yet again.
Finishing last in CNBC’s 2024 competitiveness ranking, America’s Top States for Business, seems pretty minor in comparison to all of that. But Hawaii’s economic issues go even deeper than the high-profile tragedies that have befallen the state.
Consider the Honoapiilani Highway.
Hawaii Route 30 hugs the western shore of Maui. Well before the fires, state transportation officials warned in a 2021 report about climate risks that the highway was at risk from rockfalls, landslides, flooding from high waves, storm surges, coastal erosion and even tsunamis. Already, portions of the road frequently close due to flooding.
“Given our understanding of what is changing, we need to make some tough decisions to ensure the long-term viability of the State,” the report said.
A sign is posted warning of earthquake damage to the road from seismic activity at the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on May 17, 2018.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Hawaii was never going to do well in a competitive ranking that emphasizes infrastructure, as this year’s does. The state is remote — 2,400 miles from the mainland — and as an island chain, basic infrastructure features that are important elsewhere, such as freight rail, are irrelevant. But now, even the infrastructure the state does have is under threat, such as the Honoapiilani Highway.
“That’s the only link to the rest of the island from the area where the wildfires were,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who visited Hawaii in February.
The state is set to receive $2.8 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and nearly half of it will go toward rebuilding bridges and roads. Some $160 million of that will go toward relocating portions of the Honoapiilani Highway.
“We’re funding them to raise that highway to higher ground,” Buttigieg told CNBC. “We’re not going to make somebody build a road the exact same way if it’s getting washed out year after year by what used to be a once-in-100-years event.”
In an aerial view, cars back up for miles on the Honoapiilani Highway as residents are allowed back into areas affected by the wildfire, in Wailuku, Hawaii, on Aug. 11, 2023.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
It will be at least 2027 before the improvements are complete, transportation planners say. Add the many other roads and bridges needing help, and it begins to explain why Hawaii’s infrastructure ranks No. 47 in this year’s Top States study.
The high cost of paradise
Hawaii is also America’s most expensive state to do business in, with the third-highest cost of living. Residents and businesses pay the nation’s highest utility costs, and corporate and individual taxes are high.
With so many inherent disadvantages, why doesn’t Hawaii finish at the bottom of the rankings every year? The answer, in part, is because it’s Hawaii, with a legendary quality of life. But now, even that is under siege.
Hawaii ranks No. 7 for Quality of Life in 2024, its lowest ranking in the important category since our Top States study began in 2007.
It is not that Hawaii isn’t still a paradise. But even in a paradise, working families need child care.
While licensed child-care facilities are readily available in Hawaii, they are prohibitively expensive. According to Child Care Aware of America, child care in Hawaii costs 18% of the median income for a married couple. That is the most expensive in the country, and nearly twice the national average.
Multiple studies have linked quality child care and preschool to economic competitiveness.
In 2022, the Hawaii legislature approved $200 million in spending for new prekindergarten classrooms, part of a broader goal championed by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to offer universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds in the state by 2032.
A family walks on the beach together during sunset in Kauai, Hawaii.
Fly View Productions | E+ | Getty Images
“Access to preschool is a social justice issue for Hawaii,” Luke said in a statement at the time. “Children who have attended high-quality preschool or child-care programs are much better prepared for success in kindergarten, but not every family has access to early learning programs.”
The plan was to build 80 new classrooms by this August, with ambitious annual goals after that. But according to a website for the program run by Luke’s office, the program is already falling short of its goals. Two years after the bill was passed, only about half the money has been spent. Just 13 classrooms have been built, with another 50 under construction. The physical facilities are just part of the battle. Hawaii also faces a serious shortage of child-care workers.
An economy struggling to rebound
Put it all together, and it leads to America’s second-worst economy, according to the Top States study, after Mississippi. It is little surprise that no major companies are headquartered there. Economic growth was modest last year as the state struggled to recover from the wildfires, and job growth was meager at best.
In their most recent quarterly economic outlook, published in June, forecasters with the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism predicted that tourism will end the year flat following a 4% drop in the first four months of the year, largely due to the wildfires.
They do expect visitor traffic to bounce back next year, and to continue growing — albeit at more modest levels — through 2026.
But in America’s Bottom State for Business, they have learned the hard way that Mother Nature can have other ideas.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Former University of Hawaii sailor Daniela Moroz is preparing to compete in her first Olympic Games in Paris.
The 23-year-old will be competing in kiteboarding — also known as kitesurfing — in its Olympic debut.
“It’s super exciting,” Moroz said.
“You just dream about it for so long. Growing up I always dreamed about going to the [Olympic] Games, as any young athlete does. When the possibility came around, I was ‘yeah, I just gotta go for it.’”
Moroz, who is six-time Formula Kite World Champion and a four-time U.S. Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year — is now looking to add Olympic medalist to her impressive resume.
The California native sailed two seasons for the Rainbow Wahine. Moroz’s athletic background is in kiting, meaning she didn’t have much experience with boat sailing prior to UH.
However, no challenge is too small for Moroz as she went on to make the UH team and competed in several competitions for the ‘Bows.
“The sailing team was so much fun,” Moroz said. “It was just one of those things where you start school in a new place, and you immediately have 15 best friends because you just bond over sailing.”
Following Paris, Moroz said she will return to UH to complete her marketing degree.
“Daniela is a very happy, likeable person and was a very positive influence on all of us during the time she spent with the UH Sailing team. She is driven to succeed, and we are all extremely excited to watch her bring home a medal for all of us and our country,” said UH Sailing Coach Andy Johnson.
Kiteboarders require the balance of a surfer, while simultaneously traveling at a similar speed as seen in windsurfing. Competitors must navigate through a buoy-marked course that requires both tactical and quick decision-making, optimizing their equipment to maximize both speed and efficiency.
Moroz, with her eyes set on gold, is one of 20 women competing for a medal. Kiteboarding is one of the 10 sailing events at the Games and kicks off Aug. 4 at the Marseille Marina.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Quick: Who was the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire while Beethoven was composing his masterpieces? Who ruled Germany while J.S. Bach was creating his?
If you don’t know, don’t worry. Most people don’t. But as history unfolds before our eyes, there seems an excessive emphasis upon governments and politics being the defining elements of an era, when the stuff that stands the test of time is more likely to be what our artists are creating.
I found myself reflecting upon this while attending vocal octet Cantus’ latest program, “The Queen’s Songbook,” which is devoted almost entirely to the music of a monarch. That would be Queen Lili’uokalani, the last queen of Hawaii, who ruled that archipelago kingdom from 1891 to 1893 before being deposed by American interests, the U.S. government eventually annexing the islands.
But unlike those members of European aristocracy who commissioned work from our now legendary composers, Queen Lili’uokalani was something of a D.I.Y. artist. Trained in the European musical tradition and the choral stylings of Christian churches, she was a composer from an early age who became history’s most important voice in committing the musical traditions of Hawaii to posterity, framing them in her own distinctive style.
This week, Cantus is spending four nights in St. Paul and Minneapolis applying their harmonies to the creations of the queen. The brainchild of baritone and Oahu product Jeremy Wong, “The Queen’s Songbook” is a portrait of both a musical genre all its own and the life of a woman deeply in love with her land, as her lyrics invariably suggest. Both enlightening and as refreshing as the ocean breezes and floral fragrances her songs frequently celebrate, it’s a richly rewarding combination of history lesson, cultural immersion and sonic vacation.
Accompanied by pianist Tyler Ramos and wearing shirts emblazoned with flora and landscapes, the eight members of Cantus made some of their strongest impressions when dividing up into smaller groups. Such as when Jacob Christopher’s high tenor soared atop “Ku’u Ipo I Ka He’e Pu’e One” or the trio of Wong, Paul Scholtz and Samuel Bohlander-Green dug into the deep end of their registers on a canon-esque “‘Imi Au Ia ‘Oe E Ke Aloha.”
But the loveliest thing offered at Tuesday’s performance in Courtroom 317 of St. Paul’s Landmark Center was Justin Ka’upu’s hybrid of the queen’s most well-known composition, “Aloha ‘Oe,” and her reflection on a visit to England for “The Queen’s Jubilee.” Its final verse was delivered by the octet with such gentleness as to be breathtaking.
Toward evening’s end, the works focused upon the sad conclusion of the monarch’s life. Particularly powerful were a piece of wistful nostalgia from the imprisoned queen courtesy of Wong and bass Chris Foss; a very pretty version of “Ka Wai ‘Apo Lani” with splendid solos from Paul John Rudoi, Christopher and Scholtz; and an encore full of low descants that delivered listeners back to the breezy place at which the concert began.
Cantus
What: “The Queen’s Songbook,” featuring music by Queen Lili’oukolani
When and where: 7:30 p.m. Wed., Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Av., Mpls.; 7:30 p.m. Thu., American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Av., Mpls.; 11 a.m. Fri., Westminster Hall, Nicollet Mall and Alice Rainville Place, Mpls.
Tickets: $5-$36, available at 612-435-0046 or cantussings.org
Note: Friday’s performance is available for streaming through July 29.
Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.
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