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John Oliver: ‘Hawaii is being reshaped by wealthy outsiders’

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John Oliver: ‘Hawaii is being reshaped by wealthy outsiders’


On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver looked into Hawaii’s evolution into a haven for billionaires at the expense of the local population, as part of a long history of the state prioritizing wealthy outsiders. “For native Hawaiians, it must be difficult to shake the feeling that you’re an afterthought,” he said. “It’s like be introduced by your parents saying ‘these are our sons Tommy and Tommy’s brother,’ or having a TV show announced as ‘stick around after House of the Dragon’.”

It is “no wonder” that nearly two-thirds of residents believe that their state is being run for tourists at locals’ expense. “The more you look at Hawaii, the clearer it becomes that they’re not wrong about that, but it’s not just tourists,” he said. “Hawaii has long been run for the benefit of everyone but Hawaiians.”

At least, when run by the US; prior to its annexation, the islands, long ago settled by seafaring Polynesians, was ruled by a constitutional monarchy that abolished slavery in 1852 – before the US. In 1983, a very small group of wealthy white landowners forced the final ruler of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani, to cede power of the kingdom of Hawaii to the US. The islands became the 50th state in 1959.

“Over the past century, a number of groups, from the US military to tourists to the extremely wealthy, have continued to exploit Hawaii,” Oliver noted.

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Firstly, the military, which leases large swaths of Hawaiian land at extremely low rates – in one case, $1 – and have bombed areas for “training purposes”, not cleaning up waste. Just three years ago, the military’s massive fuel storage facility on Oahu had a spill which poisoned the water system that served 93,000 people. “The US military has a pattern of causing an absolute mess in Hawaii, with activists having to struggled to undo the damage,” said Oliver.

Case in point: the US army seized the Mākua Valley after Pearl Harbor, evicting local families who lived there for generations with the promise that the land would be returned six months after the end of World War II. That still hasn’t happened. “Instead, it’s yet another of Hawaii’s sacred spaces that’s being used for target practice,” said Oliver. The activist group Mālama Mākua successfully sued the army to stop live fire training in the valley in 2004, but can only visit twice a month under military supervision.

On the tourism front, though it contributes over 18% to the state’s GDP, “Hawaii does seem set up to benefit wealthy outsiders”. There are currently 32,000 short term rentals in the state, meaning one out of 18 houses is a vacation rental, and nearly a quarter of Hawaiian homes were purchased by buyers outside the state. Hawaii is now the most expensive state in the nation for housing, and because the state imports about 90% of its food, residents also pay some of the highest prices in the nation for groceries.

“But maybe the ultimate expression of the extent to which Hawaii is being reshaped by wealthy outsiders is its growing population of billionaires,” said Oliver, noting that 11% of the state’s private land is owned by just 37 billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison and Oprah Winfrey. Ellison bought 98% of the island of Lanai – including its grocery store, single gas station and the community newspaper – for a reported $300m. “He’s basically everyone’s boss and landlord,” said Oliver.

But “nothing compares to what’s being done on Kauai” by Zuckerberg, “a real boy who wished upon a star to become a wooden puppet”, Oliver joked. The Meta founder and CEO is building a giant compound on the island that has more than a dozen buildings, at least 30 bedrooms and bathrooms, a tunnel that leads into a 5,000-sq-ft underground bunker and 11 treehouses connected by intricate rope bridges. To secure the land, Zuckerberg sued hundreds of local residents to dispute their ancestral land rights, “using a legal maneuver pioneered by white sugar planters”, Oliver explained. “It is the most on-brand white guy in Hawaii thing he could possibly do.”

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Zuckerberg did eventually withdraw from those lawsuits, and penned an op-ed promising to “work together with the community on a new approach”. But he continued to buy up parcels of ancestral rights land and support his co-claimant in the lawsuits, an owner who wanted to buy out the rights of all the others. That co-claimant did successfully get the land to be put up for auction, then bought them for $2m. “Who can say where he got the that money?” Oliver mused. “Apparently, not me, legally. Maybe $2m just fell out of a random treehouse somewhere.”

“It does seem like that new approach for the community ended up with Zuckerberg getting what he wanted anyway,” Oliver continued. “And billionaires like him will insist that they contribute to local charities and help the economy there, but it’s the larger dynamic at work here, where wealthy outsiders can out-purchase and out-maneuver a local population, that can be so dispiriting.”

Taken together – “the cost of living crisis, the low wages of a tourism dominant economy, the off chance of being exploded or poisoned by the US military” – it’s “frankly no wonder that so many are choosing to leave the island,” said Oliver. Each year, 15,000 native Hawaiians leave the state for the mainland, which now has a larger Hawaiian population than Hawaii itself.

What can be done? “When a situation is this complicated and took this long to develop, there aren’t going to be quick and easy solutions,” said Oliver. But he recommend some “obvious” steps, such as not renewing US military leases on Hawaiian land, restricting short-term rentals and second homes, and focusing state government resources on developing a diverse local economy.

“The solution is not going to come down to any single trip you might take,” he added. “It’s going to require much bigger systemic choices. That said, if you do end up visiting, try to be aware of the history that you’re stepping into.”

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Hawaii sees more snow than New York City this fall

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Hawaii sees more snow than New York City this fall


MAUNA KEA, HI—An early-season snowstorm blasted the Northeast this week, dropping a foot of snow in some areas. This was the Northeast region’s first snowstorm of the season, but Hawaii has already had a few encounters with fresh powder this fall. 

Winter weather arrived right on time at Hawaii’s Mauna Kea summit, home to astronomy observatory facilities from around the world. According to the Maunakea Visitor Information Station, this year, the first snow of the season fell at the 14,000-foot summit on Oct. 28.

WHICH IS THE SNOWIEST MONTH OF THE YEAR?

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Unlike the tropical climate at lower elevations on the Big Island, Mauna Kea’s elevation means it experiences a different climate, including freezing temperatures and significant snowfall.

Hawaii’s wet season runs from October through April, during which snow is a familiar sight at the summit of Mauna Kea. 

Back on the mainland, a winter storm arrived a week ahead of Thanksgiving and, according to the FOX Forecast Center, dropped more than a foot of snow in parts of Upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. 

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Meanwhile, New York City has yet to see snow. But it’s still early for the Big Apple. The first measurable snow of one inch or more in New York City happens on average around Dec. 13.⁠



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Deadspin | No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State test mettle in Hawaii

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Deadspin | No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State test mettle in Hawaii


Nov 9, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) celebrates with head coach Bruce Pearl after the game against the Houston Cougars at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State will meet Monday in the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii, in a clash of college basketball powers that has more the look of a tournament championship game than that of a first-round contest.

While the high-level matchup is unusual for the opening round, it does give the Tigers and Cyclones a chance to see how they stack up among the NCAA elite.

And although Iowa State (3-0) has hammered three mid-major teams, Auburn (4-0) already owns a measuring-stick victory at then-No. 4 Houston on Nov. 9.

Now comes more challenging competition as the tournament includes No. 2 UConn and No. 10 North Carolina, as well as three other teams that arrive in Maui with undefeated records — Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.

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“The next four games are against Elite 8-caliber teams,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, referring to the tournament games as well as including a Dec. 4 date at Duke. “It’ll be a true test and a true measure of where we’re at.”

The Tigers are currently at a good place. In addition to their win over Houston, they’ve beaten up on three mid-majors.

Johni Broome made 13 of 17 shots to finish with 30 points in Auburn’s 102-69 victory over North Alabama on Monday. He also pulled down 17 rebounds, while Dylan Cardwell made 5 of 6 shots to finish with 12 points.

“Our bigs shot an incredible percentage,” Pearl said. “Johni and Dylan are two of the best centers in college basketball and we’ve got both of them.”

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Meanwhile, the rest of the Tigers’ starters scored in double figures. Denver Jones delivered 13 points and nine assists in the win.

Playing three games in three days will be a big change for Iowa State, which has been one of the least active teams in Division I. Its only three games have come on the three Mondays in November.

“We’ve had these experiences in years past. Last year it didn’t go as well,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said, referring to last November when the Cyclones lost two of three games in the ESPN Events Invitational.

“Yes, you want to win every game, but last year we had a great season and we weren’t as good at this point,” Otzelberger said of his team, which went 29-8 and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

With five double-digit scorers, the Cyclones have shown balance, led by backcourt players Curtis Jones (15 points per game), Tamin Lipsey (13.7) and Keshon Gilbert (12.3).

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St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson recorded his first double-double for his new team by collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds in Iowa State’s 87-52 victory over IU Indianapolis last Monday. He made all seven of his shots from the floor.

On Monday night, the Cyclones face a team that is “playing as well or better than anyone in the country,” Otzelberger said.

“They’re a tremendous team. They pressure defensively, really get after you. They’ve got tremendous depth. They try to wear you down,” Otzelberger said. “In the Houston game, Houston had the lead early and that’s what happened.”

–Field Level Media



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Proposed empty homes tax gets exemptions added for Hawaii residents as final vote nears

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Proposed empty homes tax gets exemptions added for Hawaii residents as final vote nears


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A bill aimed at cracking down on vacant homes on Oahu by increasing taxes is expected to face a final vote at the Honolulu City Council in the coming weeks.

It comes after the proposal has been revised several times because of questions and concerns from the community.

Bill 46 would add an incremental 3% yearly tax for vacant dwellings on a property that would be rolled out over three years.

Some owners could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars more in property taxes, but a recent change to the measure adds exemptions for Hawaii residents.

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The 2020 U.S. Census reported roughly 35,000 unoccupied housing units on Oahu.

Council Chair Tommy Waters, who introduced the bill, said it’s meant to get people to rent out or otherwise free up their unused units.

Under the measure’s current language, the higher tax would be placed on homes that are unoccupied for six months.

“We’re trying to get creative to figure out how we can get our local people to stay here. We can’t build our way out of this solution,” said Waters.

This week, the council’s budget committee narrowly passed the bill in a 3 to 2 vote after making several changes.

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One change would allow Hawaii residents to request an exemption for a second home they own.

To reduce administrative costs that would likely come with a new tax, the bill proposed it to operate under the already running property tax system by adding a new class.

There’s also changes to the bill’s language to comply with both with state and federal law to try and avoid potential lawsuits.

But still some residents still believe it will do more harm than good.

“Trying to enforce this and make sure that it’s equitable is going to be a nightmare,” said Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa.

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“My other concern about this is the landlords, they obviously have a stake in this but if they miss a deadline, it is no skin on their backs you know why? Because they will increase the rent for people like me and other families who cannot afford a home,” she added.

But younger constituents seem to support the proposal.

“This is not about punishing anyone. It is about making housing accessible to the people who call Hawaii their home,” said one testifier.

Bill 46 could still undergo even more revisions.

The bill is expected to go for a final vote on December 11, where public input will also be taken.

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