Reshaping the Hawaii travel industry, big questions have been raised about transparency and fairness amid questionable practices and results.
Reshaping the Hawaii travel industry, big questions have been raised about transparency and fairness amid questionable practices and results.
And in bed with hotels to push out private rental owners! Hope you vote these people out before your economy is destroyed!
This is not a problem unique to Hawaii.
Most states and large cities have the same problems.
Wealth and power tend to dominate our governmental decision making!
Hmmm, no…HI is a Very special case. The corruption throughout the political structure has oppressed the people of HI and visitors for years.
There is simply no hope for restoration of the islands except to vote the corruption out, fund and enable law enforcement to clean it up, and even call in outside help if needed to root it out completely.
Just one more reason pushing us to move out of state. The corruption here is simply not fixable. The conditions of airports on neighborhood islands are embarrassing, even life threatening (Kona). The lack of services at public beaches is unacceptable (Hapuna especially) and now charging all of us for parking at the few places to park, well, just bye bye Hawaii.
I left Maui for several reasons, but the corruption, nepotism, and incompetance of civil servants was at the top of the list. My naive Maui home buble was burst after 5 years on Maui.
Well… I think this makes it clear that it is time for locals to start questioning the local government about the bad infrastructure, instead of blaming visitors.
It is quite frustrating that the politicians behavior has likely contributed to the divisiveness that exists between locals and visitors. It makes sense though, it gave them an excuse to continue to raise taxes and fees while lining their pockets and directing the attention elsewhere.
This is about as anti-aloha, pono as it gets. I personally with be escalating this to my Federal contacts to see what oversight can be implemented. If Hawaii and their politicians cannot do the right thing by the people, then it’s time it’s taken away. The rail is a joke, airport improvements are a joke and stealing from the people needs to come to an abrupt halt and those that do steal should get Federal time with no fluffy sentences that Hawaiian Courts are known for. Time for a major crackdown.
Sort of hilarious 800 S. Beretania is right across the street from the police department. Nothing to see there!
While we continue to live amidst this pay-to-play, our kids are moving elsewhere to be done with it.
I’ve escalated this to the Feds. Enough is enough where Hawaiian politicians steal from the people of Hawaii. This is not only not pono, not aloha, but deserves mandatory Federal monitoring and to take away financial management away from anyone or any group without outside oversight. This has long been known, but it’s time for some “teeth”.
as so many people jokingly say “Hawaii is no different than a third world country” it really is a truism.
Bob, a third-world country with US Government perks and protections, though.
Thank you for the article. Reads like something out of a mob story. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.
Thanks for flagging the NYTimes article on Hawaiian corruption. I think your headline is a little misleading though, in associating the only the Travel Industry. The corruption identified by the Times with the assistance of Civil Beat extends throughout governmental contracting in Hawaii, and is shameful, and expensive to Hawaiian citizens and visitors alike.
Does all this conjure up thoughts about the debacle with short term rentals and the hotel industry? I question whether more will come out regarding that?
What else will be uncovered and determined to be unhealthy for Hawaii tourism?
I guess we need to stay tuned?
Thank you BOH and NYT for exposing this corruption. We have none that taxes collected on the islands goes to Oahu as we noticed the disrepair of Maui roads for decades. Only recently were improvements done here. Now that this has come to light, what can we do? We have noticed that even when bills are opposed they get passed. Will this be the case with elections in November? We need change. What steps can we take? It is obvious that this is now on the Feds radar. Yay!!!
Is there a problem here? If so fix it if not then what?
So tourists are the problem in Hawaii??? Me thinks Not!! I’m form Chicago and this bit of information even has me shocked!!!
Hi Kay.
Thanks. You made us laugh!
Aloha
I lived in Honolulu for almost 12 years. When I retired in 2018, I returned to California. I loved my time in Hawaii and I miss all the friends I made. The Beat of Hawaii is a great read and I enjoy keeping up with what’s happening in the Islands. Thank you for keeping me and many others informed.
Thanks,
Jeanine
Hi Jeanine.
Thank you! Best regards.
Aloha.
“Pay to play” is not unique to Hawaii, but in light of this being public, each public official should be stripped of their responsibilities, fired and banished from receiving their pensions and no longer eligible for holding any job that is paid for by public funds.
It is not unique to Hawaii, but we’ve elevated it to an art, and mastered the process.
No surprise here. I was told a year ago that the MJ legislation would not pass until 2025 so that a high level senator would be able to claim success for their reelection.
Lots of money at risk when or if we clean up and legalize MJ.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (John Locke)
I don’t know why any of this should come as a surprise to anyone. Graft and corruption are rampant, and the “don’t make waves” culture of turning a blind eye to the problem doesn’t help.
Nothing will ever change because those who benefit the most are the same ones who block any and all attempts to reign in corruption.
A federal sting operation will be necessary to arrest and convict corrupt lawmakers and other government officials. Only then can we clear a path for a new generation of leaders to carry Hawaii forward.
Thanks for sharing this great reporting by Blaze Lovell, Eric Sagara and Irene Casado Sanchez. Just to clarify this story was a collaboration between NYTimes and Honolulu Civil Beat.
I really like Civil Beat. They do a diligent, thorough job, unlike some of the other publications on the islands (not implying This publication of course!).