If you’re in downtown Honolulu and you’re driving past Restaurant Row, you’re likely to see a sign on the makai side saying, “Foreign Trade Zone No. 9.”
In this country, a foreign trade zone (FTZ) is a geographical area, in (or adjacent to) a...
It’s no secret that adding a red dot optic to a handgun is a red-hot trend.
Over the last few years this has been catching on with polymer guns, such as the Glock MOS system, the Smith & Wesson M&P series and other manufacturers...
Fiji is back in the tourism business.
The South Pacific Island nation closed its borders to international tourists in March 2020, and remained closed for nearly two years, reopening on 1 December 2021. During this period, all of us have had the opportunity to...
Several times in this space, we have discussed the Governor’s emergency powers. Our laws (chapter 127A, HRS) give the Governor broad powers to deal with emergencies.
One of those powers is to: “Suspend any law that impedes or tends to impede or be detrimental...
President Barack Obama regularly referred to his home state of Hawaii as a big, harmonious community, where he was born and spent his boyhood and adolescence. In fact, his Hawaiian background is, in many ways, a key to understanding who he really is.
There...
Once upon a time there were some property developers on Oahu.
They thought that agricultural development would be a good thing. There were lots of tax incentives associated with agricultural development.
I recently had a chance to connect with my old friend Roberta Davis, who has spent the last two years at her B&B-style property called Makaira on the Garden Island of Taveuni. Located in the north of the Fiji Archipelago, it's far from civilization and remains...
You might not know this, but our tax workers enjoy all kinds of special privileges.
Suppose, for example, a tax auditor told all your customers you were a tax cheat, rifled through your garbage, asked embarrassing questions of your friends and maybe some enemies,...
Gracing hotels, resorts and high rises around Waikiki and throughout the Aloha State, there's nothing more iconic than the coconut palm.
However, when the corona-virus pandemic forced hotels and the tourism industry to shut down, it threw into stark relief the coconut palm's importance...
On November 4, the Supreme Court of Hawaii released its decision in League of Women Voters v. State. That decision involved a bill enacted by the 2018 Legislature that went through some different incarnations before finally becoming law
