Honolulu mayor unveils affordable housing strategy
HONOLULU (AP) — Mayor Kirk Caldwell released his strategy to increase affordable housing on Oahu.
The Honolulu mayor made the strategy public Wednesday. The strategy is packed with new regulations and incentives for developers.
More than 24,000 housing units are needed to address Oahu’s housing crisis, Caldwell said.
The majority of the demand is for people who earn less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income, which is $58,600 for a single person and $83,700 for a family of four, he said.
The mayor’s proposal requires affordable units be built in new projects and subdivisions with 10 or more housing units, and increases the time units must remain on the market as affordable from 10 to 30 years.
If passed, these rules will be rolled out first in Ala Moana, Downtown and Chinatown and then expanded islandwide throughout a three-year period.
Visitor numbers increase for April
HONOLULU (AP) — A surge in travelers from the U.S. mainland, Canada and Japan fueled a 7.5 percent increase in visitors to Hawaii last month compared to the same month last year.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority said Thursday spending by visitors climbed 9 percent to $1.3 billion.
The state agency says visitor spending grew by double digits on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.
Travel from the U.S. mainland got a boost from the Easter holidays. The resumption of nonstop air service from Tokyo to Kailua-Kona also lifted travel from Japan.
The tourism authority says the industry generated more than $650 million in state tax revenue during the first four months of the year. That’s an increase of 10 percent compared with last year.
Ex-police officer gets 60 days in jail
HONOLULU (AP) — A former Honolulu police officer was sentenced to 60 days in jail on multiple drug charges including the promotion of cocaine, marijuana and painkillers.
Alan Ahn, 55, was sentenced Tuesday in circuit court. Ahn also will serve four years of probation.
Ahn admitted wrongdoing and took responsibility for his actions during sentencing.
He was facing up to 10 years in jail on four counts of drug charges.
Ahn and his then-girlfriend were arrested in August 2015 after the woman’s house was raided.
Undercover officers previously bought drugs at the house.
Big Island beach makes Dr. Beach’s top 10 for 2017
(AP) Two Hawaii beaches, including one on the Big Island, made it onto the 2017 list of top 10 beaches in the United States as compiled by Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach.
This year’s top 10 beaches are:
1. Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Fla.
2. Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui.
3. Ocracoke Beach, Outer Banks, N.C.
4. Grayton Beach State Park, Florida Panhandle
5. Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y.
6. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.
7. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Fla.
8. Hapuna Beach State Park, Big Island
9. Coronado Beach, San Diego.
10. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.
