‘Dream factory’
If you add up all the things that a college is, they can all be summed up as one thing: a dream factory.
Education is the single most important asset anyone can have to make their dreams come true. Hawaii has done an excellent job in creating the University of Hawaii system to insure that the coming generations can achieve their lifetime goals and dreams.
Being a Hawaii resident offers a 50% discount to resident students to make college affordable, which is a great investment in the future.
Unfortunately, there are a few loopholes in determining residency which need to be addressed.
A child who was born and raised in Hawaii, who perhaps has never even left the state, can still be called a “non resident.” If an absent parent living on the mainland is claiming a child as a dependent on his taxes, that child is “not a resident.” Similarly a student who goes to the mainland for any number of reasons will discover they have lost their residency as a result.
We should welcome these family members home. We should not discriminate against children who are ensnared in the tax situation of their parents.
These inequities are going to be addressed this legislative session by House Bill 1488.
The bill basically vests the right of residency at the University of Hawaii with a student when they receive their high school diploma from a high school in Hawaii. This would be a right which remains with the student no matter what twists of fate occur in their young lives.
I would encourage students (and parents) across Hawaii to contact their representatives and senators in support of HB 1488.
This is about your future, your government and the State of Hawaii, which will soon belong to you.
Michael Mentnech
Keaau
Obama as VP?
Former President Obama can’t run for president a third time, but he can run for and become vice president, and with many of the older potential Democrat candidates for president being elderly, Obama might become the president if they step down.
He could run with Biden, Hillary, Bernie or any of the respected elders of the party who want a turn.
I’m just saying.
Carl Oguss
Hilo
Quick response
The Hawaii County Highways Division did a great job responding to my call about an overgrown area on an intersection in Hilo. The obstruction was cleared away the same day as my phone call.
I was told that they would get right on it, and they certainly did!
Ronald Hora
Hilo