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Keliʻi Akina

Keli‘i Akina, Ph.D., is president and CEO of Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i.

Latest from Keliʻi Akina

Community Voices: The Legislature found $150 million. So where’s our tax relief?

Community Voices: The Legislature found $150 million. So where’s our tax relief?

Gov. Josh Green kicked off this year’s session claiming the state’s budget crunch is so bad that it justifies “pausing” the phase-in of the historic income tax cuts he signed into law in 2024. If that’s true, why has the Legislature put forth a budget that blows past his suggested spending by more than $195 million?

Keliʻi AkinaMarch 30, 2026

Community Voices: Is the Jones Act finally sinking?

Community Voices: Is the Jones Act finally sinking?

President Donald Trump recently issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act and within 24 hours, foreign ships were being chartered to carry essential goods. When nearly every emergency, from hurricanes to military action, raises the need for a Jones Act waiver, it is time to stop issuing temporary waivers and start looking at permanent reform. 

Keliʻi AkinaMarch 23, 2026

Community Voices: Housing bills looked like winners, until they didn’t

Community Voices: Housing bills looked like winners, until they didn’t

This is regrettable not just because of what it means for Hawaiʻi’s ongoing housing crisis, but also because of the way it happened.

Keliʻi AkinaMarch 18, 2026

Community Voices: Fighting to save Hawai‘i's income tax cuts

Community Voices: Fighting to save Hawai‘i's income tax cuts

Bills before the Legislature to claw back tax relief were met with stiff opposition from voters. These proposals to abandon announced tax relief have eroded public trust — and raised a lot of questions about our government’s commitment to reducing Hawai‘i’s cost of living.

Keliʻi AkinaMarch 10, 2026

Community Voices: The hidden problem with emergency powers

Community Voices: The hidden problem with emergency powers

Bills currently before the Legislature would put some much needed restrictions on Hawai‘i's emergency powers law, which grant the governor and mayors extraordinary control with little accountability. They would also provide the Legislature with the means to end a declared emergency.

Keliʻi AkinaMarch 02, 2026

Community Voices: Time to tackle Hawaiʻi’s health care crisis

Community Voices: Time to tackle Hawaiʻi’s health care crisis

There are several significant health care bills still making their way through the Legislature. Perhaps the most important are those that would reform the state’s medical “certificate of need” regulations.

Keliʻi AkinaFebruary 24, 2026

More from our columnists

Community Voices: There’s a new kids’ market in town

Community Voices: There’s a new kids’ market in town

The Children’s Entrepreneur Market aims to help keiki learn about entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership through hands-on experience.

Keliʻi AkinaDecember 18, 2025

Community Voices: Lessons from Lahaina could help Hilo recover

Community Voices: Lessons from Lahaina could help Hilo recover

Although the scope of the Lahaina and Hilo fires differs, the lesson is the same: Inflexible regulations can severely delay or even prevent rebuilding. Hawai‘i County could act now to identify and work around those barriers.

Keliʻi AkinaDecember 10, 2025

Community Voices: State-funded marketing is not the answer to low tourist turnout

Community Voices: State-funded marketing is not the answer to low tourist turnout

Tourism is a competitive, global business. Someone needs to pay for advertising to keep Hawai‘i top of mind, but it shouldn't be local taxpayers.

Keliʻi AkinaNovember 27, 2025

Community Voices: Many of the proposed Honolulu Charter amendments actually make sense

Community Voices: Many of the proposed Honolulu Charter amendments actually make sense

Among the 250 charter amendment proposals submitted by the public were four from Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i aimed at speeding up permit approvals and improving cost-of-government accountability.

Keliʻi AkinaNovember 21, 2025

Community Voices: Lahaina rebuilding inches toward progress

Community Voices: Lahaina rebuilding inches toward progress

Maui County lawmakers have succeeded at removing some of the barriers to speedy reconstruction.

Keliʻi AkinaOctober 29, 2025

Community Voices: Rail is a fail; who’s going to hit the brakes?

Community Voices: Rail is a fail; who’s going to hit the brakes?

We don't know yet just how late and over budget the Honolulu Skyline rail system will be. We do know that its annual budget is growing by nearly 10% a year and city officials are talking about any number of rail extensions. Maybe it's time to let the public drive this train and put such decisions to a vote.

Keliʻi AkinaOctober 21, 2025

Community Voices: Kudos to the counties for considering housing reforms

Community Voices: Kudos to the counties for considering housing reforms

Maui and Hawai‘i counties are both looking into ways to make housing more plentiful.

Keliʻi AkinaSeptember 10, 2025

Community Voices: Time to retire the Jones Act’s U.S.-build requirement

Community Voices: Time to retire the Jones Act’s U.S.-build requirement

The Jones Act was supposed to protect the American shipbuilding industry, but the industry has withered away despite that support. New legislation by U.S. Rep. Ed Case of Hawai‘i proposes changes to the act that could ultimately reduce shipping costs to the Islands.

Keliʻi AkinaSeptember 03, 2025

Community Voices: Are you ready for another boondoggle?

Community Voices: Are you ready for another boondoggle?

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has a history of rightfully targeting Honolulu’s rail project for its wasteful spending. Which brings us to the planned Aloha Stadium project...

Keliʻi AkinaAugust 26, 2025

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