Land & Water

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Good news and bad news about howwe treat our most precious resources GENERATING &USING POWER Environment Map This systems map shows how Hawaii’s natural beauty actually creates forces that threaten it, including development and large numbers of visitors Key Factors Hawaii’s beauty and natural resources make it an attractive place to live for locals and… Read more »

HOUSING: HAWAII’S WEAK POINT

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Hawaii housing costs are among the highest in the nation. All the measures listed in the chart below were already bad in 2009 and got worse since then. Crime down but… Property and drug-related crime still worse than national average. Homelessness A bleak snapshot of life on the street More than half of all homeless… Read more »

HEALTH: HAWAII’S STRONGEST SUIT

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Key Statistics A Major Increase in Suicides By Steve Petranik and James Koshiba SUICIDE IS A GROWING tragedy in Hawaii. It was the second leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 34 from 2007 to 2011, according to the Hawaii Injury Prevention Plan. Only unintentional injuries killed more young people. Among people aged… Read more »

Still the Great Equalizer?

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Public education in Hawaii and America has been seen as the best way for underprivileged children to do better than their parents. Is that still true? These numbers reflect both challenges faced by local public schools and some improving indicators. VITAL STATISTICS Advanced Placement Programs In the past three years, more public school students have… Read more »

Why Civic Engagement is Important

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This systems map tries to explain key factors that help or hurt the quality of policy decisions in Hawaii. Hawaii ranks 51st in 2012 among the states and Washington, D.C., for voter turnout in 2012, measured as a percentage of eligible voters who actually voted. The Hawaii turnout was 44.5 percent. Eligible voters include those… Read more »

Hawaii’s Overall Economy

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Hawaii has the highest overall cost of living in the country and the highest housing costs. Here are key statistics, both good and bad. RELATIVELY LOW UNEMPLOYMENT Since the official end of the recession in 2009, Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has been consistently 2 to 3 percentage points lower than the national rate. Mapping… Read more »