Honolulu Housing Affordability, Hirono in Japan, Hawaii Five-0 Slips, Kaholokula New Chair

BY HAWAII REPORTER

Honolulu Continues to Rank Low for Housing Affordability

Honolulu ranked third-worst in terms of housing affordability in the fourth quarter, according to a new ranking of the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

The index measures metropolitan areas by the percentage of all new and existing homes sold that were affordable to families earning a median income.

The ranking found Honolulu ranked No. 221 in affordability out of the 223 cities researched. It found only 42.1 percent of homes sold during the fourth quarter were affordable for families with a median income.

The only markets worse than Honolulu were the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City area (31.5 percent) and the New York-White Plains-Wayne, New Jersey area (25.5 percent)

The Housing Opportunity Index said Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana ranked as the most affordable market in the nation. The area had an index of 97 percent.

Hirono among Delegation at Shimoda Conference

Hawaii U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono was conspicuously missing as top government officials gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday on Honolulu’s $5.5 billion rail project.

It turns out she was absent with good reason.

Hirono was among a bipartisan Congressional delegation attending the New Shimoda Conference in Tokyo, an unofficial dialogue between U.S. and Japanese officials, business people and academics aimed at rejuvenating the relationship between the two countries.

The U.S. delegation was led by Virginia Sen. James Webb. News reports said the Shimoda Conference is trying to repair some of the frayed relations between the U.S. and Japan. The relationship has suffered from a number of issues, including relocating the Futenma Marine base in Okinawa.

Hawaii Five-0 Ratings Slip as Castle Viewership Increases

The state’s top television series, Hawaii Five-0, didn’t have the best of weeks, according to ratings from Monday night’s shows.

Broadcasting and Cable reported the police drama slipped to a season-low of 2.7 ratings/ 8 share for the coveted 18 to 49 year-old demographic.

Meanwhile the series’ ABC competitor, Castle, rose to a 2.6/7 for the demographic.

Hawaii Five-0 still owns a commanding overall viewership lead over Castle, with 10.2 million households tuning in versus the 9.0 million for Castle.

Kaholokula Appointed Chair of Department of Native Hawaiian Health

Dr. J. Keawe’aimoku Kaholokula has been appointed the new chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Kaholokula was appointed in a ceremony earlier this month at the school. Dr. Kalani Brady was also acknowledged for his 20 months of service as interim chair of the department.

“We are the only the clinical department in a U.S. medical school with a department dedicated to an indigenous people, and we are defined by our communities,” said Kaholokula.

The department has been supported in part by the Queen’s Health System, which has pledged $2 million in renewed support for the department and its Imi Ho’ola Post Baccalaureate Program, which recruits and supports college students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

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