Tourism, military booming

It’s hard to listen to talk about diversifying Hawaii’s economy over the powerful roar of our longtime economic engines, tourism and the military.

A new report by The Pew Charitable Trust found that per-capita defense spending in Hawaii was $5,865 for fiscal year 2015, the third-highest in the country, behind Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The national average was $1,510. And with the federal government poised for a spending spree — the recently enacted $1.3 trillion spending bill is “the best appropriations bill by far for Hawaii,” according to U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz — our growth through government dollars is likely to increase, especially with an administration that wants to spend more on defense.

January’s false missile alert reminded us of Hawaii’s forward role in countering North Korea and other threats in the Asia-Pacific region, with the thousands of personnel and hardware that come with it.

Meanwhile, tourists continue to pour into the islands. The state expects visitor arrivals to increase every year, reaching 10 million in 2021, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Last year, visitors brought nearly $16.8 billion to the state. As a result, the wear and tear on Hawaii’s scenic natural treasures has grown; state Senate leaders now are considering diverting some tourism promotion money to help repair and maintain popular sites.

And we continue to be reminded of the effects of the military’s presence here: Earlier this month, the Army announced it would close off part of the ocean off Makua Beach to search for unexploded ordnance after a 5-inch projectile was found in the water in 2016.

For Hawaii, a sustainable economy depends on a healthy natural environment. Policymakers focused on economic growth need to focus on its consequences as well.

Encouraging student test results

When it comes to scores and stats, it’s all relative, but it’s certainly better to trend upward than downward.

That’s why there’s some relief that Hawaii’s public school students generally ticked upward in the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress, the test known as “The Nation’s Report Card” that measures student achievement every two years. On math and reading tests taken by fourth-graders and eighth-graders, Hawaii’s kids mostly did better than the last time in 2015:

>> 32 percent of fourth-graders were reading-proficient, up from 29 percent in 2015; in math, they held steady at 38 percent proficient.

>> 30 percent of eighth-graders were proficient in reading, an encouraging surge from 26 percent in 2015; disappointingly, though, their math proficiency fell to 27 percent, from 30 percent two years ago.

Further, Hawaii’s scores fell short of these results nationally: among fourth-graders, 36 percent were reading-proficient and 40 percent were math-proficient; among eighth-graders, 36 percent were reading-proficient while 34 percent were math-proficient.

Clearly, much more work lies ahead. And there’s little comfort in realizing that not even half of students, in Hawaii and the nation, are proficient in reading and math.

But if long-term trajectories count for anything, an encouraging one emerges. Since Hawaii started participating in this Report Card in the 1990s, the proficiency rates have jumped by double- digit percentage points. Up is better than down, remember — but exceeding national averages would be best.

New city offices face budget cuts

Justify yourself, or be cut.

That’s the tough message the City Council’s Budget Committee had for two fledgling city agencies: the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (OCCSR), and the Department of Land Management (DLM). Both departments were created by Oahu voters in 2016 via amendments to the City Charter: OCCSR to study and facilitate mitigations against climate-change threats such as sea level rise; DLM to improve management and use of city-owned lands for purposes such as affordable housing.

At week’s start, it looked as if the budget for OCCSR’s eight-person office might be slashed by half, to about $556,000 — but that eased, with OCCSR now poised to retain most of its funding. Budget Chairman Trevor Ozawa, though, was unimpressed by DLM’s lack of progress, so is threatening to slash $1.7 million from its $1.95 million budget.

One revelation was DLM’s employment surge in just over a year, now at 28 staffers. With the financial squeeze to find millions of dollars to cover the bloated rail project, it’ll be increasingly vital for city agencies to show results and efficiency; the Budget Committee already is telling all departments to brace for across-the-board cuts. Core services are Job One — but the pressure to distinguish “need to have” from “nice to have” will intensify.