[doorgunner69]

The problem is tax assessment, not that the Kona side is crawling with rich people living in huge estates. The assessor has been raping the west side for a long time, huge sore point.

Only about 40k people in the most populated area of the west side, vast majority are not "rich".

[ccmay]

The assessor has been raping the west side for a long time, huge sore point.

A little more rain shouldn't make that big a difference. My guess is the haole to native ratio in various neighborhoods has the most to do with the assessments, even adjusted for income.