Vacation rental bill is headed to uncertainty

State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole remembers playing as a boy in the 1990s at homes in Kaneohe that have now become illegal short-term rentals — including one directly behind his house that’s outfitted with a putting green and tiki torches.

A vacation nightmare: Why is it that timeshares attract so many scammers?

For more than a decade, employees of a violent Mexican cartel, posing as sales representatives, have contacted timeshare owners and offered to buy their timeshares back for a princely sum. They persuade the owners to wire large sums to Mexico for upfront fees for listing advertisements, government fines and other bogus costs.