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SHE'S GOT THE LOOK

Model Caitlin Edwards was 17 when she landed her first cover of Aloha Street magazine, a Japanese-language publication for Oahu visitors. That was back in 2000, and she was hired to grace every cover of the quarterly magazine for that year. Edwards says Japanese media commonly keeps models consistent for products and for a high school senior, it was a good year of work.

photos: courtesy Aloha Street

Magazine executives explain that Edwards, whose father is Caucasian and mother Japanese, has a hapa look to which Japanese tourists really respond. She does, indeed. Aloha Street invited her back for another year of covers in 2002. The magazine did the same thing in 2003, 2004 and 2005. If you haven't seen a recent copy of Aloha Street, Edwards is the pick for 2006, too.

"Every year, I expected them to find someone new. I definitely thought it was a one-time thing," says Edwards. In 2003, a Japanese talent agent visiting Hawaii saw her cover shot and decided he liked her look, too. He started aggressively selling her look in Japan. Edwards started doing substantial print campaigns there, and eventually landed television ads and a travel show.

Edwards, now 22, graduated from University of Hawaii with a marketing degree last year. But a marketing career will come later for this cover girl. Says Edwards of her modeling success: "I haven't had to get a real job, yet."

-Scott Radway

AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Free and easy access to business intelligence? Have we business journos died and gone to heaven? Not exactly. However, the Hawaii State Public Library System has made our jobs easier, with online database resources that can also help almost any business person looking for information.

The key to logging into this data goldmine is the number on your Hawaii State Library card. Go to www.state.hi.us/-libraries/hsl/dtabases.html and click on Business & Com-pany Resource Center. This center provides timely information and historical information, including company rankings, industry statistics and investment reports.

Scroll down further and click on RDS Business Reference Suite. This will give you access to a business reference trio of databases by Thompson Gale, including TableBase, which provides tables of data on companies, industries, products and demographics. Business librarian Gail Urago says the business resources are intuitive and user-friendly and expects that the data will be useful to "anybody who is working in business."

-Kelli Abe Trifonovitch

"I could get a lot more for my money on the Mainland. But ... I figure that I'm already used to living on next to nothing, and I'm a very patient guy." - Shea Crawford, Hawaii Pacific University student, on the skills 20-somethings need to buy a home in Hawaii. See story here.

OF BREAKTHROUGHS AND BOTTLENECKS

In 2005, Henk Rogers, the founder of Blue Lava Wireless, became a high-tech hero of sorts for Hawaii's fledgling industry. Rogers not only sold Blue Lava and the exclusive wireless telephone rights to Tetris for $137 million to California-based Jamdat, he managed to broker an agreement that would keep his people and their jobs in Hawaii. Rogers' reputation was only elevated in early 2006, when the beefed-up Jamdat was bought by gaming giant Electronic Arts for $680 million.

photo: Janelle Kalawe

The problem was, for all the energy he created in the high-tech sector here, Rogers was also creating a bottleneck. Of the approximately 20,000 square feet available for startups at the Manoa Innovation Center (MIC), Rogers and his enterprises had 5,000 square feet. The MIC is supposed to be helping early stage startups. In late February, Laurie Akau, client services manager for the High Technology Development Corp., which runs the center, said there were eight new companies waiting to get in and three of the existing 16 tenants needed more space.

However, according to Akau, Rogers' enterprises are now moving out. The Electronic Arts division, clearly not a startup, will be moving to the Gold Bond building. The rest of his companies will be moved to Harbor Court. Akau anticipates that between now and August all of Rogers' 5,000 square feet will be freed up and everyone on the waiting list will be accommodated.

-Scott Radway

Hawaii Business defines often-spoken words, new and old, to help you make sense of what's being said.

Holla |häla|: Holla is a hip-hop pronunciation of holler. Gen Y and Xers most often use it in parting, saying to a coworker at the day's end: "Holla at ya boy," which is to say, "Give me, your good friend, a call." Or perhaps: "I'll holla at ya," which means, "I'll call you later." So if a coworker says "Holla at me," they are not asking for earsplitting negative reinforcement. -Scott Radway Email confusing words to hbeditorial@pacificbasin.net

THE EXECUTIVE PLAYBOOK

From time to time, Hawaii Business checks in with local executives to see what's on their reading and play lists. Real estate developer Christine Camp Friedman, who just discovered the joys of downloading after her husband, Alan, bought her an iPod Nano, says her "eclectic" tastes in music range from opera arias to classic rock.

-Jacy L. Youn

She's listening to … Janis Joplin – Piece of my heart Four Non-Blonds – What's up Norah Jones – Come away with me John Lennon – Imagine The Opera Album – Der Holle Rache by Natalie Dessay and Casta Diva by Maria Callas

She's reading … Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, because her "career depends on understanding people's motivations and why they do what they do." It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by Michael Abrashoff, because "it was a gift from a multinational company who thought it may help me manage and motivate my staff." The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Story Telling by Annette Simmons, because Friedman "heard her speak to a group of developers at a recent conference and she held about 500 people captivated by her story telling." Lessons Learned on the Corner in Kalihi by Wesley T. Park, because she "found it so funny and right on point." Eragon and Eldest, books one and two of a three books series by Christopher Paolini, because she "can't stop being a child and wanting to continue to experience the world of fantasy, with its magic and clear delineation of good triumphing over evil."

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Ocean Pointe
Properties Sold Between June 2005 and October 2005

911041 Kaihohonu St. 3 BR, 2 B Living Area 1,287 sq. ft. Land 4,137 sq. ft. $509,000 Days on Market: 1	911023 Kaihi St. 3 BR, 2.5 B Living Area 1,288 sq. ft. Land 3,859 sq. ft. $589,000 Days on Market: 94	916429 Kapolei Pkwy 3 BR, 2.5 B Living Area 1,350 Land 3,650 sq. ft. $525,000 Days on Market: 6
PROPERTIES UNSOLD AS OF FEBRUARY 2006 91-6484 Kapolei Parkway / 3 BR, 2.5 B / Living Area 1,288 sq. ft. / Land: 3,872 sq. ft. / $539,900 / Days on Market: 95

"If you think of Oahu real estate like the stock market, then Honolulu is considered a blue chip stock and the west side is like a high-tech one, much more volatile. This past summer, West Oahu was at its highest point. Since then it has stabilized. The market is still very active. It has just settled down a little." Adam Lee, Realtor, Abe Lee Realty

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