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In addition to considerations of business and economic growth, we should also ask ourselves two additional questions: 1) How much is enough (how much do we really need?) and 2) What are we willing to do to sustain and nurture this land which supports us and makes our lifestyle possible?

Additionally, I appreciated Kelli Abe Trifonovitch's column outlining media responsibility in covering the big picture; the good, the bad and the ugly. I would also add that our role as citizens, business leaders, voters and parents is to become less passive and more engaged with regard to media; to become more informed by seeking out additional sources of news and information, and then to hold our elected leaders' feet to the fire. We must take a more active role in helping our leaders shape the kind of future in which we want to live and raise our families.

Hoyt Zia's column, "There's No Business Like Small Business," rang particularly true for me as Becker Communications fast approaches its 20th anniversary. I wasn't aware of the many challenges to which Mr. Zia referred when I started this p.r. firm in my condo living room in January '86. Two months later, we'd grown enough to move into a "serious" office; and now, almost two decades later, I can say unequivocally that the benefits have far outweighed any downside. Perhaps Hawaii Business magazine should get some credit for our success - I started my life in Hawaii as HB's managing editor in the early '80s, and gained valuable knowledge about "how Hawaii works." So, in a nod to your own milestone anniversary, thank you for providing all of us at Becker Communications with a strong understanding of business in Hawaii, both then and now.