Clothing designer and maker Luis Diaz left L.A. and set up his factory on Maui, offering local designers an alternative to manufacturing at an offshore company Luis Diaz fell in love with Hawaii and moved to Maui. His plan was to manage his Los Angeles fashion design and manufacturing company long distance, but he changed his mind and shipped his…
The home page of www.ulukau.org has few words in English, but a click on “English Text” reveals this translation: Ulukau: “In the same way that unexplained supernatural interpretive powers can be divinely given to a person, so knowledge and understanding can come to the person who makes the effort to read the language and words of this electronic library.” Mystical, yes,…
Massive fishponds in the areas now called the Wailupe and Niu penninsulas once helped feed many people, but they are gone. Chris Cramer, who teaches Spanish at the Honolulu Waldorf School, is dedicating his free time to preserving the remaining ones. He co-founded the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center in 2007, just as the state planned to auction its ownership of…
Mention tilapia and most local folks will cringe, thinking about the muddy-tasting fish swimming in unappetizing places such as the Ala Wai Canal. But tilapia’s reputation is changing. When James Beard-award-winning chef Alan Wong served this fish alongside mahi mahi and opakapaka at a dinner event in 2009, most guests picked tilapia as their favorite. “I was overjoyed,” says Wong, who now buys tilapia…
For years, Hawaii has been exporting oyster seeds (read: babies) to the Mainland. But, this year, for the first time in nearly three decades, these oysters are being fully matured – and sold – in the Islands. In late February, after a four-year project, Kualoa Ranch started harvesting and selling Pacific oysters from its fishpond for local consumption. Now the ranch says…
Popular lecturer brings mainland and local experts into his summer course and invites the public to join them The compelling subject of ethics in business and other professions never gets old, which is why Will Weinstein is back for the 11th year of his popular series of summer lectures at UH-Manoa. Everyone is invited. Weinstein, an instructor at San Francisco State University, is…
Name: Dan Ching Job: Aquaponics farmer Experience: Two years START: When Ching, 65, retired as a structural engineer, he wanted to keep busy. He decided to farm with aquaponics, a method that uses fish effluent in water to grow plants without soil. In 2012, Ching and his wife, Mei, started Iliili Farms on two acres in Waianae’s Lualualei Valley, growing…
Bush of a hempAndrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant and Benjamin Franklin. Jilly Bean, Lemon Haze and Bubba Kush. Those two types of green are flowing in and out of Colorado’s 200 dispensaries: lots of cash to buy potent strains of cannabis. Nearly $19 million in March alone. In 2012, voters ended the state’s prohibition on marijuana in a revolutionary referendum,…
Thirteen years after he and his partner, Kaleo Taft, founded their fuel cell startup in a Waikiki apartment. Nine years after he put the company on NASDAQ in a $21 million IPO. Seven years after he and his colleagues gave up on fuel cells and broke ground on a $400-million polysilicon plant in Idaho. Four years after he stepped down…
Photography Courtesy of Northwest Energy Innovation Devices to measure wave energy and convert it into electricity will be deployed in Kaneohe Bay near Marine Corps Base Hawaii starting this year, say the Navy, state Rep. Cynthia Thielen and a private company. The eventual goal is to develop a full-scale source of electricity that can be added to Oahu’s grid….
Nainoa Thompson;Training sail aboard Hokule’a, Honolulu, Oahu _ 3/24/2013In last month’s edition, Hawaii Business published a conversation with seven of Hawaii’s best-known leaders: George Ariyoshi, John Dean, Walter Dods, Mark Dunkerley, Constance Lau, Kathryn Matayoshi and Colbert Matsumoto. They discussed the qualities of great leaders, the role of mentors, whether leadership can be learned, planning for succession and some of…
Since she helped found the VC firm Kolohala Ventures in 2006, Farnsworth has been a linchpin in the startup community in Hawaii. Now wearing multiple hats, she talks about the institutions and personal sacrifices it takes to build an ecosystem for entrepreneurship. How has the innovation sector changed in recent years? Some of it is generational. Today, we have all…
Photography by David Croxford In April, the state Public Utilities Commission ordered Hawaiian Electric’s utilities on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island to take action in four ways: “aggressively pursue energy-cost reductions, proactively respond to emerging renewable-energy-integration challenges, improve the interconnection process for customer-sited photovoltaic systems and embrace customer demand-response programs.” The PUC gave the companies until the end of…
The boss called one of his employees into the office. “Rob,” he said, “you’ve been with the company for a year. You started off in the mailroom, one week later you were promoted to a sales position, and one month after that you were promoted to district manager of the sales department. Just four short months later, you were promoted…
1. Target the Trinity Always talk to the most important person in the room, such as the guest speaker. Also challenge yourself by meeting someone who might intimidate you as well as someone you can learn from. Meeting these individuals will not only help to expand your roster, but will also shore up your confidence and sharpen your expertise. 2….
Question: As electricity rates rise, so do operating costs. How do I make my business more energy-efficient? Answer: Invest in energy-efficiency solutions. The savings are immediate and the benefits are lasting. Here are some ideas: Switch to Smart Lighting Hawaii’s businesses spend approximately $450 million annually to keep the lights on. Costs add up quickly: Running a simple exit sign…