Photo: Aaron Yoshino Wednesday, 2:17 pm Lyon Arboretum Photo by Aaron Yoshino Laboratory manager Cindy Yamamoto tends to one of the endangered plant species at the arboretum. The plants live in test tubes that contain food and shield them from insects and bacteria. Altogether the arboretum shelters some 20,000 local endangered plants – everything from ferns to taro varieties. Categories:…
N onprofits always need specialized help at an affordable price. Meanwhile, skilled professionals want meaningful volunteer opportunities that go beyond stuffing envelopes. Rachael Chong says Catchafire solves both issues with a database that connects businesspeople’s skills with nonprofits’ needs. Catchafire’s mission is to “provide talented individuals with a meaningful pro bono experience in order to build the full capacity of…
The Hawaii Community Development Authority, the agency that oversees development in Kakaako and a few other places on Oahu, runs its shop with a mountain of rules and regulations, as you might expect. Whether you agree with HCDA’s rules or not, most are based on logic and the corresponding rationale is typically evident – things like density, green space, parking…
G ov. David Ige surprised many when he appointed Iwase to replace Hermina Morita at the PUC. Clearly, the former city councilman, state senator, deputy attorney general and chair of the state Tax Revenue Commission has administrative and political chops, but we ask if he’s up to the technical challenges and what his energy plans are. Q: The PUC faces…
INTERIOR DESIGNER NATE BERKUS says, “Your home should rise up to greet you,” but he’s not talking about piles of clutter that keep growing. Those facing this problem can turn to professional organizers like Nancy Nino, who helps people deal with stuff they don’t know what to do with. Nino says disorganization stems from either “attachment to the past or…
Question: I have a great idea for a company, but I can’t come up with a name. How do I get started? Answer: Naming a business requires careful thought. Here are pointers to get you started: Define your brand Entrepreneurs often want to bypass this step, but you need to know who you are before you start conveying that…
Jay Fidell didn’t set out to be a journalist. The founder of the ThinkTech Hawaii arrived here from New York in 1965 as a Coast Guard lawyer and military judge. “It was the time of Vietnam, and war was in the air,” Fidell says. “But I had a really wonderful time in the service and learned a lot.” So it followed…
W Hen Iolani Palace’s monthly power bill doubled to more than $41,000 last fall, even drastic steps like cutting off the air conditioning in the adjacent barracks couldn’t bring costs back to where they had been just a few months earlier. But something had to be done or similar bills would wreck the palace’s finances. At the time, oil prices…
A MANAGER AT A HEALTHCARE NONPROFIT ON MAUI FELT stuck. One of her employees had anxiety, made worse by the stressful, high-conflict working environment of their field. The manager wanted to help, but when she spoke with the nonprofit’s corporate higher-ups, they told her to fire the worker if she couldn’t handle the pressure. “She got there early. She was…
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE ELEMENTS OF THE 19TH, 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES? Start with the U.S. government’s oldest scientific agency, with roots stretching back to the early 1800s; add historic Ford Island aircraft hangars that survived the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and served throughout the war; and mix in architectural and engineering expertise at…
“For one thing,” he says, “we’re not over budget at all, at this point. We’re estimating that, because construction costs are escalating so quickly in the current year, that next year, when we’re signing the remaining construction contracts, we’re going to see bids that will be higher than what we originally projected back in 2011-1012, when we put the finance…
THE TRAVEL CHANNEL named Kona’s manta ray night dive one of the top 10 things to do in your lifetime. As they feed on the plankton attracted to the flashlights held by divers and snorkelers, the gentle yet massive rays, with wingspans of up to 16 feet, somersault and swoop close to their audience in an otherworldly underwater ballet. Keller…
MOLOKAI IS OFTEN characterized as the Island with Hawaii’s highest unemployment rate. That’s unfortunate, because most of the residents work hard to earn a living. So we asked photographer PF Bentley, who lives on the Friendly Isle, to showcase his neighbors on the job. Danny Juario Sr., 56: He has been working as an auto mechanic for 33 years at…
If you ever use a waste-burning toilet, don’t be surprised if you find out a solar-power company installed it. That’s one of the technologies being investigated by RevoluSun, a Honolulu-based solar company that has expanded its “Smart Home” division, offering products and services to make homes more energy efficient. The long-term goal: build fully sustainable homes from the ground up…
Flexibility and Work/Life Balance Advice From Someone Who’s Been There Categories: Business Trends
There are now several places to rent or buy bikes in Kailua, but if you fear you might run out of energy before you reach your destination, consider an electric bicycle from Pedego. The different styles range from Comfort Cruisers to Trail Trackers, which mimic the off-roading feel of ATVs, but on sand. Explore Kailua on your own or enjoy…
Photo: Courtesy of Ulrich Krauer Ulrich Krauer has dedicated the past 40 years of his life to the hospitality industry – in Hawaii and around the world – but what he and his staff at the Halekulani do for the homeless at Waikiki Health Center’s Next Step Shelter expresses a deeper meaning of hospitality. “About every other month, and more…
If you have good ideas that you want implemented at your workplace, executive coach Wendy Nakamura offers these ways to position yourself as an agent of change.
Study after study has concluded that smokers are less productive workers than nonsmokers – both because they take more sick days and because they’re less productive while at work. So it’s not surprising that many Hawaii companies have programs to help their smoking employees overcome their addiction. The cost for companies to include a cessation program can be relatively small…
When tricky emotional issues stifle a family’s wealth-management planning, financial advisors call upon therapists to move the process forward. It could be the basis of a twisted reality show: Throw a family into a conference room, have them grapple with taboo subjects like death and money, and watch as the sibling dynamics explode. Yikes. “It’s because of what money represents,”…
Among the pluses of Kakaako living for the Dangs: a brief walk to work instead of a daily commute in traffic. (photo by Olivier Koning) Count the cranes popping up along or near Ala Moana Boulevard and check out Howard Hughes’ interactive model of the reimagined Kakaako circa 2025, and it’s understandable when longtime locals fear the loss of the…
For those who long for the California wine-country experience, there’s a place in Kailua where you can sample wines and participate in the wine-making process. Oeno Winemaking allows wine lovers to choose, bottle and label their own wine in a “relaxing, nonpretentious atmosphere,” says co-owner Marshall Zeigler, who, with partner Bryon Crowther, bought the company in 2012. Their 150 varietals…
From Left: Ed and Kristin “Spanky” Kenney (owners); James Sims (contractor, All-Build Construction); and Jason Selley (designer, Workshop-HI) WHEN CHEF ED KENNY envisioned his new Kaimuki restaurant, Mud Hen Water, he aspired to totally integrate sustainability. “It took some creativity, but he is well on his way to achieving this lofty goal,” says Jason Selley, principal designer at Workshop-HI, a…
Over the past 17 years, more than 2,000 local products have found their way into military commissaries and exchanges, giving Hawaii companies new customers for items such as coffee, macadamia nuts, aloha wear, kim chee and perfume. Decades ago, commissaries were generally the same across all U.S. military bases, but since the 1990s there’s been a commitment to bring more…