Monday, 3:11 pm Blood Bank of Hawaii Dillingham Boulevard Photo By Odeelo Dayondon Noelle Andrews and Cody Stoll place red blood cells, which have undergone 13 tests, into inventory at the Blood Bank of Hawaii. The Blood Bank is the sole provider of blood to Hawaii’s hospitals, and it not only collects blood from donors, but manufactures, distributes and stores blood…
The kupuna who founded Hoola Lahui in 1986 gave the Kauai nonprofit its name, which means “to give life or health to the nation of Hawaii.” “They picked the name because they thought it would reflect what was needed, which was to bring up the health or to give health to those who were Hawaiian,” says CEO David Peters. Today,…
Danny Meyer, one of New York’s most respected restaurateurs, plans to eliminate tipping and raise menu prices by a commensurate amount in his 13 restaurants. This news, along with Hawaii’s gradually increasing minimum wage, which is now $8.50 an hour and will reach $10.10 in 2018, has prompted more conversations among local restaurateurs on the tip system. What’s the rationale…
Jennifer Kem has a soft spot for folks on the Leeward side. The 41-year-old global marketing strategist and owner of KemComm Media Group grew up in Waialua on the North Shore, graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute and then went to college in California. But despite having advised companies as large and well-known as Oracle, Microsoft and Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kem…
Batteries are old. In a sense, the last major development in battery technology was the invention of the lead-acid battery in 1859 by the French physicist Gaston Plante. Earlier batteries had short lives, quickly losing their charge as their electrodes dissolved, but Plante’s battery could be recharged by simply running electricity through it in reverse. That changed everything. Suddenly, the…
With the new year, many middle managers are setting their sights on the C-suite. The stable economy and low unemployment make for the right external conditions, but will you be up for the challenge? Executive recruiter Judy Bishop, founder of Bishop & Co., gives tips on reaching this lofty professional goal in 2016. Soul-searching Determine your true reason for wanting…
It’s no secret that Hawaii is a bit, shall we say, constipated when it comes to building permits. Permits can take six months or more. A 2013 study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders found the median time it took to get a plan review for a typical single-family home in the U.S. was 1.4 weeks. If it…
It’s not just tourists who flock to Hawaii in the winter: Humpback whales also come in droves and are especially visible from December through March. The Pailolo Channel between Maui and Molokai is the most popular place to view them, but you can also take a tour from Oahu. “When whales are here during wintertime, they mate and give birth. Then they…
A young Japanese couple experiences a dream Hawaii vacation. They start the day riding horses along a dusty mountain trail at Kualoa Ranch. Then they cruise down Kalakaua Avenue in a convertible, lounge on Waikiki Beach and end the day parasailing. They do all this 3,855 miles from Honolulu in a brightly lit, compact office in Tokyo. All they need is…
For an hour each month for the past four years, Shelley Umeda has put her face in the hands of aesthetician Susan Snyder, who steams and massages it, plucks out impurities and skims off a layer of dead cells to leave it fresh and more youthful. For Umeda, what was once a luxury is now a personal must. “I’m kind…
Don’t tell his wife, but Wayne Hu is in love with trees. “For me, to be able to trim trees is like Michael Jordan being able to play basketball. I just looove tree trimming. “Trees are supposed to be three dimensional. You’re supposed to be able to look at it from here, then walk down the road and look at…
Jane Murao says she was frustrated with the process of delivering Ikea products to Hawaii, so she launched Haul2hi. The company specializes in bringing Ikea’s furniture and other products to the Islands. Her customers shop for products in Ikea’s physical stores, catalog or website. They send their shopping list to haul2hi’s website for a free quote within 48 hours and…
Name: Timmy Chinn Job: Location Manager, Eye Productions/”Hawaii Five-0” Responsibilities: When you film a TV program in Hawaii, mainland winter scenes can be a challenge. Recently, Chinn and his crew had to find a house for a scene set in suburban Illinois. The solution was a home in Manoa, where they added appropriate vegetation and artificial snow. Chinn and his crew…
It was dark and raining when my plane touched down in Honolulu for my mini-vacation, so I used my GPS to guide me to where I would spend the next two nights. But, instead of taking me to Waikiki’s well-lit, palm-lined boulevards, the GPS’s digitized voice directed me through suburban neighborhoods up into Manoa. • When I arrived at the…
Martin uses a baseball analogy to warn educators everywhere: If a pitcher makes the same pitch to every batter all the time, he will eventually lose. Martin’s goal is to disrupt archaic methods so educators can nurture students to navigate both sides of their brains – and think big. He talks to managing editor Gina Gelber about the future of…
My company has launched a wellness program, which leaves me with mixed feelings. I appreciate that the company cares about my health and I love the yoga class at lunchtime on Wednesdays, but there are also two other yoga classes, plus Zumba on Tuesdays. I can’t do all this and get my job done. But, if I don’t go, I…
Interest rates are going up. What can I do to keep my cost of borrowing affordable? Interest rates have been low for so long that many borrowers take them for granted. Savvy business owners, however, are closely watching interest rates and devising strategies to meet their future needs. Here are six measures to consider in a rising interest rate environment:…
It’s not clear how Native Hawaiian self-governance will affect Hawaii’s economy, but there is no shortage of ideas. Different Hawaiian leaders talk about changing taxes, control of land, lease rents, business incentives, ownership restrictions, import rules and much more. More than 120 years after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, many Native Hawaiians were looking forward to an eight-week aha,…
Personal relationships seem more complicated today because of social media, 24/7 work lifestyles and high divorce rates, but what happens if an additional complication is added, such as starting a business with your spouse? “Being married and working together takes a lot of commitment to each other, and a desire to be successful at work,” says Mike Miyahira, owner of…
Retail rents on Oahu have climbed more than 50 percent in the past decade, while in Waikiki, the increase has been 65 percent. And the biggest increases have come in the primest of Hawaii’s prime real estate: a half-mile of Kalakaua Avenue from the Sheraton Hotel at Lewers Street to the Hyatt Regency at Uluniu. Street-level rents along that stretch…
Savvy business experts offer advice to emerging designers on going global Talk about a left-brain, right-brain challenge. Local fashion entrepreneurs need to be innovative and continually create new looks that attract people’s attention. But, if their skills end there, they will never sell more than a few outfits, and probably almost none outside of Hawaii. They need business skills and,…
Innovators and investors from around the world are gathering in Honolulu this January for the second annual East Meets West Conference. “Local entrepreneurs will be able to learn from technology companies that have conquered global markets,” says Chenoa Farnsworth, managing director of Blue Startups, organizers of the conference. “They will discuss how to enter new markets, attract foreign investment and…