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What's it Worth?

$1,050,000 WHAT IS IT The Rotonde de Cartier tourbillon sapphire skeleton watch is part of Cartier’s latest fine watch collection, which launched in September. The skeleton-style watch boasts 18k gold barrels, crystal Roman numerals, 20 jewels and an alligator strap,…

What’s the Buzz On Your Company?

Free Internet monitoring tools can help businesses manage their online reputations by searching the most popular news sources, blogs and social networks. Type in a company name and a few key words, and you can read what people are saying…

Tension Over Tourism

Should Hawaii’s tourism czars focus on attracting more visitors or take a holistic view of tourism’s impact? During  good times, there is virtually nothing easier to sell than Hawaii.  If people have money and an itch to travel, all you…

Growing a Workforce, STEM by STEM

The Ke Alahele Education Fund has awarded more than $286,000 over three years to projects geared at building a Maui workforce focused on science, technology, engineering and math. The Maui Economic Development Board launched the fund in 2006 with $27,000…

Building Jobs

With Hawaii’s construction industry facing hard times, the state Senate hopes a new task force will come up with creative ways to save jobs and generate new ones. “We wanted to make sure that we did whatever could be done…

Taking the Message to Japan

Marriott Resorts Hawaii is launching its Spirit of Aloha Tour in Japan this month to attract more Japanese to the islands and its six resort hotels. A weak global economy and fear of the H1N1 flu have cut the number…

Waking Up to Working Out

Helping people balance their work, home lives and down time. Dr. Laurie Steelsmith won’t shower in the morning until she has worked out. That rule helps keep her exercising daily – even when she has a full day ahead. Fitting exercise…

5 Steps to Prevent Credit-Card Fraud

Credit-card processing is a ubiquitous and major expense for businesses. Most of the cost is upfront, according to Matt Sakauye, senior consultant at credit-card processing firm Gravity Payments. Once things are running, he says, “credit-card processors are pretty automated. But…

Tech-Startup Lessons

When Ben Leong graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in digital animation, he was determined to live and work in Hawaii – even if that meant creating his own company. He and UH classmate Michael Varley founded…

My Favorite Things

Allen Uyeda, president and CEO of First Insurance Company of Hawaii, is not your typical aloha-shirt-wearing, Honolulu businessman. Some of his adventures — like scuba-diving the shark-infested Great Barrier Reef would make Indiana Jones cringe. Gadget He says his Treo…

Whats it Worth?

Less than $160 Million What They Are Hawaii Superferry’s two 350-foot high-speed interisland ferries, the Alakai and Huakai. Why They Are Special The $80-million, aluminum-hull Alakai carried up to 866 passengers and 282 vehicles between Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, until…

Date Night is a Marital Necessity

Helping people balance their work, home lives and down time. President Obama calls it “Michelle Time” – the special time he sets aside every day to catch up and talk story with his wife, first lady Michelle Obama. Not long ago,…