Hawai‘i Pacific Health’s Ray Vara is 2021 CEO of the Year
He has led the nonprofit’s growth and improved health care for more than a decade while also focusing on the broad factors that impact the health of Hawai‘i’s people.
Noelle Fujii-Oride
Noelle Fujii-Oride writes about Hawai‘i’s economy, housing, education, construction, climate change, tourism, entrepreneurship and more. She also leads the editorial department’s audience engagement efforts. Prior to joining Hawaii Business Magazine as a staff writer in 2017, she held internships at the magazine, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Honolulu Civil Beat. She is a graduate of UH Mānoa’s journalism program and now lives on Kaua‘i.
Articles
Inside My Reporting on Honolulu's Rail Project
The goal was to tie together the many bits and pieces of information as Hawai‘i's largest public works project reached a crucial decision point.
Past Attempts to Build a Rail on Oʻahu
Honolulu has talked about building a rail system since 1967.
How Rail Got to $12.45 Billion and 11 Years Late
We sorted through more than a decade of cost overruns, audits and reports to explain how the price soared and why completion fell behind schedule.
How Honolulu's Rail Compares to Other Federally Funded Projects
It’s common for rail projects to have cost overruns, but few are as large as Honolulu's.
The Three Largest Rail Contracts
We looked through the project's publicly available documents to identify the biggest contracts and how much they cost.
A Look at the Rail's Increasing Price Tag and Pushed Back Completion Dates
We tracked some of the project's major milestones, including cost increases, funding deficits, lawsuits and voter input.
Honolulu Rail Columns Tell Stories
Engraved columns depict legends and unique elements of each station area.
New Ways to Connect with Readers
Our engagement editor will help ensure our journalism is more inclusive of and responsive to the communities we cover.
My Process Behind Our Story: “Grandparents Help Hawai‘i Parents Get the Job Done”
I collected stories from the community, sought out data and spoke with a variety of sources to put together this article.
Do’s and Don’ts of Using Grandparents for Child Care
Lessons learned from both grandparents and parents about navigating these relationships.
Grandparents Are Great, But They Can’t Solve All of Hawai‘i’s Child Care Needs
Hawai‘i’s high cost of living often drives the need for grandparent-provided child care. But many grandparents can’t provide care because they are still working or live on the Mainland. Here’s what else is needed.
Grandparents Help Hawai‘i Parents Get the Job Done
Grandmothers and grandfathers are storytellers, sources of wisdom, keepers of family legacies and teachers. But perhaps their most important role in Hawai‘i is to help working parents raise their keiki.
Got an Unusual or Especially Interesting Job? We Want to Hear About It
We’re looking for more careers to feature in our “My Job” series.
This Fresh, Local Crackseed is Handmade
Jade Food Products makes li hing mui in 500- to 1,000-pound batches.
Help Us Find Lesser-Known Nonprofits That Have Helped Hawai‘i
We hope to speak with local nonprofits that deserve more recognition for their work. These stories will be part of our “Nonprofit with a Mission” series.
Cultural Practitioners, Advisors Help Educate Visitors About Hawai‘i’s People, Places, History and Culture
Cultural practitioners working in the tourism industry see their roles as integral to ensuring Hawaiian culture is perpetuated accurately and that visitors treat the Islands respectfully.
Working parents: How do grandparents help you balance your careers and raising keiki?
We hope to speak with working parents about Hawai‘i’s kūpuna edge. Many professionals rely on grandparents to help get keiki to and from school, babysit, finance private school education, feed them meals and, in some cases, provide housing.
Volunteering on Government Boards Yields Emotional, Intellectual and Professional Rewards
Volunteer to serve on a government board or commission and you will have a say in decisions involving land use, affordable housing, taxes or other important issues.
3 Factors Shift Hawai‘i's Real Estate into Overdrive
The pandemic has shifted Hawaiʻi's already expensive house prices into overdrive. Five, ten or more buyers sometimes compete for the same homes, turning sales into bidding wars — with cash buyers holding the edge.
Best Practices for Community Engagement
Here's advice from experts in conflict resolution and planning. It's mainly geared toward project leaders and developers, but community members may find it useful.
How to Resolve Community Conflicts
Community opposition to proposed projects is nothing new, but it seems to be more common nowadays. And more effective. To get moving on such projects, and others, Hawai‘i must work with communities that are demanding a voice in their future.
20 for the Next 20: Jon Teraizumi
Jon Teraizumi Senior VP & Senior Commercial Banking Manager, Central Pacific Bank Jon Teraizumi is a strong, selfless team leader who is always willing to step up to a challenge, says his boss, Diane Murakami. Teraizumi is one of 200…
20 for the Next 20: Aki Marceau
Aki Marceau Director of Electrification of Transportation, Hawaiian Electric Co. Aki Marceau has been chipping away at the same problem throughout her career: how to provide clean, affordable and efficient transportation and living options. Born in Japan and raised on…
20 for the Next 20: Kūhiō Lewis
Kūhiō Lewis President and CEO, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Kūhiō Lewis began navigating obstacles at a young age and found the motivation to overcome them. “Who I am is always pushing the bar, always raising the bar, always trying…
20 for the Next 20: Doug Johnstone
Doug Johnstone Hawaiʻi President The Howard Hughes Corp. Doug Johnstone joined Ward Village before the property had a name. “When I joined, we were starting to get our arms around the development opportunities that it presented,” he says. “And obviously…
20 for the Next 20: Khara Jabola-Carolus
Khara Jabola-Carolus Executive Director, Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women Khara Jabola-Carolus is a fierce advocate for women and girls. As leader of the State Commission on the Status of Women, she has helped pass legislation to prohibit…
Construction Industry Still a Bright Spot for Hawaiʻi Economy During Pandemic
Diverse projects are keeping Hawai‘i’s construction industry busy and offering much-needed support for the state’s fractured economy.
20 for the Next 20: Danya Hakeem
Danya Hakeem Director of Innovation, Agriculture & Circular Economy Elemental Excelerator Danya Hakeem takes a unique approach to her work: She’s always looking for ways to build bridges. Whether through documentary filmmaking, policy, legislation, community organizing or impact investing, Hakeem…
What Does it Mean to be a CDFI and a Credit Union?
Two local CDFI-certified credit unions say the certification gives them access to additional funding and resources from the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund.
Deep Dive: Impact Investing
Four elements that define this practice and how you can get involved.
Investing in People, Companies and the ʻĀina
The pandemic accelerates new ways of lending, financing and investment in the Islands.
Building Hawaiʻi's Technology Sector
TRUE stands for Technology Readiness User Evaluation. The initiative started with a hypothesis: Technology-enabled, higher-wage jobs will be created if Hawai‘i can get more companies to adopt more technology. Paul Yonamine, CHANGE Economy Committee co-chair and member of the TRUE…
"Talent Roadmap" Declares: Now is the Time to Reinvent Hawaiʻi's Economy
The coronavirus has put tens of thousands of local people out of work. Enhancing workforce development is the starting point, according to a report from the Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative, which is based on input from almost 200 people. The economic impact…
Implicit Bias: A Three-Part Report
Part I examines implicit bias in Hawai‘i. Part II offers ways for individuals to counter their own implicit biases. (One step: Learn to recognize biases rather than deny them.) And Part III looks at how organizations can improve their hiring,…
Advice for Hawaiʻi Condo Owners and Boards
Lessons learned from experts interviewed for this story: 1. Try to consolidate multiple projects into a big one. Dana Bergeman, CEO of construction management company Bergeman Group, says many condo associations and unit owners look at infrastructure improvements as individual…
Why Condos Need to Plan Ahead for Major Repair Projects
Aging condo buildings need large, complex projects to keep them safe and functional. But many condo associations have not budgeted for these expensive, time-consuming repairs, says Dana Bergeman, CEO of local construction management company Bergeman Group.
A Condominium Can Last Hundreds of Years, But Not Its Components
This story was updated Sept. 10, 2020 to correct information on the expected useful lifespan of pipes and add further details. A 40-year-old Honolulu condominium can show its age in many ways: brittle, leaking pipes; cracks in its concrete walls…
Hawai‘i’s Top Leadership Conference Helps Point the Way Forward
Navigating the coronavirus pandemic requires leaders to be relentlessly curious, emotionally intelligent, vulnerable and authentic. “Authenticity is something that, I think, we’re responsible, as Hawai‘i’s leaders, to share with the rest of the world,” said Duane Kurisu, chairman and founder…
COVID-19 Impacts to Oʻahu's Commercial Real Estate Remain to Be Seen
The pandemic will likely have different impacts on the markets for three types of commercial real estate: retail/restaurants, office and industrial spaces The aftereffects of the pandemic seem likely to reduce the demand for retail and office space on O‘ahu,…