Noelle Fujii-Oride writes about affordable housing, working families, 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. You can reach her at noellef@hawaiibusiness.com.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many local restaurants to pivot their business models or risk closing for good. Here’s a look at how restaurants have changed and how they are preparing for their new normal. It was common to see…
Hawai‘i’s startup community creates and nurtures plenty of early stage innovative companies but loses them before they scale into national and global players. Should we be happy with that storyline or should we try to change it? Twenty years ago,…
Advice from both sides of the fence and the agents who sit in the middle, including separate tip sheets for tenants and landlords. Many businesses are struggling to pay rent as they scale back operations or close their doors entirely…
Practical advice to help you sell and maintain customer relationships during this uncertain time Salespeople are struggling with how to sensitively approach customers and make sales while many businesses furlough staff and scale back operations. Scott Hogle, senior VP of…
Regina “Lola” Miller founded Simply Sisters Boutique in Hilo in 2011. How are you coping with the COVID-19 crisis? Simply Sisters’ storefront on Kilauea Avenue is closed to customers, but you can buy online, writes Regina “Lola” Miller in an…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Schools and businesses are partnering in unprecedented ways to develop the state’s future workforce. This is Part I of a two part…
We are continuing to publish stories researched and written before the COVID-19 crisis, such as this one. Schools and businesses are partnering in unprecedented ways to develop the state’s future workforce. This is Part II of a two part…
Aloha Dance Studio was founded by Tiffany Dick in 2002. The Līhuʻe studio has five independent, part-time adult instructors and five student teachers. Dick says thousands of keiki have danced with the studio over the last 18 years. How…
It’s possible that some businesses in Hawai‘i will try to claim that circumstances surrounding COVID-19 absolve them of obligations under a business contract. Whether they have…
Deep Kine Kitchen Cleaning was founded by Dana and Wendy Daniels in 2018. They have six employees and run the commercial kitchen cleaning business from their home in Haiku, Maui. How are you coping with the COVID-19 crisis? Prior…
Working from home is suddenly widespread in Hawai‘i as employers mitigate the spread of COVID-19. “Companies should be allowing temporary remote work arrangements because they care about the health and safety of their employees,” writes Derek Kanehira, VP and director…
Six local leaders in health care discuss coronavirus, health disparities, tomorrow’s doctors and nurses, and more at Hawaii Business Magazine CHANGE event “Whenever you look at an emergency, the more we collaborate, the more we communicate, the more we’re going…
Imagine an electric grid that keeps your lights on while the rest of the island’s grid is dark during a natural disaster or outage. That’s the promise at Kahauiki Village, a community for formerly homeless families near Sand Island. The…
Dana Takushi Senior EVP and Manager of the Consumer Banking Group Bank of Hawaii Age 50 Dana Takushi always steps up to a challenge. “She started with the bank in our commercial area, but as I’ve experienced challenges throughout the…
Nathan Peters Director of IT Field Operations Par Pacific Holdings Age 40 Nathan Peters came to Hawai‘i in 2003 to visit a friend. He never intended to stay. “Not really knowing anything about Hawai‘i, it was very cool coming to…
Mike B. Pietsch President and COO, Title Guaranty Age 41 Mike Pietsch grew up in the family real estate business and never considered any other career. He held summer jobs at the company while in high school and joined it…
Cayenne Pe‘a Principal and co-founder, Alaka‘i Development Age 37 West O‘ahu native Cayenne Pe‘a recalls waking at 5:30 a.m. so she could catch the school bus to Kamehameha Kapālama. “I remember when we first moved out to Makakilo, there were…
John Hulihe‘e Senior VP and Manager Central Pacific Bank Age 46 John Hulihe‘e had a hand in business from early on. While growing up, he and his two sisters helped their mother with her garment manufacturing business, trimming fabric, tagging…
Aimee Malia Grace Director of Health Science Policy University of Hawaii Age 37 Aimee Grace decided at first that she didn’t want to be a doctor. But she became passionate about global health while studying human biology and international health…
Laurie Ann Chan Executive VP and Chief Administrative Officer Avalon Development Co. Age 38 Laurie Ann Chan originally wanted to be an architect. “I think as far back as elementary school I’d have my mom buy me graph paper and…
Emi Au Senior VP, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis American Savings Bank Age 37 Emi Au loves animals and pondered a career as a veterinarian or doctor before choosing accounting while at the University of Southern California. “Just something…
Lisa Doo Ayabe Partner, Cades Schutte Age 38 Lisa Ayabe’s first exposure to law was through her litigator father. “I’m not really an adversarial person by nature, but the law always interested me, and real estate in particular. I think…
Half of Hawaiʻi’s population is barely getting by. About 11% fall below the federal poverty level and another 37% are members of working families that barely make enough money to cover necessities like food, housing, transportation and child care, according…
Save now Social Security will probably not be enough to support today’s working population because people are living longer and might have long-term care needs, writes Hua Zan, an assistant researcher at the UH Center on the Family, in an…
Keali‘i Lopez, the Hawai‘i director of AARP, has a village to help her care for her 81-year-old mother: her adult son, daughter-in-law and two sisters chip in to provide around-the-clock care, and the family recently hired someone to help twice…
The growing number of seniors is a personal challenge for hundreds of thousands of local families and a collective challenge for all of Hawai‘i. IF you donʻt see this silver tsunami coming, you’re not paying attention,” says Jim Shon, president…
$88 Billion is the estimated liabilities for state and local governments over the next 30 years on infrastructure, pensions and climate change. We explore three broad options to pay these liabilities: increase government revenues, reduce government spending and grow the…
It’s long been common to hear stories of family and friends leaving the Islands for cities on the Mainland that have lower costs of living and more affordable housing. But in the past two years, so many people left the…
More than 1,200 people attended Hawaii Business Magazine’s 12th annual Wahine Forum, a sold-out daylong conference that was held Thursday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The theme of this year’s inspiring and informative event was “live fearlessly.” “It’s really a…
Barry Taniguchi, chairman and CEO of KTA Super Stores, a Hawaii Island grocery store chain, died on Sept. 20 from medical complications. Taniguchi was a well-respected business leader and known for his involvement in numerous professional, civic and community organizations,…
Millions of tourists come to Hawai‘i and venture beyond the resort areas – crowding our parks, beaches, hiking trails, roads and more. But in 2019, total inflation-adjusted visitor spending actually declined, which means there was no extra money to fix this worn infrastructure. Here are three ways to turn that problem around.
A new law went into effect Aug. 1 on Oʻahu that limits the number of new short-term rentals — which are rented for less than 30 days at a time — bans the advertising of unpermitted rentals and imposes hefty…
28,000 Native Hawaiians are on the home lands waiting list. Getting more of them into homes or farms will take partnerships, collaborations and a willingness to try different things. Here are some ideas. bout 28,500 adults who are at least…
Latham became Punahou School’s 17th president in July. He returns to his alma mater – he graduated in 1986 – after spending most of his adult life on the Mainland in teaching and administrative roles. He talks about how the…
Tomorrow’s business leaders need to do more than set examples in their workplaces. They also have a responsibility to help Hawaiʻi tackle its biggest challenges. “We look at an issue in business or in education, and we can look at…
The business model for electric utilities is almost 100 years old. Some energy experts say Hawai‘i is a pioneer in creating a 21st century business model that will mean more clean energy, lower rates, greater efficiency and better customer service.…
The Hawaiian Language Surges: New generations are learning the language at school and home and introducing it into tourism, media, science and beyond. This is the fifth of Hawaii Business Magazine’s six CHANGE Reports on major issues facing Hawaiʻi. The…
Friday evening was filled with joy and energy as 350 people came together to celebrate the best of small business in Hawaiʻi.
Marked by roulette and craps, James Bond characters and thunderous cheers, Thursday night was a celebration for Hawaiʻi companies and nonprofits that have great workplaces.
Marked by roulette and craps, James Bond characters and thunderous cheers, Thursday night was a celebration for Hawaii companies and nonprofits that have great workplaces.
Archives
Subscribe to Today's Hawaiʻi News
Subscribe to Hawaiʻi Real Estate News