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.
A small peninsula wedged between Sand Island and Keehi Lagoon Park doesn’t look like much. The mauka section is mostly dirt and gravel, and nondescript trees and shrubs cover the makai area. But by the end of this year, it…
Soul. It’s defined in multiple ways: the immaterial essence or actuating cause of an individual life, a person’s total self, the moral and emotional nature of human beings. Back in the old days, being told that you had soul was…
Today's assessments aren't just limited to bubble tests. There's also "authentic assessments," which require deeper, more innovative thinking from students. At Hakipuu Learning Center, authentic assessments take shape in the form of senior projects where each senior picks a topic,…
Inside the food and restaurant inspection process, where sanitarians look for things that could make you sick Michael Okamura isn’t a police officer and doesn’t wear a uniform, but he carries his badge and ID while on the job. His…
For many of Hawaii’s top real estate agents, Thursday night was a time to celebrate at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. About 400 people gathered for Hawaii Business’ 11th annual Top 100 Realtors Awards. Among them was Yvonne Summerfield, from RE/MAX…
In June 2013, Turnbull took the top job at Mid-Pacific, a private school in Manoa with 1,580 students enrolled in preschool through high school. He talks about technology in education, project-based learning and other innovations in teaching. Q: You most…
UHA Health Insurance couldn’t find any wellness surveys focused on Hawaii employers. So, it launched its own in February and those survey results will be the focus of a May 18 meeting of the Hawaii Health at Work Alliance (HH@WA).…
Every industry is undergoing a digital transformation. If your company lags behind, it could get crushed by faster moving competition, or abandoned by customers who want better digital service, says Renee McKaskle, CIO for Hitachi Data Systems. [caption id="attachment_21093" align="aligncenter"…
It’s not easy for a company to inspire employees who are engaged, willing to put in extra effort and truly trust their organization. Nominate your organization for the 2018 Best Places to Work here: www.hawaiibusiness.com/bptw2018 The…
“Change is ahead for your small business, and how do you prepare?” Jane Sawyer, Small Business Administration Hawaii district director, asked a room of more than 100 people at the YWCA Laniakea on Thursday. Jane Sawyer,…
Hanau ka aina, hanau ke alii, hanau ke kanaka. Born is the land, born were the chiefs, born were the people. That’s the Hawaiian proverb that guided Wednesday night’s celebration of Hawaii Business’ “20 For the Next 20” class of…
Harry Weinberg amassed a fortune in local real estate and was renowned for being a financially savvy guy, who cajoled and exasperated the top executives of companies he invested in. However, what most surprised Kit Smith, who covered him for…
Most people are smart enough to stay out of the ocean when signs warn about bacteria in the water. The problem is we don’t always get that warning, or get it quickly enough, because Hawaii has 303 miles of recreational…
Hokulea apprentice navigator Austin Kino has turned his passion into a business by launching Holokino Hawaii, a sailing-canoe tour based out of the Kahala Hotel and Resort. The goal is a cultural experience,…
The high cost of animal feed has long hindered the meat, poultry, dairy and seafood industries in the Islands, but local efforts on several fronts aim to reduce those expenses. Shipping feed from the Mainland costs about $150 to $200…
Oahu, Kauai and Maui are outlined by nearly 170 miles of sandy beaches, but about 70 percent of them are slowly shrinking from erosion, storms and a rising sea, according to a USGS report. Hawaii has the technology and expertise…
People who work with horses in Hawaii agree on two things: It’s a tough way to make a living and a great way to make a living. Tough, because the costs of importing and feeding horses are high and the…
Hawaii's current building code does not require construction that could withstand a storm as powerful as Hurricane Iniki. In fact, some new local homes are built under the assumption that wind gusts won't exceed 100 mph - much less than…
Hawaii companies will return to Washington in June to show that the Aloha State's economy is more than just tourism and the military If you want to make a splash, sometimes you have to cross the ocean. The challenges faced…
Inspiration: Farmers told Vincent Kimura they needed an affordable way to protect their crops and increase their yields. Once he had an idea to address that problem, he teamed with Ryan Ozawa, Isar Mostafanezhad and Justin Hedani to create the…
Meredith Mawhar says she settled on her new career because she was excited by the Research Challenge, a prestigious competition for college students sponsored by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. Mawhar is a student at UH Manoa’s Shidler College of…
Brian Kajiyama, an instructor in UH’s Department of Special Education, who has cerebral palsy, has an undeniable need for his trained service dog, Zeus. Such dogs get years of training so they can help their human partners, and Zeus can…
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…
Hawaii’s oldest continuously operated companies and nonprofits include many familiar names and a few lesser-known ones. Here are 11 enduring ranches, churches, schools and other organizations, each with a history that stretches back at least 165 years. Mokuaikaua Church Mokuaikaua…
Overlaid on this picture is part of the Early Childhood Action Strategy systems map. TO TRANSFORM A system as complex as energy in Hawaii, dynamic thinking is needed, Dawn Lippert says. Systems maps and systems thinking help guide that dynamic thinking.…
LAST YEAR, THE TOPIC was growing Hawaii’s economic pie. This year, the annual conference of the Hawaii Economic Association will focus on how to expand other facets of prosperity, such as environmental well-being, sustainability and social quality of life. Everyone…
Creators: Arnie Koss describes himself and his twin brother, Ron, as entrepreneurs. Before creating Brio, they founded Earth’s Best Baby Foods. The brothers conceived the idea of an ice cream that was both nutritional and delicious from their mother’s craving…
Like most things, the price of opihi often depends on supply and demand – and the supply is inconsistent, especially on Oahu. Some people, such as state Sen. Clayton Hee, are worried that overharvesting is hurting the long-term sustainability of the…
Hawaiian and English are both official languages of Hawaii, but most government services are available just in English. We tried to find out what it would cost for the state to provide most of its services in both languages. Hawaiian…
Almost a thousand Japanese are studying in universities here, but so are at least five students from Tanzania, 22 from Saudi Arabia and three from Cameroon. In the 2012-13 school year, Hawaii Pacific University had 210 students from Norway – almost as…
But hula does have an effect on the economy, even though its appeal to participants is usually not commercial There are many reasons to launch a hula halau, but getting rich has never been one of them. That is just as true…
If you’ve heard about the social-media site Pinterest but are wondering if it’s worth your time, consider these statistics from the social marketing company Piqora: The average order value generated by Pinterest is $169, compared to $95 for Facebook and $71 for Twitter. That makes Pinterest…
From July to December, customers crowd a classroom-size room at Kahuku High School where almost everything is red. Kahuku.org, which has made over $1 million in revenues since 2001, sells Kahuku High T-shirts, hats and hoodies while also teaching students how…
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