Business Trends

Big ideas often have humble beginnings. Just ask TEDxMaui founder Katie McMillan, whose first brainstorming session for the event unfolded at Baldwin Beach Park in Paia, with sand between her toes and sunscreen on her shoulders. The casual affair –…

Makerspaces create communities that aren’t afraid to take something apart to see how it works, and then try something different. There are hundreds of them around the world and many in Hawaii, including Oahu Makerspace, HI Capacity, Maui Makerspace, Big Island…

Hawaii’s official travel site, gohawaii.com, is not only the go-to resource for visitors, it’s also a great place for residents to plan staycations and excursions. And now residents can also use the mobile site at m.gohawaii.com to inspire adventures. In…

Four decades after its creation, a University of Hawaii innovation remains the basis for Wi-Fi and mobile-phone transmissions Every time you use Wi-Fi, or send a text message, or share data over an Ethernet network, you can thank scientists at…

It’s 2 a.m. in Hilo town. The loud noises in the front yard have the elderly homeowners frightened and fearing burglars. It’s not the police’s first call to the neighborhood, but they find nothing – again. The next morning, footprints reveal…

Before the young business leaders from Hawaii started their intensive three-day journey to Japan, they did not get an ordinary pep talk or briefing. Instead, Glenn Furuya, founder of Leadership Works, talked to them about “Leading from the Heart.” To…

Name: Karen Hashimoto Job: Certified dog trainer Experience: 27 years START: As a teenager, Karen Hashimoto spent summers volunteering at a dairy farm in Waianae, cleaning the milking parlor and feeding calves. So when she enrolled at UH-Manoa, she intended…

Blogging has evolved as a writing style that conveys intimacy and immediacy on any subject imaginable, from travel and childcare to national security and economics. Now add to the list: Hawaii- centric legal blogs. Four attorneys with the Honolulu law…

If “opera” brings to mind a tuxedo or a black dress and pearls, Hawaii Opera Theatre has a date for you: opening nights on Fridays. But if you feel younger or edgier than black tie, new executive director Simon Crookall suggests…

Hawaii’s vast and diverse coral not only dazzles the eye, some of it startles the imagination. The oldest marine creature in the world is believed to be a 4,265-year-old deep-water black coral discovered in 2004 off Makapuu at Oahu’s eastern tip.…

The Bayfront will get a fresh paint job starting in January as part of the city’s winning entry in a national contest. Hilo was one of 17 U.S. cities and three in Canada that won Benjamin Moore’s Main Street Matters…

I think most of Hawaii’s people feel ambivalent when they hear that their home is the best place to live in America. We feel proud and probably agree that Hawaii ranks No. 1 in quality of life, but we also know…

Sometimes, economists see the world more clearly than you and I. For example, the best explanation I’ve read for Hawaii’s chronic shortage of affordable housing is a recent blog entry on the website of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.…

NAME: Yoshie Miakoda Chihara JOB: Spiritual psychic medium YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: Seven START: “I started out as ahypnotherapist to help people stop smoking. Around the same time, I was having serious relationship problems and nothing was working. I have always…

You might assume that Hawaii residents are good swimmers who can always handle ocean conditions because they are surrounded by the Pacific. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Hawaii has the second-highest resident drowning rate per capita in the U.S., a rate…

Some local businesses have an anxious relationship with Yelp, the international website that carries consumer reviews about everything from restaurants and stores, to auto mechanics and plumbers, and even hikes and radio stations. They say there are several reasons for…

Obtaining a camping permit in Hawaii is quicker than ever. Rather than mailing an application or waiting in line, you can get a permit for most sites online. But first, you’ll have to figure out whether your desired site falls…

It costs just $8 for Hawaii residents to see the animals at home in the Honolulu Zoo, but each of those homes can cost millions of dollars to create. In fact, zoo exhibits nationwide are expensive. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium…

Cool Kakaako has been spawning no end of places to eat well. Now there’s another place where you can work it off: the Volcanic Rock Gym on Keawe Street, a 2,000-square-foot bouldering facility that opened in April. Just to be clear, we’re not talking about something you can…

This year, Hawaii celebrates 100 years since local life was first captured on cinematographic film. Over that century, however, our humid tropical climate has made it difficult to preserve those images. To the rescue comes Uluulu: The Henry Kuualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive, dedicated to digitizing, cataloging and sharing significant old reels. Online visitors to Uluulu, which means collections in…

Chaminade University has long emphasized the study of ethics in its business programs, so it was gratifying when a group of Chaminade students took first place in an international business ethics competition. “We knew that the students worked really hard on the competition and they were ready, but it was a very…

From Haleiwa to Punaluu on Oahu’s North Shore, the scent of garlic wafts from shrimp trucks parked along Kamehameha Highway, enticing visitors and residents. But don’t assume the main dish was harvested from a nearby pond; very little of the shrimp served from the trucks is actually raised on the North Shore. Irene Theofanis…

There’s a new mantra going around Hawaii offices: Ditch your seat and get on your feet. Standing and sit-stand workstations are not just for geeks any more. Eric Shearer used to suffer excruciating pain from sitting in front of his…