Community & Economy

Crowded Water

THE TRAVEL CHANNEL named Kona’s manta ray night dive one of the top 10 things to do in your lifetime. As they feed on the plankton attracted to the flashlights held by divers and snorkelers, the gentle yet massive rays,…

They've Earned Their Stars

THE OLD ADAGE still matters in Hawaii’s top hotels: Every little thing counts. That commitment to seemingly small things – greeting you by name when you check in, smiling at you with every interaction – has kept two hotels as the…

2015 BOSS SURVEY

WHAT IS THE BOSS? BOSS stands for the Business Outlook and Sentiment Survey and it’s conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business by QMark Research. It provides a revealing picture of Hawaii’s economy by asking about 400 business leaders twice…

Inevitable Change

Soon – maybe even by the time you read this article – the state’s largest company, Hawaiian Electric Industries, will begin a radical transformation from the stodgy monopoly we’ve known for 124 years, into a much more nimble and competitive…

How Does Hawaii’s 529 Plan Rate?

HI529, Hawaii’s College Savings Program, now boasts assets of $67 million and some 4,260 participants – an average of about $16,000 per investor set aside for a keiki’s education. National analysts give Hawaii’s program good marks on the investment returns…

Hawaii's Growing Inequality

Income inequality led the agenda at the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos and has sparked spirited debate in Washington, D.C., and across America, where the gap between the nation’s richest citizens and everyone else has been growing for four…

Salvaging the Ferry

It’s been six years since the Alakai sailed out of Honolulu Harbor for the last time, yet somehow the Hawaii Superferry won’t go away. It haunted the 2014 campaign like the ghost of elections past. In June, an unscientific online…

Facing Future

“There was always something else. When pineapple closed, the resorts were there. When the ranch closed, Monsanto was still there. There was always an answer. We don’t have the answer now.” —Kimberly Mikami Svetin, Store owner To some people, Monsanto…

Talk Story with Shari Chang

CEO, Girl Scouts of Hawaii Girl Scouting runs through Shari Chang’s veins. Her grandmother and mother were both scouts. While growing up, she was a scout in four different states and a foreign country. Her two daughters, who grew up…

Markets to Suit Every Taste

Hawaii’s known for a unique blend of cultures and tastes, and that is evident in the wide variety of foods and products available in the Islands’ many ethnic markets. These markets go far beyond the typical Japanese, Chinese and Korean…

It Takes a Village to Host a Tourist

As the sun rises on Waikiki Beach, some workers are going home while others have just arrived and are preparing to serve, feed and entertain up to 6,000 visitors at the Hilton. Senior writer Beverly Creamer and photographer Greg Yamamoto…

The Value of Heeia

Some of the most valuable lands in ancient Hawaii were located in Kaneohe, and prized by kings and chiefs.  There on the windward side of Oahu, mountain springs flowed into acres of terraced loi that grew kalo in fertile soil,…

Eyes on the Sky

The world’s worst traffic is not in Los Angeles, Bangkok or Beijing. It’s hundreds of miles above the Earth, where an ever-increasing mishmash of satellites, debris and junk are circling the planet at thousands of miles per hour, and a…

Finding the Signal Amid All the Noise

Even more than most scientists studying climate change, Camilo Mora has an apocalyptic vision of the future. In a controversial paper published this year in the journal Nature, Mora, a biogeography researcher at UH, tries to calculate the date of…

California Dreaming

Each year, the world’s best surfers – both men and women – compete against each other for millions of dollars in prize money at tournaments around the globe staged by the Association of Surfing Professionals and other promoters. Hawaii surfers…

Talk Story with Pohai Ryan

Executive Director, Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association Ryan brings wide experience to her role, from managing an information office in Kailua to serving as a state senator. This Kamehameha Schools alumna plans to focus on culture and authenticity during her tenure,…

Talk Story with John White

Executive Director, Pacific Resource Partnership PRP, a unique partnership between Hawaii’s top contractors and the Hawaii Carpenters Union, is a powerful supporter of rail. White talks about integrated communities and how they will help guide Oahu’s development.   What are…