Luxury Street
Retail rents on Oahu have climbed more than 50 percent in the past decade, while in Waikiki, the increase has been 65 percent. And the biggest increases have come in the primest of Hawaii’s prime real estate: a half-mile of…
Community & Economy
Change Agents
It’s not clear how Native Hawaiian self-governance will affect Hawaii’s economy, but there is no shortage of ideas. Different Hawaiian leaders talk about changing taxes, control of land, lease rents, business incentives, ownership restrictions, import rules and much more. More…
The Tour Starts Here
When Lawrence and Zachary Hester were booking activities for a family vacation in Hawaii, they noticed it wasn’t always a smooth process – so they took it on themselves to make a change. Their solution is FareHarbor, an online booking…
Good Neighbors with Aaron Okubo: Recycle Yourself
Aaron Okubo says organizations like Legacy of Life Hawaii saved his life. “Indirectly, I feel I’ve benefited from their efforts to encourage others to donate their organs and tissues for transplant,” reflects the 61-year-old senior program development manager at MC&A…
Worth Considering: Automatic College Savings Programs
This new monthly column looks at innovative programs elsewhere and asks: Might this work in Hawaii? In our first column, we explore the city of San Francisco’s mission to bring low-income students onto the college track and hear how one…
BOSS - December 2015
The BOSS Survey is conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business by QMark Research. We ask about 400 business leaders, mostly company owners and CEOs, a host of questions: How is your company doing on revenue, staffing and profit? Will…
What's It Worth?: His Goal is a Better Santa’s Visit
Disappointed with a neighborhood Santa Claus as a kid, Mike Ching has made it his mission for three decades to offer a better Santa experience for his clients. It’s all in the details. Some of his custom-made Santa suits weigh…
Turkey Hunt With a View
Justin Fagala of Pearl City holds the turkey while his son Christian holds the shotgun that bagged it. Hawaii Island’s Parker Ranch offers guided hunts of wild animals for one to four people. You can hunt goats and wild pigs…
Kiteboarding for Everyone
If you have been admiring kiteboarding from afar, David Dorn says it’s time to try it yourself. Dorn is the owner of Action Sports Maui and has been teaching kiteboarding since 1997. Back then, he says, “It was more of…
Wider Panama Canal Won’t Affect Hawaii
The Panama Canal is being widened to accomodate bigger ships. Visible here are three tiers of locks, with vehicle carrier Lyra Leader in the Background. In April 2016, the Panama Canal Authority is slated to open an expanded, widened canal,…
Ranking Hawaii's Charities
Charity Navigator has been using the same method to rate the nation’s nonprofits since 2002. In this issue, Hawaii Business looks at the 27 local charities on the list. But it’s worth remembering that any such rating system, though valuable,…
Forever Changed
Iselle battered Pahoa, then lava threatened to overrun it. This sleepy Hawaii Island town persevered, as did most of its businesses, but many other things will never be the same PAHOA, Hawaii Island – Petra Wiesenbauer, owner of Hale Moana Bed…
Follow the Money
Dozens of local charities work with homeless people. All have boards of directors and staff. Most have an office and equipment, like a bus or kitchen, to maintain. And almost all face the same need to raise funds and provide…
The Story of Hawaii's Lost Luggage
Brittany Thornton is an experienced interisland flyer. For five years, the licensed nurse lived on Kauai and would visit Oahu nearly every month to see friends, shop or work. Thornton would always check a large rolling suitcase, often half-empty, ready…
Not as Easy as (Pumpkin) Pie
IF CARVING PUMPKINS during Halloween season is too conventional for you, Island Divers Hawaii offers the chance to do it underwater, which is as challenging as you would guess. “You go down there with high hopes that you’re going to…
Out-Of-The-Way
JEANA IWALANI NALUAI calls her business a getaway from the masses. Hoomana Spa is on Piiholo Road near the Makawao Forest Reserve, an hour by car from Kaanapali and Lahaina and 40 minutes from Kihei and Wailua – the places where…
Did You Know?: Shearwater Protection Extends Out to Sea
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT Newell’s shearwaters, the birds native to Hawaii that are also known as Hawaiian shearwaters, are a protected species. But did you know their protection extends beyond the shore, including enforcement on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of…
Still Cruise'n
10 years after Norwegian Cruise Lines went all-American with its around-the-Islands cruises, the Pride of America still sails every week, each time at…
Attention Passengers: This Form Is Really Important to Hawaii
YOU ARE ENGROSSED IN the latest action movie, noise-canceling headphones in place, halfway through your book chapter or, worst, sleeping. The flight attendant comes down the aisle, interrupting everyone’s mid-flight routine, and says, “Please fill this out.” You get the…
New Ways to Measure Prosperity
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…
The Biggest Getting Bigger
The $572 million Ewa extension of Ala Moana Shopping Center, which is scheduled to open on November 12, has been an enormous undertaking. As Francisco Gutierrez, director of development at General Growth Properties, explains, the project will add 330,000 square…
Distant Peak
High-rises in Kakaako, condos and a new wing at Ala Moana Center, development in and around Kapolei, rail, sewers and a host of other projects are keeping developers and construction companies hopping. However, they know from long experience that what…
Innovation: Good FIT for Chinese Students
Creator and His Product Richard Xie came to Hawaii for an MBA at Hawaii Pacific University and never returned to his native China. After graduation and a few stints in marketing for local wholesale businesses, he set out on his…
Talk Story: Amy Kunz, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Assistant Superintendent, State Department of Education
Kunz oversees a budget of $1.9 billion that pays for a staff of 25,000 and 289 public schools, including charter schools. Q: Energy costs for the schools are one of the largest parts of the annual budget. How are you tackling…