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…
Sometimes, we’re so used to thinking of Hawaii as an economic and political backwater that we forget the Islands have a key role to play in the Pacific Basin. For example, the Northeast Asia Economic Forum is an international organization…
The assessed value of Coconut Island – also known as Moku o Loe – is $2,666,500. The details, though, are more complicated. In the 1930s, Christian Holmes II, heir to the Fleischmann Yeast fortune, bought the island from Bishop Estate…
There’s a way to avoid long airport lines and manhandling by TSA security agents, but it’ll cost you. What: Charter a private jet to fly you and your friends from Honolulu to Los Angeles, and you won’t have to arrive…
Poor reviews of the Honolulu zoo from visitors and trip advisories were some of the reasons the City and County of Honolulu and zoo director Manuel Mollinedo devised a six-year plan to turn the Waikiki attraction around. Here is a…
All is not well with Hawaii’s valuable coffee industry: A Big Island quarantine of unroasted beans and coffee plants aims to stop the spread of the coffee berry borer, a destructive pest. Here’s where Hawaii’s industry stands: 830 Coffee farms in…
Liticia and Michael Thomas defied the odds and bought a business despite the bad economy. Their formula for success is looking for savings everywhere — rent, floor space, staff and more. “It’s a great time to start a business,” Liticia…
Will Hawaii profit from the boom? When the U.S. and Japanese governments announced plans in 2006 to move nearly 8,000 U.S. Marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam, they set in motion what may become one of the largest…
High unemployment causes spike The smiling folks who work the counter at Don Dymond’s stores in Kailua tend to stay around a while. Dymond, who runs Kalapawai Market, Kalapawai Café and several other small businesses, rarely lays people off and…
Does Hawaii need one? How should we get it? When it comes to diversifying Hawaii’s economy, Paul Brewbaker has his doubts. As a longtime member of the state Council on Revenues and the former chief economist at the Bank of Hawaii,…