Hawai‘i has just been named the worst state in America to do business in CNBC's 2026 "America's Top States for Business" rankings. Hawaii Business Magazine's BOSS Survey backs up what the CNBC ranking suggests: a majority – 57% – told researchers that Hawai‘i is now a worse place to run a business than it was five years ago.
Hawaiʻi's biggest challenges, from aging infrastructure to housing shortages and rising costs, will take more than government to solve.
From the hidden costs of condo ownership to the booming Pokémon card market and Waipahu High School rewriting what's possible for its students, this issue explores what it really means to invest in Hawai‘i.
Over the past 12 months, we have been strategic about how we evolve our storytelling and expand our reach, and the results have been incredibly rewarding.
Work consumes much of our lives. By most estimates, the average full-time employee will spend close to 90,000 hours on the job over a lifetime. In subtle ways, our work influences our identity, relationships and daily structure. Steve Jobs captured…
Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Ablan reflects on what it meant to select this year's HB20 honorees and why the most meaningful kind of leadership in Hawai‘i rarely makes headlines.
In Colorado, one of the earliest adopters, the state projected almost $200 million in cannibas tax and fee revenue during 2025, much of it earmarked for education, infrastructure and public health initiatives.
Hawaii Business Magazineʻs CEO of the Year: From pandemic resilience to independence, Teranishi played a central role in shaping American Savings Bank’s most transformative era.
Thanksgiving is a season of gratitude, but in Hawaiʻi, it has also become a season of resilience. This year, that message feels especially sharp. Our state is facing more than $100 million in federal cuts – a blow that lands hardest on those who need help the most.
Ahead of the 2025 Wahine Forum with 1,000 women attendees, this October issue explores workplace challenges, the 'motherhood penalty,' and celebrates trailblazing leaders.
In these first 100 days, the new editor says she has listened and met at least 100 new faces during a personal "listening tour." Good journalism doesn't just inform, it connects.
The accolades were handed out during the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual statewide competition. Among those winning multiple awards for the magazine were Cynthia Wessendorf, Jeff Sanner and Noelle Fujii-Oride.
I am among the most privileged people on the planet: a well-educated, healthy, tall, white, heterosexual male. I am not sure which of those adjectives provide me with more privilege than the others but I’m pretty sure the noun tops…
We take our mission seriously: “To strengthen the local economy and help our communities thrive.” And to keep us on track with that mission, we created an editorial mantra: “Big Issues, Useful, Unique, Accessible.” Let me walk you through those…
One of the main goals of Hawaii Business Magazine is to be useful to our readers and one of our most useful services is Today’s Hawaii News. The email newsletter was launched in April 2017 to give you a quick…
Conservative writer David Frum has stirred a hornet’s nest on the issue of immigration, and since that’s a topic that sharply divides Americans, I think it is worthwhile to dive in and provide local perspective. Frum’s article in the April…
The original question was: How can businesspeople and their companies support Hawaii’s schools? That question brought together about 20 people for a brainstorming session during the Hawaii Executive Conference in early October. The answer became the Education Bridge, a still-evolving…
A friend from California brought me a gift: two chocolate bars infused with THC, the substance in marijuana that gets you high and has medical benefits for some people. Except for the small red "THC!" flag in the bottom right…
An outrigger canoe often serves as a powerful and apt metaphor for how Hawaii can move forward on the many challenges we face. In a canoe, a team paddles in unison toward a sometimes distant spot on the horizon. You…
The state Legislature is asking voters to approve a major restructuring of our tax system The state Legislature is trying to muscle into the counties’ main area of taxation, property taxes, and voters will choose Nov. 6 whether to let…
If you are going to die in, say, the next 30 years and have no children or grandchildren and don’t care about the future of Hawaii, you can probably ignore our story on “The Cost of Climate Change.” For everyone…
I am often asked, “Where do you get your story ideas?” The short answer is from everywhere and everyone. I get story ideas when I walk past a construction site or a worn old building on my way to my…
I have been reading a lot of U.S. and world history as I try to understand a way out of our nation’s political divisiveness. What I reaffirmed is that capitalist democracy is the best economic and political system ever created…
Kahauiki Village is a great model for helping homeless families, but duplicating it will solve only one important part of the homeless crisis The state Legislature has set aside $30 million to construct “ ohana zones” – six encampments providing temporary shelter…