The Queen’s Health Systems was facing a difficult and expensive decision: whether to rescue the North Hawaii Community Hospital in Hawaii Island’s paniolo country. The hospital was considering bankruptcy, a path taken by other Hawaii hospitals in the past four…
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…
Palama Settlement has served low-income and immigrant families in Kalihi and Palama for more than a century, but the facilities have deteriorated over the years and some can no longer be used. “We’re land rich but asset poor,” says Wendy…
Five years ago, Honolulu consultant and social-media expert L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine was talking with Ian Kitajima, corporate development director of the Honolulu R&D firm Oceanit, when he told her about a new idea called “Design thinking.” Developed at the Institute…
Ever since the rise of the Model-T more than 100 years ago, cars have shined as potent symbols of independence, status and freedom. But that image seems to be losing its allure in America. Recent studies show that, after nearly…
Hollywood has long loved Hawaii, flying A-list actors and crews to the Islands to produce an eclectic mix of TV shows and movies. But what about Hawaii’s own filmmakers and their stories? Global Virtual Studio had those local storytellers in…
During Crazy Shirts’ 50 years of business, many T-shirt styles and designs have come and gone. What has persisted in the company’s culture, say longtime employees, is creativity, a sense of humor and a “go big or go home” attitude.…
Noy Worachit moved more during her adolescence – over 15 times – than most people do in their entire lives. As a teenager, she also spent time in corrections facilities and gave birth to her daughter. Worachit’s youth, like that of…
When David Yamashiro opened his 65-square-foot shave ice shop in Lahaina in December 2008, he had to beg people to try his product. “In the beginning, we were selling about 15 shave ice from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.,” Yamashiro…
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,…
To Donalyn Dela Cruz, coaches were people who led basketball practice and volleyball clinics – not shape executives into leaders. But when she entered the prestigious Omidyar Fellows program in 2012, she was paired with a professional coach who helped her…
As Brian Adrian stands atop a 42-foot ladder on a Dallas construction site, the alarm on his mobile phone rings. It’s time to call his wife, so he secures his grip and hits speed dial. Almost 4,000 miles away in…
Just 25 years ago, Outrigger did not have a hotel outside of Waikiki. Today, it owns or operates 31 properties spread across the Hawaiian Islands and another 11 as far away as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Quite an achievement…
Hawaii Business won two national awards and two statewide awards for its Hawaii Quality of Life Report in the December 2013 issue. In total, the magazine won 18 awards this summer from two journalism competitions that judged work published or…
Here’s what happens during a lawsuit: You pay a bunch of money to an attorney. You fight the other guy to prove you’re right and he’s wrong. You attack his credibility, and he attacks yours. What was once a business…
A 40-year veteran at HMSA, Gold has led the local insurance giant since December 2012 as the healthcare industry undergoes a sea change. In a recent op-ed, you wrote that the state should try to close part of the Hawaii…
Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant and Benjamin Franklin. Jilly Bean, Lemon Haze and Bubba Kush. Those two types of green are flowing in and out of Colorado’s 200 dispensaries: lots of cash to buy potent strains of cannabis. Nearly $19…
Thirteen years after he and his partner, Kaleo Taft, founded their fuel cell startup in a Waikiki apartment. Nine years after he put the company on NASDAQ in a $21 million IPO. Seven years after he and his colleagues gave…
Photography Courtesy of Northwest Energy Innovation Devices to measure wave energy and convert it into electricity will be deployed in Kaneohe Bay near Marine Corps Base Hawaii starting this year, say the Navy, state Rep. Cynthia Thielen and a…
In last month’s edition, Hawaii Business published a conversation with seven of Hawaii’s best-known leaders: George Ariyoshi, John Dean, Walter Dods, Mark Dunkerley, Constance Lau, Kathryn Matayoshi and Colbert Matsumoto. They discussed the qualities of great leaders, the role of…
Photography by David Croxford In April, the state Public Utilities Commission ordered Hawaiian Electric’s utilities on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island to take action in four ways: “aggressively pursue energy-cost reductions, proactively respond to emerging renewable-energy-integration challenges, improve the…
To learn about leadership in Hawaii, Hawaii Business senior writer Dennis Hollier interviewed seven of the state’s most powerful and effective leaders, past and present. Among the questions he asked: What are the key attributes of great leaders? How do…
Hawaiian and English are both official languages of Hawaii, but most government services are available just in English. We tried to find out what it would cost for the state to provide most of its services in both languages. Hawaiian…
GMO has been a divisive issue on the Neighbor Islands. Is there a further role for GMO agriculture on Oahu? I want to preserve as much of our agricultural land as possible outside the urban growth boundary, and I want…