Editor’s Note: Why We Write
There were many days in 2020 when even I was reluctant to read the news. The pandemic, human tragedy, political battles, conspiracy theories and plenty more made it hard to take another daily dose.
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There were many days in 2020 when even I was reluctant to read the news. The pandemic, human tragedy, political battles, conspiracy theories and plenty more made it hard to take another daily dose.
What was your reaction when you heard another report had been released on how to create a better future for Hawai‘i and its people? Was it the same as my initial reaction: a sigh and an eye roll? But as…
If you want to support public education in Hawai‘i, the time is now, during this education crisis caused by the pandemic.
Submitted by Marie Turner When I saw the cover to the February issue, I laughed out loud. (Should Tourists Be Asked to Sign a Pledge?) Are you kidding? I don’t know what fantasy island you are living on but it’s…
A contradiction of our age is that we have more access to information about politics and government than ever before, yet a smaller and smaller percentage of Hawai‘i’s people find it worthwhile to vote. How to reverse that decline in…
Does this sound like you? You work hard, so at the end of the day (or week), you’re too tired to go to that local play, concert or gallery show, and instead you plop in front of the TV again.…
Beverly Creamer’s Report on Health and Wellness covers a lot of important issues. In this column, I focus on one person and one issue: You and your personal health. Your health depends on a lot of factors, many of which you…
Companies often send me news releases about donations they make to hospitals, distressed communities or any of a thousand worthy causes. I wish I could report on all these admirable efforts, because they deserve recognition.
One of the biggest complaints about the media is we focus on bad news, so here’s good news: Hawaii is No. 1 on a national ranking vital to all of us. For the second year in a row, the Islands…
LIKE MOST PEOPLE, I think about money often. Not about what I can buy with it – though occasionally daydreaming about a shopping trip to Tokyo never hurt anybody. No, my preoccupation is with how money works and how it…
The year was 1994: I had just graduated from college and began looking for my first “real” job. I was fortunate to have been introduced to an executive at a Los Angeles media company and he lined up an interview…
When I moved to Hawaii in 1981, I found it odd that many of the best-regarded or best-selling books about Hawaii were written by outsiders: “Shoal of Time” by Gavan Daws, now a deep-rooted resident but back then not long…
As we step up our efforts to reduce homelessness, we need to work harder to prevent it. One way is to increase the number of people who have enough savings to weather a short-term financial crisis – a lost job, a…
HECO’s Ownership Not the Crucial Factor More important is the utility’s skill and innovation in adapting to disruption in the electricity sector I appreciate the efforts of Hawaii Business and Dennis Hollier to dig deep into the complex issues of…
IT WILL TAKE a lot to pull us out of Hawaii’s housing crisis, but here are thoughts on some partial solutions. ADUs are a good idea, and each county has different rules on what are formally called accessory dwelling units. Honolulu…
It is obvious to anyone who has been there or seen it shining in the distance, that the summit of Mauna Kea is a sacred place. Native Hawaiians are not unique in this reverence: Virtually all the great religions venerate…
Molokai and the battle over GMOs remind me of another island whose people struggled to control their destiny against outsiders. Newfoundland is the poorest of the Canadian provinces, much like Molokai is the poorest of the main Hawaiian Islands. The…
I was at a meeting and listening to one of the most powerful women in Hawaii when something astonishing happened. Her recently promoted male deputy interrupted her. Not once, but several times. Many studies tell me that I shouldn’t have…
For the 18 years I worked in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s newsroom, we never used diacritical marks – the okina and kahako – in Hawaiian words. When I moved to The Honolulu Advertiser in 2004, we used them in the newspaper,…
You may have had this daydream, too: A letter arrives saying there is unclaimed property in my name worth $20 million (it’s a fantasy, so I didn’t scrimp). In my daydream, I collect the money and live happily ever after.…
As Dennis Hollier’s story on page 40 points out, there are many impediments to local farming, but a shortage of farmland is not one of them. In fact, 45.8 percent of Hawaii’s 4.1 million acres are classified as agricultural district…
My wife earns more money than I do. For many men, that would be a humiliating admission, but I’m proud of that fact and of her. And, though most of the credit for her success belongs to her hard work…
As a journalist, I get more chances to meet our leading politicians than the average citizen. But Hawaii is such an intimate and casual place you don’t always need special access to talk story with the powerful – or someone…
I recently read “Flash Boys,” Michael Lewis’ account of how Wall Street has stolen from you, me and our 401ks. I was astonished by the sophisticated corruption, and about how many people and companies thought it was OK to cheat…
Employees have spoken in the 2021 Best Places to Work Survey. Read on to find out where they work and why they love their jobs.
Geckos are iconic in Hawaii, as much as pineapples or ukuleles, and, like them, are not native to the Islands. The Polynesians brought them here about 1,500 years ago along with other plants and animals. Today, there are eight gecko…
Companies are constantly innovating in the modern world. Ironically, though, the guiding principles that make a Best Place to Work are timeless.