Hawaii State Government Slow to Pay
K.D., A General contractor on Oahu, has a hint of dismay in his voice when he talks about not yet getting fully paid for a job completed at the end of 2009. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are still owed…
Community & Economy
Businesses Love to Hate the Hawaii PUC
Critics say The state Public Utilities Commission is slow, inefficient and secretive, but this small agency has a lot on its plate. It regulates: 4 electric utilities; 1 gas company; 176 telecommunication companies; 38 private water and sewer companies; 4…
Hawaii 2011 Our Quality of Life
Understanding Hawaii, Then Acting to Improve Our Quality of Life Building a better future for Hawaii begins with a clear understanding of who we are and where we stand – our vital strengths and crippling weaknesses. This report provides key…
Crafting Egg Shells
Michele Saito, president of Farmers Insurance Hawaii, Inc., already enjoyed arts and crafts when she came upon the obscure art of eggery two decades ago. How obscure is it? There isn’t even a Wikipedia page on it. Enthusiasts turn egg…
Belle of the Harbor
Yes, the Falls of Clyde is still a treasure. Today, the 133-year-old, four-masted barque that helped found the Matson shipping empire squats in disreputable shambles in her berth at Pier 7, between the defunct Hawaii Maritime Center and the Aloha…
Calling Minority Businesses
Wanted: minority-owned businesses to bid on contracts offered by large national companies. That’s the marketing pitch of the Northern California Minority Supplier Development Council, which, among its responsibilities, is helping Hawaii’s minority-owned companies gain access to contracts offered by about…
Hawaii Coffee by the Numbers
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…
Ask SmallBiz: Intellectual Property
Q. Our employees have specialized knowledge and are often trying new things. How can we harness that expertise to add value to our small business? A. Employees who think about ways to improve your business can create intellectual property (IP) that…
Editor's Note: Measuring Hawaii’s Quality of Life
When financial services companies show a magazine or TV ad, they don’t entice you with a pile of money. Instead, they often show a retired couple walking along a beach, enjoying life in a tropical paradise after years of hard…
