What he’s doing now to ensure Hawaii’s future Sen. Daniel Ken Inouye has long been Hawaii’s most powerful and influential individual, a man who has brought billions of dollars into his home state and forged or supported industries in astronomy,…
Five government resources that can jumpstart your small business Island Princess, a local candy company, had been growing since it began in 1983 but struggled to stay alive when the economy nosedived after 9/11. “Sales were way down and we…
Marriott Resorts Hawaii is launching its Spirit of Aloha Tour in Japan this month to attract more Japanese to the islands and its six resort hotels. A weak global economy and fear of the H1N1 flu have cut the number…
Chock has a heavy heart thinking about the 3,000 members of the union who are unemployed. “Flat is the new growth,” he laments. While several big projects will create more jobs, it won’t be enough to sustain the third largest…
Should Hawaii’s tourism czars focus on attracting more visitors or take a holistic view of tourism’s impact? During good times, there is virtually nothing easier to sell than Hawaii. If people have money and an itch to travel, all you…
I love hiking because of what I feel and see. Hikes challenge my body, but, more important, the scenery revives my spirit and invigorates my mind. The views from high places force my mind out of narrow corridors into grander…
> Send letters to feedback@hawaiibusiness.com Great Green Comparisons Thanks for the article “Is It Really Green?” (June 2009). You did some great comparisons and didn’t try to simplify the issues like so many “easy to be green” articles do. FYI,…
Where we see black asphalt streets, Elisabeth “Betsy” Wilson envisions green roads. As president of family-owned Alakona Asphalt Paving Specialists, Wilson hopes the state and counties will share her vision of increasing the amount of recycled asphalt in our roads…
3 reasons why these Top 250 companies beat the odds No. 1 Reason for Big Gains: Strategic Growth Many Top 250 companies are Hawaii institutions that have defined local business culture for decades and employ the most experienced and talented…
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…
My son and his friends are leaving home and I fear they will never truly come back. Nothing is set in stone, but of the thousands who fly off each summer to enroll at colleges on the Mainland, too many…
Send letters to feedback@hawaiibusiness.com Flaws in how Top 100 Realtors were picked Let me preface by stating there is probably no perfect system for judging who the Top 100 Realtors (June 2009) are in Hawaii. I do feel, however, that…
It’s a workday morning late in the week and attorney Ellen Carson is at her home computer, in her pajamas, working on affidavits. She’s been at it for three hours — since 6 a.m. — but by 9 she’s able…
Something major is happening. Women everywhere are mobilizing — themselves and each other — to get into the community, grow their contact lists and build meaningful relationships to advance their careers. This new age of wahine networking is a far…
Melissa Teves Pavlicek has fought for the interests of small businesses at the state Legislature for the past five years and became state director of the National Federation of Independent Business in 2006. HB: How can small businesses gain influence…
“A crusty, irascible, cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas” Life at work is never easy. We are often confronted with situations we don’t know how to handle. Each month, this retired senior Honolulu executive offers his take on how…
When will it recover? Just about everyone in the Hawaii housing sector – brokers, lenders, economists, appraisers, analysts – says the crystal ball on prices is murky. A lot of outside factors make it difficult to predict where prices will…
What makes commercial real estate so complicated? “Downtown” Jamie Brown, a CRE All-Star and president of Hawaii Commercial Real Estate, looks puzzled by the question. “Have you ever seen a commercial real estate contract?” he asks. Fishing out a thick…
Will commercial real estate be the next crisis? “There’s an old adage,” says Steve Sofos. “Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered.” Sofos, president of Sofos Realty, Hawaii’s largest independent commercial real estate brokerage, is discussing the possibility of a collapse…
> Send letters to feedback@hawaiibusiness.com Citizen Economists not paying its writers I’m a freelance writer living in Bellingham, Wash. I recently ran across the December 2008 issue of Hawaii Business at my local library. I took a look at it,…