Ex-Marine captain’s company, Keawe Adventures, struggled for four years until a concierge at the Halekulani gave him a chance. Now his business employs 12 people and focuses on small tours with six or seven visitors at a time. Makani Christensen…
Over the past 17 years, more than 2,000 local products have found their way into military commissaries and exchanges, giving Hawaii companies new customers for items such as coffee, macadamia nuts, aloha wear, kim chee and perfume. Decades ago, commissaries…
The Rev. Samuel Cox doesn’t talk like a preacher when he speaks about the odds of a woman starting a new life after prison. He calls it like a gambler: “The dice are loaded,” and not in the woman’s favor.…
The Sultan brothers are a major new force in Hawaii’s venture capital and startup communities. Their two platforms are Sultan Ventures, a Hawaii-based venture capital firm, and XLR8UH. Last year, the two of you and UH launched XLR8UH, a public-private…
LEFT TO THE ELEMENTS AND CHILDREN, outdoor sand sculptures won’t survive more than a day or so, but professional sand sculptor Riki Inzano says part of their beauty is their fleeting existence. “It’s meant to be a temporary art form…
A reliable cell phone signal is still hard to find in the sleepy town of Kaunakakai, but the robots have arrived. Kim Svetin’s family owns Molokai Drugs, the island’s only drugstore. Behind the counter, it’s Svetin’s Uncle Jon, her…
During her orientation at the Hawaiian Humane Society, Shelley Pang listened carefully to all the roles she could play as a volunteer. “Everyone wanted to walk the dogs; I was like, ‘Let me see what no one else wants to…
“ABOUT $1.1 BILLION A YEAR IS PAID OUT IN PENSION BENEFITS NOW (TO STATE AND COUNTY WORKERS). IN THE NEXT 10 TO 20 YEARS, THAT’S PROJECTED TO GROW TO ABOUT $2 BILLION A YEAR.” –WESLEY MACHIDA Director, State Department of…
When Billy Ng told his former boss at Island Sign Service Inc. that he and his brother, Min, wanted to eventually buy the business, his boss didn’t think the two would succeed. “Imagine, we were two immigrant boys from Cambodia…
