A Taste of Canton
Seafood chives gau is one of 35 types of dim sum served at the Happy Days Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Kaimuki. The owners say they serve an average of 1,000 trays of dim sum every day. Siu mai (pork hash)…
Hawaii Business Magazine - January 2017
Our Favorite Things - Part 3
GINA GELBER, MANAGING EDITOR Retro Cool: There’s nothing like relaxing with vino and retro jazz or bossa nova. Frank Sinatra and Antonio…
The Future of Farming
Imagine a world in which robots, drones and artificial intelligence plant, monitor, harvest, and deliver your food. This may sound like science fiction, but it is, in fact, the emerging reality in farming. “We’re seeing robots that can plant, water…
Harry Weinberg - Not Your Average Billionaire
Harry Weinberg amassed a fortune in local real estate and was renowned for being a financially savvy guy, who cajoled and exasperated the top executives of companies he invested in. However, what most surprised Kit Smith, who covered him for…
Nonprofit Corner: CSI, But Not the TV Version
No, it’s not that “CSI.” “Folks are always mixing us up with the TV show,” chuckles Shin (“Sheen”) Domen, 49, executive director of CSI Inc., a financial management nonprofit that seeks to provide Comfort, Security and Independence to elderly or…
Acts of Aloha: Thriving on the West Side [Sponsored]
The Salvation Army’s Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center celebrates its five-year anniversary in 2017. Design-firm G70 partnered with The Salvation Army – Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division to build the largest community center in the 50th State, 200,000…
Transmitting Aloha Over the Phone
When Max Tsai and Matt Cooley were college roommates at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in the ‘90s, both were “unimpressed” with the customer call center service they received from companies. “Whether you have to call your utility company or cell…
Ask the Expert: Improving Employees’ Wellness
Q: I want my employees to be healthier in the New Year, but ours is a small business. How can I help without breaking the bank? A: Empowering employees to become healthier doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. All…
Smart Path to Success
“Oh, no!” was Reuben Chong’s street name – as in “Oh, no! Here he comes!” For a decade, the homeless ex-convict prowled Honolulu’s Chinatown in search of money to support his drug habit. Who could imagine that this 34-year-old, street-smart…
The Careerist: Are We Never Ever Getting Back Together?
Q: I’m a freelance graphic arts designer who is completely baffled. One of my best clients has gone radio silent, ghosting me without even so much as a “I’m just not that into you.” I’ve done all the standard stuff…
Meticulously Whimsical
It’s hard to tell if it was her business model or her impressive multimedia presentation that won Jana Lam the second annual Pitch Panel at Honolulu Fashion Week. Whatever did it, she received an impressive package of business services, advertising…
Not Your Father's Stock
Three Big Island breeders have welcomed 14 new alpacas to their pastures, part of what they say is a small but growing market in the state for the South American animals that resemble miniature llamas. Big…
Game On
In the virtual world of apps and video games, a locally founded startup called GamePress has created a global gathering place. GamePress’ site, pokemongo.gamepress.gg, drew a staggering 20 million unique visitors in July when the popular GPS-based mobile game was…
Re-Birth on Rice Street
The best days passed decades ago for downtown Lihue. Today, sidewalks are narrow, cracked and littered. Parks, lawns and benches are hangouts for the homeless. Once a proud gathering place, Rice Street is now little more than a thoroughfare for…
Pedal Power
Will Mather has bike renting down to a science. He’s able to fit a customer with the right size bike, discuss safety and road rules, equip them with a helmet and lock, and take payment for the rental, all in…
My Job: Staying Balanced
NAME: Lealyn Poponi AGE: 39 JOB: Stilt walker START: Poponi, originally from Monroe, Michigan, dreamed of moving to the Islands since she visited Maui with her family when she was 18. “In 2013, I sold almost everything, quit my job…
5 Steps for Young Professionals
Cristina Barbata runs the Young Professionals program at the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, which is aimed at those ages 21 to 39. She is also the chamber’s director of events. Here are five ways that she, as a young professional,…
Talk Story: Cindy Adams
Two years after taking the helm at AUW, Adams’ top priorities are greater transparency, enhanced metrics, and deeper relationships with the state and other nonprofits. Q: The traditional separation between businesses and nonprofits has been changing. A: There has been…
Water Warning
Most people are smart enough to stay out of the ocean when signs warn about bacteria in the water. The problem is we don’t always get that warning, or get it quickly enough, because Hawaii has 303 miles of recreational…
Three Things You Can Do to Protect Hawaii's Water
Hokulea apprentice navigator Austin Kino has turned his passion into a business by launching Holokino Hawaii, a sailing-canoe tour based out of the Kahala Hotel and Resort. The goal is a cultural experience,…
How Hawaii's Beach Waters Rank
Was Your Beach Tested? The state uses a tiered system based on risk to determine which beach waters to sample for bacteria. Tier 1: These beaches take priority because they are heavily used and have factors that could influence higher…
Editor's Note: Stop Whining
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…
Our Favorite Things - Part 2
DANIEL IKAIKA ITO, DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Before I got married, my main indulgences were surfboards and shoes. My wife is an accountant and now “my CFO,” and…