Hawaii Business Magazine - November 2016

Our Favorite Things - 2016

STEVE PETRANIK, EDITOR So much fun stuff to do, so little time. I love hiking and playing board games with my family. One favorite game is Pandemic, in which…

Nonprofit Corner: When You Can't Breathe

Valerie Chang was only 42 when she was diagnosed with idiopathic emphysema – a form of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “It’s rather severe, with no known cause,” explains Chang, now 59. “They’ve explored all the possible causes, including genetic,…

The Iceman Cometh

Five thousand blocks of ice and 22 years later, Darren Ho still carves ice sculptures for all kinds of special events in Hawaii and around the world. Here he works in his Kihei studio. At the Sapporo Snow Festival this…

My Job: What’s Your Opinion?

NAME: Barbara Ankersmit JOB: Market researcher, president and partner COMPANY: Anthology Marketing Group Research Team START: Ankersmit had been a project manager in California for Arbitron, a radio listener survey company. When she and her family moved to Hawaii, she got a job…

A Treat for Your Ilio’s Teeth

ORIGIN: David Pang has been creating pet products for years, first when he owned a chain of pet stores in Taiwan and then after he opened Pet Spot Ward at Ward Warehouse in Honolulu. So he launched a company to…

Sweet Paradise

Richmond “Rich” Chang always wanted to own a business. “I was a finance major at UH and, when I graduated in 2000, I didn’t know what sort of business I wanted, but I knew I wanted to buy one,” remembers…

You're Paying More for Everything

Developer Peter Savio says everyone in Hawaii pays more for common items like food because of an unfair system of leasehold land rents. He says the current system does not account for decades of up-and-down land prices and economic conditions,…

The Careerist: I Screwed Up - What Do I Do Next?

Q: I’ve got a great job with a real estate development company, but I’m afraid I’m about to get fired. I screwed up a project, missing a deadline, mixing up job orders and costing the company real money. I’ve done…

5 Steps to Making Time for Volunteering

1. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION Choose a nonprofit with a mission that you’re personally passionate about. This will make it easier for you to commit the time and energy it takes to add value. 2. SEEK SUPPORT FROM YOUR EMPLOYER I’m…

Ask the Expert: Compassion Starts at the Top

Q: What are the best practices for creating a culture of volunteering? A: Volunteering can be a rewarding, life-changing experience for employees and is one of the best ways of creating goodwill in the community for the companies they work…

Rapid Ohia Death - Threat to Hawaii's Water

The low-slung warehouse sits on the edge of a small industrial park just outside Waimea. Behind it are the humped, green foothills of Kohala, the oldest of the Big Island’s five volcanoes, and low, heavy clouds inch down the mountain…

The Need for Feed

The high cost of animal feed has long hindered the meat, poultry, dairy and seafood industries in the Islands, but local efforts on several fronts aim to reduce those expenses. Shipping feed from the Mainland costs about $150 to $200…

Editor's Note: What We All Want

"What Do Women Want?” was a condescending question often asked (and answered) by men when I was young. It is also a question Gallup set out to answer in a report called “Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived,” based…

Tracing a Virus

This summer was a blur for Sarah Park, who is the state epidemiologist and head of the Department of Health’s Disease Outbreak Control Division. Each year, an average of 10 Hawaii residents contract Hepatitis A, which is considered a normal…

Shifting Salaries

Buffy Owens of Kamaaina Kids was meeting with consultants from the HR management company ProService Hawaii when news broke that the federal government would update the Fair Labor Standards Act by doubling the minimum pay for salaried employees. Without missing a…