A word to the wise this graduation season: Lei will be pricey because of the shortage of Thailand-grown orchids, not to mention the thousands of lei that are now being shipped to the mainland. It’s not just transplanted Islanders who…
Name: Steve Looney Job: Tattoo artist; owner, Pacific Soul Tattoo Experience: 12 years professionally Start: “I took an interest in tattooing as a 15-year-old growing up in Anaheim, California,” Looney says. He studied graphic design in college but couldn’t find…
Consider the wildfire-like spread of tablet technology and it’s no surprise that teachers, students and parents are excited about the latest educational tools and software. One of the most popular is the Promethean ActivBoard, an interactive whiteboard. “Imagine an 87-inch…
That’s what EMS chief did after getting to the top. During almost three decades of service, Patty Dukes worked her way up from paramedic to become chief of Honolulu’s Emergency Medical Services. Now, she’s back in school, finding that you’re…
You only have seconds to capture someone’s attention; if they don’t find what they want quickly, they’ll move on. Approach web content for your business strategically to get people to your site, hold them there and keep them coming back…
Deborah Crown is trying to provide students at Hawaii Pacific University’s College of Business Administration with real-world experience while they are still in school. She became dean at the state’s largest business college in August 2011, the fourth dean or…
There’s such enthusiasm for Nita Pilago that you may think you’re at a 90-percent-off sale as women push and shove at a craft fair to grab one of her Wahine Toa designs. Taught to sew by her grandmother, Pilago grew…
Favorite spots: Blue Hole, Snipes, Paikos and Toes. Main boards: His favorite is a 6-foot Superbrand “Toy” squash tail, but he also likes his Erik Arakawa 6-foot, 3-inch rounded pin. When it comes to surfing, Evan Fujimoto’s mantra is, “No…
Rude coworkers, bullying bosses, stolen lunches. Office life can be uncivil. But Penelope Paik, president of Civility International Inc., says five small changes to our behavior can make a big difference. There’s no better time to start than this month, which…
Q: It seems like a paycheck isn’t enough to keep my employees fully engaged in customer service and efficiency. What can I do? A: To engage your employees, create a positive work environment that has clear goals and expectations, effective communication,…
Before Bill Jarvis took the helm seven years ago at Mobi PCS, a Hawaii-based wireless phone company, he had spent two decades working for other, bigger national brands. So he knew what not to do. “We could really study the category…
WHAT IS STANDING FIT? Standing Fit converts tables or countertops into stand-up desks. It’s a 3/8-inch-thick plexiglass stand designed by Kona native Tiffiny Taylor, and manufactured and shipped to customers byGlasplex LLC, based in New Jersey. Unlike a traditional stand-up desk,…
The first woman to lead the full-service medical facility in Kailua discusses Castle’s renovations, green efforts and open-heart-surgery program. Castle is undergoing a $26 million renovation. What’s changing? Over the last 10-plus years, we’ve been renovating older areas of the…
Roger Higa, Melissa Chang, George “Chef Mavro” Mavrothalassitis and Shanah Trevenna are very different people with one thing in common: Each experienced a turning point that put them on an unexpected journey to a new calling. For Roger Higa, that…
Margaret Larson has felt “range anxiety.” If you buy an electric vehicle in the near future, you will feel it, too. Larson is the electric vehicle specialist for the state Energy Office and was driving the state’s Nissan Leaf electric car back…
Eric Yeaman runs Hawaiian Telcom, Gene Awakuni leads UH-West Oahu, Karl Fujii is VP and CFO of Hawaiian Building Maintenance, John Komeiji is senior VP and general counsel at Hawaiian Telcom, andRobbie Alm is executive VP at Hawaiian Electric. The common thread? They’re all…