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The High Cost of Affordable Housing

“Building affordable housing is complicated,” says Makani Maeva. She should know. As Hawaii director for the VitusGroup, an affordable-housing developer, she recently completed the Lokahi Apartments, 307 rentals in Kona. Between January 2007, when another developer laid the project in…

Exporting Lessons

Douglas Smith, the president and CEO of Hawaiian Island Shine, was fortunate that when local sales began to slump because of the recession, his export business began to takeoff. His car-care products are now sold in six countries and he…

SmallBiz Guide to Power

Imagine the huge cost to your small business if the 2010 Legislature had raised the general excise tax or failed to cut unemployment insurance premiums. Every year at the state Capitol, similar make-or-break laws are debated and that’s why it’s…

Editor's Note: Restoring Common Sense

Hawaii’s people have lost control of their economy, but this election campaign is a great opportunity to begin taking back control and restoring common sense to our future. If we succeed, we can preserve what is precious about Hawaii, because…

Talk Story with John Dean

In March, the embattled Central Pacific Bank named John Dean as CEO and executive chairman. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial industry, including serving as CEO and chairman of Silicon Valley Bank. Q: You came to…

Pro-Business Legislators

Some Republicans and Democrats stand out as best, but when we tried to ID the worst, business leaders were reluctant to name names. In this time of severe budget cuts, lots of people are unhappy with their state lawmakers. But…

Seeking the Business Vote

Top candidates for governor explain how they would make it easier for businesses to succeed. Those in Hawaii struggling to maintain a business or start a new one can rest easy on one thing: Our next governor has no plans…