Community & Economy

It Takes a Village to Host a Tourist

As the sun rises on Waikiki Beach, some workers are going home while others have just arrived and are preparing to serve, feed and entertain up to 6,000 visitors at the Hilton. Senior writer Beverly Creamer and photographer Greg Yamamoto…

The Value of Heeia

Some of the most valuable lands in ancient Hawaii were located in Kaneohe, and prized by kings and chiefs.  There on the windward side of Oahu, mountain springs flowed into acres of terraced loi that grew kalo in fertile soil,…

Eyes on the Sky

The world’s worst traffic is not in Los Angeles, Bangkok or Beijing. It’s hundreds of miles above the Earth, where an ever-increasing mishmash of satellites, debris and junk are circling the planet at thousands of miles per hour, and a…

Finding the Signal Amid All the Noise

Even more than most scientists studying climate change, Camilo Mora has an apocalyptic vision of the future. In a controversial paper published this year in the journal Nature, Mora, a biogeography researcher at UH, tries to calculate the date of…

California Dreaming

Each year, the world’s best surfers – both men and women – compete against each other for millions of dollars in prize money at tournaments around the globe staged by the Association of Surfing Professionals and other promoters. Hawaii surfers…

Talk Story with Pohai Ryan

Executive Director, Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association Ryan brings wide experience to her role, from managing an information office in Kailua to serving as a state senator. This Kamehameha Schools alumna plans to focus on culture and authenticity during her tenure,…

Talk Story with John White

Executive Director, Pacific Resource Partnership PRP, a unique partnership between Hawaii’s top contractors and the Hawaii Carpenters Union, is a powerful supporter of rail. White talks about integrated communities and how they will help guide Oahu’s development.   What are…

Kakaako: Remade for the 21st Century

No matter which lens you use, Kakaako is where the transformations in Hawaii’s 21st-century life are most clear. The demographic lens: You already know there are more older people today, while young people are delaying both marriage and their families,…

Talk Story with Peter Fithian

You seem to have lived many different lives. I’ve done a number of things. Probably some of the work I did with the visitors bureau and the various committees I’ve been on did more for Hawaii, but I’m best known…

Waikiki After Dark

Waikiki is the Honolulu Police Department’ssmallest district, but, at three square miles it is also the most densely populated, says Officer John DeMello, who has been patrolling these streets for the past 10 years. I accompanied DeMello one Friday evening and…

Waikiki Present and Future - Extended Version

Panelists: W. David P. Carey III: President and CEO, Outrigger Enterprises Group Rick Egged: President, Waikiki Improvement Association Eric Gill: Financial Secretary-Treasurer, Unite Here Local 5 Hawaii Ernest “Ernie” K. Nishizaki: Executive VP, Kyo-Ya Co. LLC George D. Szigeti: President…

Homelessness in Waikiki

Many of Waikiki’s Homeless Are Mainland Snowbirds Just as tourists trade the cold winters of Minneapolis, Seattle and other cities for the warmth of Waikiki, so do another group of visitors. “There are homeless people who come here in the…