I am among the most privileged people on the planet: a well-educated, healthy, tall, white, heterosexual male. I am not sure which of those adjectives provide me with more privilege than the others but I’m pretty sure the noun tops…
We take our mission seriously: “To strengthen the local economy and help our communities thrive.” And to keep us on track with that mission, we created an editorial mantra: “Big Issues, Useful, Unique, Accessible.” Let me walk you through those…
One of the main goals of Hawaii Business Magazine is to be useful to our readers and one of our most useful services is Today’s Hawaii News. The email newsletter was launched in April 2017 to give you a quick…
Conservative writer David Frum has stirred a hornet’s nest on the issue of immigration, and since that’s a topic that sharply divides Americans, I think it is worthwhile to dive in and provide local perspective. Frum’s article in the April…
The original question was: How can businesspeople and their companies support Hawaii’s schools? That question brought together about 20 people for a brainstorming session during the Hawaii Executive Conference in early October. The answer became the Education Bridge, a still-evolving…
A friend from California brought me a gift: two chocolate bars infused with THC, the substance in marijuana that gets you high and has medical benefits for some people. Except for the small red "THC!" flag in the bottom right…
An outrigger canoe often serves as a powerful and apt metaphor for how Hawaii can move forward on the many challenges we face. In a canoe, a team paddles in unison toward a sometimes distant spot on the horizon. You…
The state Legislature is asking voters to approve a major restructuring of our tax system The state Legislature is trying to muscle into the counties’ main area of taxation, property taxes, and voters will choose Nov. 6 whether to let…
If you are going to die in, say, the next 30 years and have no children or grandchildren and don’t care about the future of Hawaii, you can probably ignore our story on “The Cost of Climate Change.” For everyone…
I am often asked, “Where do you get your story ideas?” The short answer is from everywhere and everyone. I get story ideas when I walk past a construction site or a worn old building on my way to my…
I have been reading a lot of U.S. and world history as I try to understand a way out of our nation’s political divisiveness. What I reaffirmed is that capitalist democracy is the best economic and political system ever created…
Kahauiki Village is a great model for helping homeless families, but duplicating it will solve only one important part of the homeless crisis The state Legislature has set aside $30 million to construct “ ohana zones” – six encampments providing temporary shelter…
When this magazine published its “Power Issue” in October 2009, we asked “Who Runs Hawaii?” The answer, of course, was complicated, but we managed to sum it up in a two-page chart listing the main players and in our lead…
The most important book of our time offers warning signs History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes and I hear an ominous poem these days. Franklin Roosevelt committed one of the biggest sins of his 12-year presidency when he…
Immigration is complicated. It’s not a single issue but a thousand issues and factors mixed together, including diverse people, economics, crime, community, compassion, resentment, competition, inequality and so much more. There are two features in this issue that show the…
I feel trapped in a time machine that has taken me back three or four decades. Workplace problems like sexual harassment that should have died off long ago continue to flourish. In fact, the most persistent theme of history –…
Facebook is changing the way it evaluates millions of news sites around the world and that process will change what you see on your Facebook news feed. One key question Facebook will ask you and other users in its surveys…
From 3% to 22% That's a big rise in the number of female leaders. Does it mean a work in early progress or mission accomplished? Inside this issue is the 20th anniversary edition of Hawaii Business’ Black Book, a who’s…
This year marks my 42nd anniversary in the news business. That includes four years working part-time in TV news while still in college but doesn’t count four earlier years delivering newspapers when I acquired my addiction to what was then…
If you think domestic violence does not affect you, you’re wrong. You may not be the one with the bruises, broken bones and worse, but you are paying part of the price – at your workplace and with your taxes. Twenty-one percent…
UPDATED 7/10/2017 ADDED 14 STATE AWARDS FROM THE 2017 SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS (SPJ) Hawaii Business is the state’s best business publication and we just won eight national awards and 14 statewide awards to prove it. The prizes were for…
I’ll be honest: A few months ago, I was worried about the future of Hawaii Business. Our publisher and creative director (that’s the person in charge of the entire look of the magazine, from photos to typography) had left to…
The ancient Greek poet Archilochus left us with this delightful metaphor: “A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog one important thing.” In this month’s column, I’m a fox, maybe because I’m juggling too many balls to be a hedgehog.…
I try hard not to live in a bubble, so I read widely and listen when people express opinions contrary to my own. But I was shocked when I started reading the latest edition of Chapman University’s annual survey of…