Lifestyle

Calming and fragrant

Waikiki chef James Aptakin has taken an enticing, sweet fragrance commonly used in perfumes and added it to flan, shortbread cookies, savory cornbread, mojitos and pineapple cobbler. The secret ingredient: sugar infused with oil from vetiver, a grass grown in…

Innovation: iRun Earphones

Three Styles: iRun Performance is a short-wired earphone for iPod Shuffle users who wear hats or shirts while they train. iRun Advantage is for those who strap smart phones to their arms or attach iPods to their sports bras. iRun…

Assistance Dogs

Brian Kajiyama’s assistance dog, Zeus, is a Labrador retriever that has learned sign language to help Brian, who has cerebral palsy. Beside the usual skills of retrieving items, turning on lights and opening doors, Zeus can even take the jump…

Pau Hana with Jan Harada

Jan Harada knows there’s nothing like kung fu to get the blood flowing after a hard day and to stave off burnout. “My work is very rewarding, but it’s also very stressful,” says Harada, president and CEO of the nonprofit…

Lessons Learned: Finding Partners

Volta Industries has established a network of free-to-use charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) across Oahu. Scott Mercer, Volta’s co-founder and CEO, talks about finding partners and expanding the business. Who are your partners? Mercer: We provide our stations to shopping…

Pau Hana with David Miller

When David Miller moved to Hawaii from Boston more than 40 years ago, he figured he should take advantage of the Islands’ active, outdoor lifestyle. Since he grew up in New York City playing handball – there’s not much of…

Pau Hana With Lea Hong

As the state director of the Trust for Public Land, Lea Hong spends most of the workweek poring over tax maps, talking with attorneys and raising money for land acquisitions. No wonder she likes to detach on weekends. For Hong,…

Ride in Style

“You know, it’s a massage seat, too.” The chauffeur, Philippe Deprez, pointed to the control panel on the door of the custom-built 2012 Rolls-Royce Ghost EWB, the only one in Hawaii. “Go ahead,” he says, “press that button.” Talk about…

5 Steps to a successful business meeting

Your next business meeting will go more smoothly with proper planning. Plaza Club GM Dan Bower offers five ways to ensure that you succeed and everyone who attends is impressed. 1. Have a clear vision. Before you start planning your meeting, it is…

The Business of Sports in Hawaii

When the University of Central Florida’s football team lost its last scheduled game in 2005 to Tulsa, its consolation prize was a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. “Let me get this right,” coach George O’Leary quipped. “We lost and…

Pau Hana with Evan Fujimoto

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…

Career Change

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…

Electric Car Range Anxiety

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…

Our Favorite Things

Stacy Yuen Hernandez >> Writer Chocolate cream pie from Sunnyside Bakery: Pie is one of my favorite things in life and this Wahiawa bakery creates my all-time favorite. Zoku Quick Pop Maker: Got this cool contraption for Christmas. I’m fascinated…

Tetris Evolves into Facebook Phenom

COMPANY: Tetris Online has been headquartered in Honolulu since its launch in January 2006. Co-founders Henk Rogers and Minoru Arakawa have homes in Hawaii, and Rogers’ other organizations, including Blue Planet Software and Blue Planet Foundation, are based in Honolulu.…

Ocean Learning

There’s a new way for children and adults to view tropical sea life and even touch some of it. The Living Art Marine Center near the airport has a modest collection of fish tanks with creatures from around the Pacific,…

Pau Hana with Barron Gus

At 4 on a Sunday afternoon, Barron Guss – businessman, entrepreneur, inventor – is often at the field mauka of Kailua’s Kawainui Marsh flying part of his vast collection of remote-controlled helicopters and airplanes. His passion for flight began in…

Train to be a Yoga Master

If you are seeking calm in a hectic world, you may find it at a yoga school in Puna, surrounded by a Big Island rain forest. Among the classes at the Yoga Oasis is a 200-hour, monthlong program for Yoga…