Wai‘ōpae Tide Pools in Puna: Unique Ecosystem Under Siege
By Denise Laitinen A secluded coastline where bright tropical fish swim in calm, azure blue waters. Even the neighborhood overlooking this peaceful setting conjures images of paradise. Its siren call is hard to resist. Vacationland. Located along the Puna coastline…
Strong in Spirit and Build: Puna’s Historic Congregational Churches
By Denise Laitinen Puna residents are a hearty lot, known for their resiliency and ability to survive. So it should come as no surprise that their places of worship are equally strong, having withstood a myriad of natural disasters. In…
Growing Sustainability: How Some Puna Residents are Becoming Self-Sufficient as Lava Approaches their Community
By Denise Laitinen Sustainability is a buzzword bandied about by a lot of people these days. Residents in two lower Puna communities believe the region, which is facing new realities as it is impacted by the lava flow, can serve…
A Grand Dame in Hilo
By Denise Laitinen When Lorraine Shin first set eyes on the sprawling Victorian perched atop the hill at the end of Puueo Street in Hilo, she knew the house was an absolute treasure. “You could see the beauty and charm…
Toward a Firewise Community: Follow the Lead of Kohala by the Sea
By Denise Laitinen Kohala by the Sea is the little community that could. This group of Hawai‘i Island residents has achieved a status reached by few communities in the entire country: they’re part of the nationally recognized Firewise Communities program.…
Wahine Holo Lio (Women Riding Horses)
By Denise Laitinen They are easily one of the most popular parts of any floral parade in Hawai‘i. Sitting regally atop their horses adorned in lei, shimmering colored fabrics draping them from head to toe, the graceful women wave to…
Saving Hawai‘i’s Native Dryland Forests
By Denise Laitinen Every day, hundreds of Hawai‘i Island residents and visitors drive past them—most having no idea about the rare treasures they are zipping past as they travel along Māmalahoa Highway between Waimea and Kailua-Kona. These incredible treasures are…
What it’s Like to be Pā‘ū Queen
By Denise Laitinen It’s very humbling to be asked to be a pā‘ū queen,” says Anna Akaka, Pā‘ū Queen of the 2013 King Kamehameha Day Kona parade. Anna, the wife of Danny Akaka, Cultural Advisor for the Mauna Lani Bay…
Kalapana Remembered: Reminiscing with Mayor Billy Kenoi About his Childhood Home Before Pele Reclaimed It
By Denise Laitinen Kalapana. Synonymous with the destructive power of Madame Pele. Little signs remain of the community that was destroyed by lava flows from Kūpa‘ianahā vent between 1986 and 1990./ Those born in the remote fishing village of Kalapana…
Deadly Charms: Creating Beautiful Jewelry from Hawai‘i’s “Fish of Death”
By Denise Laitinen Can you name the “fish of death” in Hawai‘i? Think it’s ciguatera, the foodborne illness found in many parrot and trigger fish? You’d be wrong. Think it’s the feared tiger shark? Guess again. Hawai‘i’s “fish of death,”…
Then & Now: Hilo Sugar Mill/Wainaku Center
By Denise Laitinen Situated on the sea cliffs just north of Hilo and tucked behind old concrete walls is the former Hilo Sugar Mill, which in its heyday processed 1,400 tons of sugar a day. Now, surrounded by tropical flowers…
Stepping Back in Time, and into Hilo’s Shipman House
By Denise Laitinen Stepping into Shipman House Bed and Breakfast on Reed’s Island in Hilo is like stepping into a piece of history. The house reflects a century of Hilo’s history, one filled with grandeur, decline, restoration, and preservation. In…
Kama‘āina Land Child: Barbara Kamilipua Nobriga
By Denise Laitinen Look up the word kama‘āina in the dictionary and chances are you won’t see Barbara Nobriga’s name and photo. But you should. Literally translated, kama‘āina means land child. According to the hardcover edition of the Hawaiian Dictionary…
Hula Instruments: The Rhythm of the Dance
By Denise Laitinen “I le‘a ka hula i ka ho‘opa‘a”—the hula is pleasing because of the drummer. The well-known quote from Mary Pukui’s seminal book, ‘Ōlelo No‘eau, means that although the attention is given to the dancer, the drummer and…
Adorning the Dancers: Understanding the Plants of Hula
By Denise Laitinen Standing next to the kahua hula (dance platform) that overlooks Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, you can see a plume of steam and gasses rising from the crater, home of the volcano goddess Pele.…
Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery: Hawaii Adds Second Marine Facility to Protect One of Its Rarest Mammals
By Denise Laitinen In 2009 when KP2 (Kauai Pup 2), an orphaned Hawaiian monk seal in waters off Moloka‘i needed medical attention, he was transported roughly 2,500 miles to the University of California Santa Cruz Long Marine Laboratory for care…
Getting Back to Hawaiian Roots: Perpetuate Native Culture With Your Landscaping
By Denise Laitinen When you think about landscaping your yard, your thoughts are probably along the lines of what plants will look pretty, what will grow, and how easy it will be to maintain. You’re probably not thinking about perpetuating…
Calvin Cerrone: Kona Pre-Teen Bodyboarder Making Waves
By Denise Laitinen Calvin Cerrone is not your typical pre-teen. While most 12-year-old boys are glued to video game consoles, Calvin has been winning bodyboarding competitions around the state and racking up sponsors faster than you can say “barrel roll.”…
A Home Built Around Orchids: Love of a Flower Inspired a House Project
By Denise Laitinen When Julie Goettsch saw the orchid wall at the Kahala Resort on O‘ahu back in 1969 she vowed to herself that someday she would have a similar wall in her home. It took 40 years and a…
Talking Story with Uncle Robert: Revered Puna Kupuna Holds Court at the End of the Road
By Denise Laitinen If you live in Puna, chances are you know where to find Uncle Robert’s. No need for directions—everyone knows that his family’s four-acre compound can be found at the end of Kapoho-Kalapana Road. The site of Uncle…
There’s Help for Orchid Brown Thumbs: Hilo Orchid Societyʻs Mission to Help Everyone Grow Orchids
By Denise Laitinen Julie Goettsch wants to set the record straight. The president of the Hilo Orchid Society (HOS) wants people to know that growing orchids isn’t complicated or difficult to do, especially here on an island known as the…
Home on the Ka‘u Range: The Kuahiwi Family Ranch and Natural, Free-Range Beef
By Denise Laitinen When Captain John Vancouver presented King Kamehameha with cattle on the Big Island as a gift in 1793, no one imagined the impact it would have on the future of the island. Kamehameha placed a kapu on…
The Plight of the Honeybee: Big Island Honeybees are Vital to Keeping Us Fed, Our Skin Soft and Even Healing Cuts on Fish Fins
By Denise Laitinen Raw honey may look like liquid gold, but it is the bees themselves that are worth their weight in gold. “Albert Einstein once said that without honeybees the human race as we know would end in seven…
Money Does Grow on Trees: Puna Programs Help Backyard Farmers Sell Excess Produce
By Denise Laitinen When I was a kid my dad would say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” Well, it turns out Dad was wrong. Thanks to the efforts of two separate food co-op programs in Puna, people are tapping into…
The Irrepressible Alice Moon: Downtown Hilo’s Dynamo
By Denise Laitinen It’s a postcard-perfect morning in downtown Hilo, with bright blue skies and Hilo Bay sparkling in the sunlight—the kind of day that makes you feel lucky to live in Hawai‘i. With the Farmers’ Market in full swing…
Mushroom in a Bottle: A Gourmet Fungus, from Hamakua to the White House
By Denise Laitinen The mushroom—actually a fungus—grows on a lot of different matter in the wild, from tree logs to cow pies. It’s called “substrate,” as opposed to soil. In cultivation, the substrate makes a difference in the quality and…
Growing a Flavorful Agribusiness: Vanilla
By Denise Laitinen When Jim and Tracy Reddekopp purchased their property in Pa‘auilo back in 1998, they weren’t sure what they were going to build or grow. The two O‘ahu natives just knew that they wanted to get away from…
Canine Professionals: Hawai‘I Island Dogs Perform and Go Where Man Cannot
By Denise Laitinen They may look like any other dogs, but Kaimi can tell if a fire was intentionally set. Nalu can tell if you have drugs in your car. If you’re lost, Magnum will find you, and if you’re…
High-Tech Textiles Feature Hawaiian Cultural Motifs
By Denise Laitinen Hilo, Hawai‘i, might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think about cutting-edge clothing manufacturing, but one local company is changing that. Punawai, a digital textile printing company, is using state-of-the-art technology and…
The Art of Noho Lio O Paniolo: Making the Hawaiian Tree Saddle
By Denise Laitinen Few pieces of equipment are as important to a paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) as his/her saddle. Just as a golfer needs good clubs and a mechanic needs good tools, so does a cowboy need a good saddle. “My…