The Life in Business: Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In
Ryan Kadota, third-generation owner of Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In, grew up in the family business. “Both Kadota Liquors and K’s Drive In were started in 1964 by my grandparents, Thomas and Kazue Kadota. They were affectionately known as…
The Life in Business: Aaronʻs Blue Kalo
Selling poi was not as easy as Aaron Sugino thought. So, with the poi that wasn’t selling, he started putting it in his mom’s (Aunty Bea’s) cookie recipe. And that’s how he started making the “macpoichip” cookies… and that is…
The Life in Business: Aloha Kona Kids
Winonna Tina Cerezo was pregnant with their fifth child when Aloha Kona Kids was born. The oldest of three siblings that today share in the store’s ownership, she and her husband, Eric, (a Hawai‘i County Police Officer who passed away…
The Life in Business: Concrete Technology of Hawai‘i
The mission of Concrete Technology of Hawai‘i is “to transform all boring and plain concrete into a beautiful long lasting and durable solutions for all of our customers. To cover all of Hawai‘i one slab at a time.” So says…
A Passionate Kanaka Maoli*: Keoki Kahumoku—Inspiring the Next Generation with ‘Ukulele, Guitar and Life Skills
*Native of this land By Shirley Stoffer Keoki Kahumoku is a passionate guy. His beautiful musical talent comes naturally, genetically, from a family that’s well-known in Hawaiian music. But it’s almost secondary to his passions — about many things, from…
Gary Washburn: Jazzing Up a High School Band
By Catherine Tarleton It’s a bright, windy afternoon in Honoka’a for the Peace Day Festival, and the Honoka‘a High School Jazz Band is rocking the field with some big, belted-out blues by a diminutive female vocalist. The kids play with…
The Art of Clayton Bryant Young: Former Green Beret Creates Paintings with Spirit
By Karen Valentine When you consider that artist Clayton Bryant Young was once a Green Beret, spending 11 years in the U.S. Army, you might wonder how being a soldier has affected his art and his art career. The luscious,…
Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake and Family—Fine Furniture and Art Collaboratives
By Margaret Kearns At the very top of an unmarked, dead-end road in charming Holualoa Village lives a unique family of Lakes, five in all. Fired by vision, passion, and inextinguishable energy, this family is headed by internationally-acclaimed artist and…
Crafting Papahe‘enalu: From Tree to Sea: Traditional Wooden Surfboard Shapers
By Hadley Catalano Every surfer remembers that first surfing experience… When Bob Russell began as a child, he surfed on blue and yellow canvas rafts along the Kona Coast. When Keith Tallett grew up in Hilo his father couldn’t afford…
Pilgrimage to the Sky: Honoring Mauna Kea—Kuahiwi Kūha‘o i ka Mālie: Mountain Standing Alone in the Calm
By Marya Mann The Summit Pu’u Wēkiu, Sunrise, Fall Equinox, 2011 – Shimmering in the first light of morning at the top of the world, the sun paints brilliant shades of red, orange, pink and gold on the mountain, igniting…
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…
Navigating the Universe from Mauna Kea: Science and Sensitivity
By Marya Mann On the astronomical clock, our sun isn’t very old. Estimated by scientists to be 4.5 billion years young, the mighty sun helped spawn the early Earth. Out of light, action and inter-planetary collisions – or collaborations —…
Kaliko Beamer-Trapp: A British Transplant and his Love Affair with ‘Olelo Hawai‘i
By Alan D. McNarie Kaliko Beamer-Trapp sits with two students in a tiny conference room at the offices of Kahuawaiola, the teacher training and certification program for Hawaiian language immersion schools, in a redwood “temporary building” on the University of…
Young Entrepreneurs Grow Organik: From Coffee Bags to Recycled Plastic, It All goes into Clothing and Accessories.
By Hadley Catalano It was a rainy day in late spring and Ed Fernandez had to pick up coffee bags. Not for harvesting purposes but for his popular organic and sustainable clothing and accessories company, Organik. Traversing through the windy,…
Chefs of the Future Benefit from “Christmas at the Fairmont”—Dining with the Chefs: 22 Years of Delicious!
By Devany Vickery-Davidson It’s the Big Island’s largest Christmas party and it’s all for a good-tasting, good cause. Each Christmas since 1989, The American Culinary Federation (ACF) of Kona Kohala Chefs have worked to raise funds for culinary education while…
Then & Now: David Kalākauaʻs Hawai‘i—The High-Tech King and a Famous Visit to North Kohala
By Pete Hendricks On November 16, we celebrate the birthday of King David Kalākaua, Hawai‘i’s monarch from February, 1874, to January, 1891. This Hawaiian King is well known as a champion of Hawaiian culture, hula, and song. Lesser known is…
Ka Wehena: Ku‘u One Hanau e
Na Kumu Keala Ching Eia ku’u one hānau ē E ku’u ‘āina Kaulana ē Eia ho’i ke aloha pau’ole ē Aloha ku’u one hānau ē ‘Onipa’a ka ‘i’ini laha’ole ē I ka nani pili maila ē Halihali ko ka mana…
