Luana Kawelu: Community Builder and Protector of the Merrie Monarch Legacy
By Paula Thomas This year, Luana Kawelu will celebrate 44 years of working with Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC). Her area is Keaukaha, and her work supports children up to 18 years of age. Luana manages and coordinates programs that…
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…
Lighting the Way: Honoka‘a People’s Theatre Ventures into a New Century
By John J. Boyle …Long shot from above right, wide shot closes in on the hand painted marquee… It is 1939, and downtown Mamane street is a walker’s paradise. Soft evening air, light linen shirts and skirts, some kimonos, some…
Healing Plants – Mimosa Pudica: Bothersome Weed has Redeeming Qualities
Invasiveness Designation: PIER (the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project) has assessed mimosa as invasive and recommends that it not be imported into Hawai‘i and other Pacific Island countries from its native locales. By Barbara Fahs A small, prickly weed…
Featured Cover Artist: Alaina deHavilland
Born in South Africa, Alaina deHavilland moved to Hawai‘i on Jan 3, 1983, the day Kīlauea began what is now a 31-year continuous eruption. Her first images sold the day she made them. “I took a colored pencil class for…
Managing with Aloha: ‘Ohana
‘Ohana: Those who are family, and those you choose to call your family. As a value, ‘Ohana is a human circle of complete Aloha. Eighth in an ongoing series. By Rosa Say ‘Ohana is a value of strong influence in…
Bruddah Waltah: The Father of Hawaiian Reggae
By Le‘a Gleason It’s amazing—and not surprising—how many people in Starbucks recognize Walter Aipolani. To them, he’s Bruddah Waltah, a 30-year music sensation sometimes called “the father of Hawaiian reggae.” “My family was always into music,” he explains. Walter was…
Island Treasures: Sassafras—Waimea, Kailua-Kona
Sara Hayashi “What we do is quickly becoming a lost art. It’s important to support the artists carrying on traditions and techniques of old.” Hand-sculpted jewelry from Sassafras are hand fabricated, one-of-a-kind pieces. These wearable works of art are made…
Managing with Aloha: Ho‘okipa
Ho‘okipa: The value of complete giving. Welcome guests and strangers with your spirit of Aloha. Seventh in an ongoing series. By Rosa Say Several years ago, I walked into a drugstore with my boss and was able to witness his…
This Old/Beautiful House: Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast
By Paula Thomas Tucked away behind dense jungle foliage and invisible from Kalanianaole Street in Keaukaha is one of the most architecturally interesting homes in Hilo. Known to some as the Saiki home, today it is Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast…
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,”…
Ka Wehena: Kaulana Ka Wai Ola (Honored Waters of Life)
Na Kumu Keala Ching ‘Ae, Kaulana ka wai ola ‘Auhea wale ka wai ola la? I ka uliuli lani, lipo ka honua Noho ke ao ‘Ōpua, kuahiwi ala Aia i laila ka wai ola ē! ‘Auhea wale ka wai ola…
E Ala o Mahi‘ai: The Way of the Farmer
By John J. Boyle Here at a crossroads of two cultures—one immediately challenged by serious food needs and another steeped in a culture of sustainability in exclusion—it is understood that the foods the first Polynesians brought with them on their…
Swimming with Spinners: Plunging into the Swim-with-Dolphins Industry
By Gabrielle Gray and Lindsay Brown Leaping out of the serene Pacific and thrusting their smooth, graceful bodies into the unsuspecting air, Hawaiian spinner dolphins’ aerial acrobatics are one of the most spectacular displays to witness in Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i companies…
Sounding the Pū: An Echo of the Past Resonates Today
By Catherine Tarleton The tropically iconic conch shell trumpet, or pū, is often seen at the lips of malo-clad beach boys, sounding the start of sunset and tiki torch lighting time. The tradition of the pū is ancient, sending out…
Ka Puana: Lost Twain – A Novel of Hawai’i
Following is an excerpt from Kailua-Kona resident Kate Winter’s book, Lost Twain. Used with permission. From outside the window of the Islander Inn early that second Maui morning, the smell of plumeria blossoms had slipped through the jalousies inviting her…
Featured Cover Artist: Lisa Bunge
Lisa Bunge grew up in Orange County, CA and came to Hawai‘i in 1984 from Austin, TX. After many years living so far from the ocean, she fell in love with Kailua-Kona when she came to help with her friends…
Weaving Kona: Aunty Jo Barney’s Life’s Work
By Kate “Kealani” H. Winter Her hands move with quick certainty taming the narrow lauhala strips into a pattern that often only she can see. Today she is weaving a hat that is going to Mexico when it is finished.…
Every Store Has a Story: Keauhou Store in Hōlualoa
By Margaret Kearns Keauhou Store History Yoshisuke Sasaki was born in Japan in 1885 and immigrated to Honolulu at age 15 to work in construction. He later moved to Kona, earning a living making coffins and building redwood water tanks…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Harbor Gallery
Elli and Gunner Mench grew up on farms in the country and were instilled with a hard work ethic. “I was a poor immigrant child from Germany whose parents spoke no English when we arrived [in the US]. I was…
Healing Plants: Pohe Kula
A small wild plant you want to remember By Barbara Fahs Having trouble remembering things? Perhaps you have taken Ginkgo biloba, a popular herbal supplement that is available at health food stores and pharmacies in easy-to-take capsule form. The website…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Chef Pauls LLC
Chef Paul Heerlein attributes his success to his mom who was a part time personal chef, and his father who taught him a good work ethic. Chef Paul has an A.A.S. degree in culinary arts and is an ACF Certified…
Honoring a Five Year Advertiser with Ke Ola: Kona Stories
Kona Stories is an independent bookstore located on Hawai‘i Island. Established in 2006 by Brenda McConnell and Joy Vogelgesang, it features all genres of books. Whether it’s the latest hard cover, best seller, or an old classic, this bookstore is fully…
Fishponds in Hawai‘i: A Small Scale Understanding
By Barbara Fahs Sustainability is a major buzzword today. Growing food, harvesting power from the sun, buying locally produced products to rely less on foreign imports at the supermarket are values and practices that many Americans understand clearly today. Wherever…
Hawaiian Grinds: Homemade ‘Ōpakapaka Laulau
By Sonia R. Martinez The early Hawaiians didn’t have any way of knowing they were in the vanguard of haute cuisine when they came up with the idea of making laulau. The French cook ‘en papillote,’ the Italians ‘in cartoccio,’…
Island Treasures: Marcus Castaing
Marcus Castaing has been making fine furniture and doing architectural mill work for a living in the remote town of Wai‘ōhinu since moving there 34 years ago. “The source of my inspiration is the wonderful expressions of beauty and elegance…
Ka Puana–The Refrain: How To Be Happy In One Reading
By Michael J. Vielman Emotions, we all have a little or a lot, but being able to feel them is first, before being able to control them. Emotions are like the colors of your soul. That’s why people say when…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Pacific Gunite
By Sara Hayashi From a young age, Peter Epperson has enjoyed building and working with concrete. Backyard projects with his father paved the way to opening his own business, Pacific Gunite, in 1986. Peter describes his early interest in concrete…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Arabel Camblor with Clark Realty
In 1990, Arabel Camblor and her husband moved here with their son from Miami, Florida. Faced with limited job opportunities, she helped her husband build his optometry practice. It was perfect with a young five-year-old son just starting school. She…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Kelly Shaw with Koa Reality, Inc.
Kelly Shaw has worked with different kinds of people since she was 14 years old, spending many years working with special needs populations and families in crisis. Moving to Hawai‘i Island in 1998, her first job on-island was as a…
