General News

Hawaiʻi’s second-largest shopping mall, Pearlridge Center is rebranding its buildings with Hawaiian names. As HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports this may be part of a growing trend among Hawaiʻi businesses – but getting it right remains a challenge.

Hawaiʻi County is facing a number of significant challenges this year. That includes recovery from the summer 2018 lava flow and the 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Lane. Another challenge is figuring out how to manage the budget in a period with many competing financial demands.

There’s a non-profit group on O‘ahu that’s renovating a pair of buildings to serve as a shelter for young girls. It needed some assistance with design and construction — and another local group stepped up to help.

A new entrepreneurship center is opening up in downtown Honolulu. HPR’s Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi got a preview of the space and a look at its plans. 

State lawmakers are seeking to change the way Hawaiʻi votes for trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

Hawaiʻi County Mayor Harry Kim has set up a task force to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on the island.  With 32 traffic fatalities in 2018, and two so far this year, Hawaiʻi County has the highest per capita death rate from car crashes in the state. And another 1,200 people have suffered serious injuries. 

Professional soccer is coming back to Hawaiʻi. It’s not only for a short stay – but state officials hope the Pacific Rim Cup is part of a broader movement: growth in sports tourism for the islands. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

The state is in the process of creating a high-resolution map detailing how a tsunami would affect coastal areas on Oʻahu.

One of the biggest challenges for a successful small business is knowing when and how to hand it over to new owners. PBN editor A. Kam Napier has more on how Hawaiʻi’s small businesses should approach succession planning.

Native Hawaiian leaders opposing construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea are taking their grievances beyond the shores of Hawaiʻi to TMT decision-makers and a financier in the Bay Area. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

This week, a group of investors and entrepreneurs from around the Asia Pacific are gathering in Honolulu. Some will be looking to pitch ideas---others are ready to offer some financial backing.

The retail sector is a key part of Hawai‘i’s economy — both for sales and for jobs. 2018 was a year of modest growth — and industry leaders expect certain trends to continue in the year ahead.

Hawaiʻi State Senator Kai Kahele recently announced his bid to run for U.S. Congress. If elected, Kahele would be the first neighbor island resident to represent the second congressional district, which is made up primarily of the neighbor islands.HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

Coral reefs in West Hawaiʻi are showing signs of recovery from the global El Niño event in 2015.

Hawaii Island’s electric utility, HELCO, has had a year of challenges.  In the 2018 lava flow, HELCO lost lines and poles that served more than 940 structures. The company lost the 30 megawatts of power being supplied by Puna Geothermal. But as HELCO deals with this work, it will do so under new leadership.

Last week’s arrest of members of a Hawaiian sovereignty group brought up an often asked question in the Hawaiian community: “Who exactly speaks for native Hawaiians?” The answer may be more complex than imagined.

Kauaʻi’s electrical utility has a different history from the rest of the islands and different opportunities. Pacific Business News editor in chief A. Kam Napier has more on what that has meant for its customer-owners.

Applications are being accepted for a Maui-based conservation leadership program this summer.

Local and national experts on climate change are in Honolulu today to discuss the state’s response to climate change challenges. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

As Hawaiʻi’s state legislature prepares to open its session next week, counties are weighing in with some of their priorities.

One of Oʻahu’s last new communities is taking shape on the Ewa plains.

Can money motivate students to get better grades? That’s the question at the center of a research project being launched by an economics professor at UH Mānoa. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

If you’re still looking for a worthy New Year’s resolution, how about learning a new language in 2019? Studies have shown that language learning can help you tune out distractions, become better at multitasking and even ward off dementia. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

Hawaiʻi is at the center for scientific research from the oceans to the skies. But when it comes to scientific discoveries made in the islands; there’s a question that’s getting more attention: should they be given Hawaiian names. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more on the story.

Micah Kāne has been at the helm of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation for a year and a half and he’s been taking the organization in a new direction.

A group of University of Hawaiʻi law students recently returned from international climate negotiations in Poland. This was the first time the University sent a delegation of observers to the United Nations Climate Change Conference. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

In the New Year, adapting to climate change remains one of the biggest challenges around the world. That’s also true here in Hawaiʻi—which has made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as set forth in the 2015 Paris Agreement. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.