HAWAII
MORE GUNS, MORE GUN VIOLENCE P.10
FE B R UA RY 2025
Engineer
HAWAIIBUSINESS .COM
Anniversary Issue
s r a e Y
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H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 3
PHOTO: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
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Annual Gun Registrations Quadruple Since 2000 Local people are buying more and more guns. And from 2013 to 2022, the gun death rate in Hawai‘i increased 71%, a report says.
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FEATURES
th Anniversary Edition
Profiling Business Leaders from the 1960s, ’70s & ’80s From Chinn Ho and Lowell Dillingham to Herbert T. Hayashi and David Murdock, each was chosen by Hawaii Business as person of the year.
WORKERS LOAD HARVESTED SUGAR CANE, CIRCA 1929, A TIME WHEN THE “BIG FIVE” COMPANIES CONTROLLED HAWAI‘I’S NO. 1 INDUSTRY AND WIELDED POWER OVER POLITICS, IMMIGRATION, THE ENVIRONMENT AND MUCH MORE.
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“She Was a Pistol!” Hawaii Business’ Bold Beginning In 1955, Joe and Ethel Murphy started this publication – America’s oldest regional business magazine – and Ethel led it into the 1990s.
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Hawai‘i Grew from an Elite to Everyman Destination Hawai‘i captured the world’s attention when only the rich and the truly adventurous could visit. Jets made it affordable to the masses.
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Today’s Housing Crisis Built Up Over Decades A look at the policy decisions, external crises and social changes that gave Hawai‘i the most expensive housing in the nation.
S PEC I A L PRO M OTI O N A L S ECTI O N
2025 CO
ULUPONO
HB
15 YEARS OF SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE HAWAI‘I, TOGETHER
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S TA B L IS H E D I N 2 0 0 9, U LU P O N O I N ITI ATI V E C H A M PI O N S LO C A L F O O D, R E N E WA B L E E N E R GY, C L E A N T R A N S P O R TATI O N , A N D FR E S H WAT E R M A N AG E M E N T I N T H E IS L A N DS .
Ulupono Initiative’s mission has been clear since its founding: improve the quality of life for everyone in Hawai‘i by supporting innovative organizations and sustainable solutions within its key focus areas. Ulupono not only provides investments and grants, but collaborates on policy and regulatory priorities, communications, and research. Its team of 14 diverse and dedicated individuals works closely with nonprofit, for-profit and government partners toward shared goals to catapult Hawai‘i toward greater self-sufficiency and resilience. Striving to be a catalyst for progress, the firm celebrates its partners and the many positive impacts its collaborations have on the lives of local residents. For example:
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• Investing in grant writing efforts of various Hawai‘i organizations to support the local food and agriculture industry. This lead to $140+ million in secured funding over the last decade. • Increasing support for the “DA BUX” Double Up Food Bucks program, which doubles the purchasing power of SNAP participants when they buy locally grown produce. Ulupono advocated for a new annual state allocation of $1.5 million, approved by the 2024 Legislature, that helped to unlock $8.5 million in federal funds and more. Over the next three years, this is projected to generate nearly $25 million in local food sales. • Helping to establish Honolulu’s Biki bikeshare system, now the 6th most utilized system in the country. Biki provides an affordable, convenient transportation choice, while reducing the number of vehicles driven and associated emissions. • Championing a bold Performance-Based Regulation framework for Hawai‘i’s electric utility. Approved in December 2020 by the State of Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission, “PBR” is designed to accelerate innovation and efficiency toward 100% renewable-energy generation by 2045, while controlling costs. • Partnering to develop a systems map of Hawai‘i’s freshwater sector that will identify what can be done to protect this precious, finite resource. In 2025 and beyond, Ulupono Initiative is committed to a sustainable Hawai‘i and making our state a better place for all of us to live. Learn more at ulupono.com.
Ulupono Initiative P.O. Box 2938, Honolulu, HI 96802 (808) 544-8960 ulupono.com
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 5
02.25
CONTENTS
53 The Last Harvest Fire
“The Big Five” once dominated Hawai‘i’s economy, government and society, but their power was mostly gone by the time of the last sugar harvest in 2016.
PHOTO: AARON YOSHINO
“I’ve Paid the Price of Paradise; Now I Can Enjoy It Full Time” After 38 years in the local news media, Editor and Executive Publisher Steve Petranik will transition mid-year to a parttime role at Hawaii Business. 7
1982 Was a Pivotal Year in the Transition to Today’s Hawai‘i The plantation economy was dying, tourism had taken the lead and the year’s events were harbingers and turning points toward what we face now. 36
The Seventies Started as a Turbulent Time in the Islands Rising gas prices made Hawai‘i less affordable. Income was $4,599 per capita, but you needed at least $12,064 a year for a moderate family lifestyle. 48
Family Promise Focuses on Homeless Families, Children The nonprofit’s leader says homelessness and housing instability among children “can have a disproportionate effect over the rest of their lives.” 9
1959: Hawai‘i Became a State and Jets Began Regular Service It was a year of immense change and a time of grand visions for the future. Some dreams came to pass, and others remain just dreams. 46
10 Oldest Local Organizations Started 175 Years Ago or More They include ranches, churches and schools. Plus we list 40 other organizations founded at least 109 years ago. 60
HAWAII BUSINESS (ISSN 0440-5056) IS PUBLISHED 12 TIMES A YEAR BY PACIFICBASIN COMMUNICATIONS. ©2025 PACIFICBASIN COMMUNICATIONS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, DISTRIBUTION, OR ADAPTATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND WILL RESULT IN LIABILITY OF UP TO $100,000. EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS OFFICES AT 1088 BISHOP STREET, SUITE LL2, HONOLULU, HI 96813. TELEPHONE (808) 534-7520. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL ADDRESS CHANGES TO HAWAII BUSINESS, P.O. BOX 913, HONOLULU, HI 96808. SUBSCRIBERS NOTIFY THE SAME OFFICE. PLEASE INCLUDE NEW ADDRESS AND OLD ADDRESS (MAILING LABEL PREFERRED) PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I, AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. SUBSCRIPTION: ONE YEAR $24.99 / TWO YEARS $34.99 / THREE YEARS $44.99. FOREIGN: ONE YEAR $53.99 (US FUNDS). FOR SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES, ADDITIONAL RATES, INFORMATION, NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE, PLEASE CALL (800) 788-4230. FEBRUARY 2025 VOL. 70/NO. 8
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A N
O P E N
M I N D
I Used to Be a Little Scared of Retirement. Not Anymore.
T
HE PROBLEM WITH PARADISE IS THE PRICE WE PAY TO LIVE IN IT. IT’S A LOT.
That high cost has proved too much for many. To make ends meet, hundreds of thousands have left Hawai‘i in the past decade, many of them reluctantly, and more will follow. But my wife and I have been lucky. We’ve been here for 38 years and hope to stay for the rest of our lives. It hasn’t been easy, though. We both worked full time for all of those years and raised two children. Plus Ann would teach summer courses in addition to her regular classes at UH, her research and service work, and I often had a part-time job or two on top of a very full-time one. Your story is likely similar: You and your families sacrifice to live in Hawai‘i, too. All of our hard work means less time to actually enjoy the Islands. Unless you’re one of the fortunate few, you’ve probably spent more time than you wanted inside an office, store or other workplace and less time on the beach, in the ocean or up the mountains. I’ve always tried to strike a balance. After all, if you’re going to work all the time, you might as well live in Indiana instead of Hawai‘i.
TELLING LEGACY STORIES
But now is the time for me to switch things up: I will be retiring in a few months as editor and executive publisher of Hawaii Business Magazine. Kent Coules has been promoted from co-publisher to publisher and will do an excellent job as HB’s leader. I have spent 16 years as editor of this magazine; on HB’s 70th anniversary, it’s time for new blood to launch us on the next 70 years. I have offered to stay part time at the magazine if I am wanted, but after retiring from full-time work, I will be spending more time doing the things that I love: paddling, swimming, hiking, reading, writing and volunteering. And I’ll be taking up some new things, too, like yoga, the ‘ūkulele, advanced home repairs and more sophisticated cooking.
And after decades of covering entrepreneurs, I actually want to become one, albeit part time. The best part about writing is I learn new things, so I will start my own one-man company and will write about almost anything. But I want to specialize in legacy stories – the story of you, your parents or grandparents, or your company. One of my favorite assignments was an emotional one: writing about my parents growing up in Poland and being conscripted as forced labor for the Germans during World War II, their time as refugees after the war, their migration to England and later to Canada. My parents had difficult lives but their hard work and endurance made it possible for their four children to have better lives.
THE ONLY LIFE I HAVE KNOWN
There was a time when I thought I would work forever. What else would I do with all my time? After all, the life I have is the only life I know: I started delivering newspapers when I was 10, sold subscriptions door to door in the summers, worked part time in an office when I was 14, in a factory when I was 17 and in a fishing lodge the next year. In college, I usually juggled three part-time jobs. Frankly, I was a bit scared of retirement. I had read about how many people fell into inertia and despair after retiring. But as I added up the many things I was excited to do, I realized I could not possibly find time for all of them, even in retirement. The second reason I was scared of retirement was the fear that my wife and I could outlive our savings. That’s still a possibility but I have 90% confidence that won’t happen. My hedge is that I plan to earn a little money on the side just in case and because I can’t possibly go cold turkey following 50 years of writing and editing. So, after 38 years of paying the price of paradise, I plan to start enjoying paradise more.
STEVE PETRANIK EDITOR AND EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 7
HB EVENTS
C O N N E C T W I T H H AWA I I B U S I N E S S M AGA Z I N E
L O C A L LY OW N E D , L O C A L LY C O M M I T T E D SINCE 1955.
Our goal is to strengthen the local economy and help our communities thrive.
PRESENTED AND FOUNDED BY
Publisher KENT COULES kentc@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 364-5869
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Japanese Cultural Center A half-day conference to help organizations develop and implement health and wellness practices.
2025
FRIDAY, MARCH 28 Hilton Hawaiian Village Organizations chosen for the Best Places to Work in Hawai‘i are recognized and honored at a fun and exciting celebration.
Editor & Executive Publisher STEVE PETRANIK stevep@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7584 Editorial Managing Editor CYNTHIA WESSENDORF cynthiaw@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 224-7943 Staff Writer RYANN NOELANI COULES ryannc@hawaiibusiness.com Staff Writer SHELBY MATTOS shelbym@hawaiibusiness.com Copy Editor ELROY GARCIA Design & Photography Creative Director JEFF SANNER jeffs@hawaiibusiness.com Staff Photographer AARON YOSHINO Digital Digital Director RANDALL LIBRAMONTE randalll@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7531 Sales & Marketing Account Executive PAM SAITO pamelas@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 364-5897 Account Executive YONGCHAE SONG yongchaes@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 228-5078 Senior Account Coordinator REBECCA BROOKING rebeccab@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7560 Events Manager MADELENE MARTINBIANCO madelenem@hawaiibusiness.com • (808) 534-7578 Events Coordinator OLIVIA DE SENA oliviad@hawaiibusiness.com Circulation circulation@pacificbasin.net Connect with us on social media: HawaiiBusiness HawaiiBusinessmagazine
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UPCOMING EVENTS: FRIDAY, MAY 2
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Women Entrepreneurs Conference
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The 3rd annual half-day conference; an informative, inspiring event supporting the growth of womenowned businesses in Hawai‘i.
The 12th annual Leadership Conference is dedicated to the advancement of Hawai‘i’s emerging leaders. Hilton Hawaiian Village
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For more information on events, visit hawaiibusiness.com/events or contact Madelene Martinbianco, Events Manager, at madelenem@hawaiibusiness.com
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Chairman DUANE KURISU Chief Executive Officer SUSAN EICHOR Chief Operating Officer BRANDON KURISU Chief Revenue Officer PATRICK KLEIN
BY AU ST I N B OU R C I E R
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A Special Focus on Homeless Families and Children HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING INSTABILITY AMONG CHILDREN “CAN HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE EFFECT OVER THE REST OF THEIR LIVES,” SAYS THIS NONPROFIT’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FAMILY PROMISE OF HAWAI‘I IS DEDICATED TO KEEPING HOMELESS FAMILIES TOGETHER, with a special
emphasis on helping children. “They’re not usually the focus of as much public policy and media coverage, but there are an estimated 1 in 30 young children in Hawai‘i who have experienced homelessness annually,” says Ryan Catalani, executive director of the local nonprofit. “Experiences of homelessness and housing instability during those young ages can have a disproportionate effect over the rest of their lives. [Those experiences] can change the architecture of the brain and can lead to impacts in education, economic well-being, and even physical and mental health as children grow up.” In 2024, FPH served over 500 families – a total of about 1,700 individuals – which is twice as many as in 2023 and a record for the organization. Catalani attributes the increase to an expansion of services on Maui after the Lahaina wildfires and the suspension of many Covid-related government rental assistance programs. Circumstances change year to year, but the high cost of housing and the overall cost of living remain the root causes of homelessness in Hawai‘i, Catalani says. He says families often reach out to Family Promise as their last option after exhausting all other financial and shelter support. “Some families have a built-in safety net of other family members they can tap on and some families don’t.”
FPH’s main program provides families with private interim housing at no-cost. While there, families work with case managers to identify obstacles they might face and develop “re-housing” plans. Once families leave the program, their case managers monitor their housing status. About 90% of reachable families are still housed after a year, says Catalani. The nonprofit aims to keep families together long-term even in difficult times. “Case management is at the core of all of our work, and I think this is just a fancy term for one-on-one individualized support that is housing-focused, meaning that is our first goal but it’s also very holistic,” he says. “We’re not just trying to change the family’s life in the short term, but change the life of the next generation and moving forward.” FPH’s second ‘Ohana Navigation Center opened in Wahiawā in December, providing temporary housing for up to 12 families at a time. The first center is in Mō‘ili‘ili. VALUES
Respecting the dignity and worth of all people and treating everyone equally and fairly is one of FPH’s three core values, Catalani says. “What it comes down to is believing every person, as an individual, has value,” he says. “That trickles down into a lot of our other values.” The other core values are being housing-focused and con-
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WE’RE NOT JUST TRYING TO CHANGE THE FAMILY’S LIFE IN THE SHORT TERM, BUT CHANGE THE LIFE OF THE NEXT GENERATION AND MOVING FORWARD.” – RYAN CATALANI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FAMILY PROMISE OF HAWAI‘I
necting with other organizations, such as Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies and Continuum of Care, a federal program focused on homeless people. FPH was founded in 2005 through grassroots efforts and relies heavily on continued community support, Catalani says. “It’s that spirit of community engagement that I think has always made FPH so special.” You can volunteer or donate at familypromisehawaii.org.
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BY SHELBY MATTO S
More Guns, More Gun Violence in Hawai‘i
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EWS REPORTS OF GUN VIOLENCE AND CRIMES tend to lead
to increased gun sales, says gun shop owner Mia Mijuskovic. “When there are high-profile incidents, many people feel a heightened sense of insecurity, leading them to consider purchasing firearms for self-defense and protection,” she says. Mijuskovic, owner of the Firearms International store on Nimitz Highway, says that since the store opened in 2021, she’s seen a steady increase in sales, particularly in ammunition and handguns. Data from the Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General’s registration report confirms that gun sales in the Islands are up – and not by a little. In 2023, 23,528 personal firearm permit applications were processed statewide, a 7.5% increase from 2022. The report says that from 2000 to 2023, the annual number of statewide permit applications that were processed increased by 262.6%, annual firearm registrations grew 280.5% and the number of firearms annually imported into Hawai‘i increased 263.4%. Meanwhile, in four of the past five years, statewide crime reports show the percentage of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults committed with firearms was higher than in any other year this century.
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Mijuskovic says customers at Firearms International are a diverse group – mostly everyday people – and many are first-time firearm owners. Others have some experience with guns and some want to learn more about firearm safety and the handling of firearms. “With rising safety concerns, we’ve noticed a shift where individuals who were previously not interested in firearms are now exploring their options for personal protection,” she says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BUY A GUN
To buy a handgun in Hawai‘i, you need to pass a background check, obtain a permit to purchase, pass a proficiency course and register the firearm. A minimum 14-day wait is required after applying for a purchase permit. Once a permit is approved, an applicant can buy a gun, which will have to be registered with the county Police Department; all ammunition must be registered with county police as well. Mijuskovic says her company has grown and diversified in the past three years and now provides courses that teach firearm safety and the proper handling of firearms. And the demand for ammunition has been consistent as people build their personal ammunition inventories.
MORE AND MORE LOCAL RESIDENTS ARE BUYING FIREARMS – IN THIS CENTURY ALONE, ANNUAL FIREARM REGISTRATIONS IN THE ISLANDS ARE UP 280.5%. IN RECENT YEARS, FIREARMS HAVE BEEN USED MORE OFTEN IN MURDERS, ROBBERIES AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS. AND A JOHNS HOPKINS REPORT SAYS THE GUN DEATH RATE IN HAWAI‘I INCREASED 71% FROM 2013 TO 2022.
She expects sales to keep growing. “The future of gun sales is undoubtedly influenced by evolving laws and regulations, many of which have a positive impact on our business,” she says. “We remain committed to … meet the demand for firearms, safety training and responsible ownership.” The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which advocates for strong gun control laws nationwide, says that the stronger a state’s gun laws, the lower the state’s gun death rate. The center’s latest assessment ranks Hawai‘i’s gun laws as the seventh strongest among the 50 states – California is No. 1 – and Hawai‘i’s gun death rate is the fifth lowest. The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, which says it uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that Hawai‘i had the third-lowest gun death rate in the country in 2022. That year, the center says, there were 66 reported gun deaths in Hawai‘i – 18 homicides, 45 suicides and three others (others include accidental deaths). The center said the gun death rate in Hawai‘i increased 71% from 2013 to 2022.
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*LAST YEAR FOR WHICH NUMBERS ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOURCE: ANNUAL REVIEW OF UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS FROM THE STATE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Firearms Being Used More Frequently in Major Hawai‘i Crimes
15%
12%
Each year for the past two decades, about 3,000 murders, robberies and aggravated assaults have been reported statewide in Hawai‘i – ranging from a high of 3,275 in 2006 to a low of 2,717 in 2001. The numbers fluctuate from year to year, but the percentage of major crimes committed using firearms show a significant increase overall in recent years. The most recent five years for which data is avail-
For two decades, the annual review of uniform crime reports from the Department of the Attorney General has listed the percentage of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults reported statewide that were committed with firearms. That overall percentage has gone up in recent years. 2016 set a record high, which was broken by a new record high in 2019, which in turn was broken by a new record high in 2020, the latest year for which data is available. That 2020 record: 13.5% of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults reported statewide were committed with firearms. (See chart above for more details.) 12 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
2020* 13.5%
2019 12.8%
2018 10.7%
2017 11.7%
2016 12.6%
2015 10.5%
2014 10%
2013 9.1%
2012 8.5%
2011 8.6%
2010 8.8%
2009 9.0%
2008 9.8%
2007 8.2%
2006 11%
2005 11.2%
2004 10.5%
2003 11.4%
2002 11%
6%
2001 11.2%
9%
able include four years with the highest percentages reported in those two decades. In 2020, almost 1 in every 7 of those crimes reported statewide was committed using a firearm. For each year, here are the percentage of the total number of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults that were committed using firearms. The overall percentage was first reported in 2001.
SUPREME COURT’S LANDMARK RULING
In the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that individuals nationwide have a right to carry handguns outside of a home for self-defense reasons – a major victory for gun rights advocates. But the court also ruled that states can require gun permits that obligate applicants to satisfy certain criteria before obtaining a permit to carry a gun. Hawai‘i is among the states that require gun buyers to obtain a permit. In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the Honolulu City
Council passed the Sensitive Places Bill, which specified places where guns are not allowed, including buildings owned by local, state and federal governments; schools and child care facilities; and hospitals. Kainoa Kaku, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association, says gun laws in Hawai‘i create challenges for responsible gun owners and buyers. “It is a little difficult to navigate the laws, because just like liquor laws in the United States, firearms laws vary from state to state, and Hawai‘i is on the more restrictive side of the spectrum, similar to New York and California,” Kaku says. “We’ve done our best over the last few years via lawsuits, to kind of streamline the process and
make it a little bit easier than it is.” He says that Hawai‘i can learn For example, he says, firearm from Massachusetts, which passed an registration can be done online, omnibus bill last year updating all gun but to obtain a permit to buy a gun, laws in the state. Honolulu police require people to “The reason we’re behind is apply in person because, for so at police headlong, gun vioquarters, where lence wasn’t Kaku says the top issue applicants can that people in wait hours Hawai‘i cared for help. about,” he “From one says, adding day to the next, that residents things may diftypically voted fer, but … every based on single person other issues who wants to like housing register a gun or or food inseapply for a percurity. mit to acquire Hawai‘i a gun needs law currently to go down to restricts pisthe main HPD tol magazines station on Berefrom holding tania,” he says. more than Kaku says a 10 rounds five-year license of ammuto carry a connition; the cealed gun costs high-capacity only $50 in Arimagazines zona; in Hawai‘i, frequently a course leading used in mass to a safety shootings assessment – allow a just one of the – MIA MIJUSKOVIC shooter to requirements OWNER, FIREARMS fire more to carry a gun INTERNATIONAL rounds with– can cost $250 out reloading. and must be But Hawai‘i retaken every law does four years. not ban Chris Marhigh-capacity vin, a military magazines veteran and the for rifles. founder of Marvin Strategies, is a Michael Siegel, a professor in local advocate for gun control. the School of Public Health at Bos“Hawai‘i has done a great job ton University, says that “whether a historically of having strong gun state has a large capacity ammunilaws, but we are falling behind,” tion magazine ban is the single best Marvin says. “Other states are predictor of the mass shooting rates doing more, and the Supreme in that state.” Court decision a couple years ago In other words, he says, meant that more people in Hawai‘i states with bans usually have will have guns, which always leads lower mass shooting rates than to more gun violence.” states without bans.
“
WITH RISING SAFETY CONCERNS, WE’VE NOTICED A SHIFT WHERE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY NOT INTERESTED IN FIREARMS ARE NOW EXPLORING THEIR OPTIONS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION.”
BUYBACK EVENT COLLECTS 514 GUNS
To take guns off the street, the state departments of Law Enforcement and Public Safety launched a no-questions-asked buyback program in 2023. At an August 2024 event at the Aloha Stadium parking lot, people turning in guns received either a $100 or $200 Foodland gift card per weapon depending on the gun, with a maximum of three gift cards per person. That event collected 514 guns. “A buyback program is great for people who have somehow come to possess guns of any sort and don’t want them anymore,” Marvin says. Maybe they inherited the gun, or “acquired an unserialized gun, what we call ghost guns, and they want to get rid of them now that it’s illegal to possess them, that’s a great opportunity.” The Honolulu Police Department is seeing a rise in “ghost guns,” or guns that are untraceable. In New York City, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed by a ghost gun created using a 3D printer. In Hawai‘i, police confiscated 88 ghost guns in 2024. In August 2024, a Wai‘anae man fatally shot his neighbor in self-defense after the neighbor shot two women, destroyed cars and entered his property. The man wasn’t charged, but after the incident, some people called for stronger laws for self-defense at home. However, Marvin, the gun control advocate, says the law worked exactly as it should have. “As a citizen in Hawai‘i, just like every other state in the country, you have a right to use deadly force if you feel like your life is in danger, and if you’re in your own home, you have even more ability to do that,” Marvin says. “People and the voters and the citizens need to know our self-defense laws are strong. They work well. They did in Wai‘anae, and they’re all we need. We do not need to
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IN
2020, A TOTAL OF 3,057 MURDERS, ROBBERIES AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS WERE COMMITTED IN HAWAI‘I, ACCORDING TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. OF THOSE, ALMOST 1 IN 7 WERE COMMITTED USING A FIREARM.
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have an aggressive law that allows people to kill if they’re not in mortal danger. That should be the standard, and most people would agree with that.” In September 2024, the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center called the increase in gun violence in the area a public health crisis and, in response to multiple shootings in August, Honolulu police increased its presence on the West Side. On New Year’s Day 2024, a man who shot at three people with an unregistered AR-15-type weapon led Honolulu police on an islandwide chase that ended in a shootout, with two officers wounded and the man killed. In Hawai‘i, it’s legal to own assault rifles like the kind used in many mass shootings on the mainland – it’s only assault pistols that are banned, Marvin says. “It’s only a matter of time if we don’t close this (assault rifle) loophole before we’re going to see something like we see so often on the mainland, a tragedy that takes a lot of lives, because those assault weapons enable a perpetrator to take more lives than they would without that type of weapon.” In Hawai‘i, less lethal weapons like tasers, stun guns, pepper spray and certain knives are allowed, though some restrictions apply. However, butterfly knives, gravity knives and switchblades are banned. Hawaii Business Magazine repeatedly requested various statistics on gun violence from the Honolulu Police Department. Hawaii Business waited 80 days for a response before publishing this story without one.
Data report, “2,526 children and teens ages 1 to 17 died by a firearm in 2022 – an average of 7 deaths every day.” The national gun death rate among youths doubled between 2013 and 2022, the report said. In Hawai‘i, firearms were the second-leading cause of death among children and teens age 1-17 from 2018 to 2022, according to Johns Hopkins. The University of California at Davis Health System says that the most effective way to prevent firearm injuries in children is to not have a gun in the house. If guns are in the house, they should be stored in a lockbox or locked safe, with ammunition stored in a different place. Kaku, the rifle association president, says gun owners should talk to their children and set clear boundaries to help prevent accidental shootings. “There’s a bunch of great gun organizations that have taken it upon themselves to educate the
public, and even just jumping on YouTube and watching videos, you can learn a lot about safety and how to safely operate a firearm and common mistakes that people make. The biggest one is with kids,” he says. “There’s a lot of new gun owners that feel like they have to hide the fact that they own guns from their children, and that is absolutely the wrong thing to do. If you have children and you have guns, you should teach them about how dangerous they can be when they’re used improperly.” Kaku says his daughter knew the rules of gun safety when she was as young as 3, and that by the age of 4, she had shot her first handgun. “It’s all about properly educating your kids, properly educating the public. “When it comes to guns, lawful and responsible gun ownership, education is everything, and that’s our mission” at the Hawaii Rifle Association, he says.
Statewide Gun Deaths, 2019-2023 2%
UNDETERMINED
2%
4%
UNINTENDED GUN DEATHS
SHOOTINGS BY POLICE
28%
GUN HOMICIDE
65% SUICIDE
GUN EDUCATION AND SAFETY
Shootings are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the U.S. According to Johns Hopkins’ Annual Firearm Violence SOURCE: CDC PROVISIONAL MORTALITY STATISTICS, 2019 TO 2023 | PERCENTAGES DO NOT ADD UP TO 100 DUE TO ROUNDING
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BY KATHRYN D RU RY WAG NE R
Hawai‘i’s Top Business Leaders in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s EACH YEAR FROM 1966 TO 1980, HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE PROFILED THE BUSINESSMAN, BUSINESSMEN OR MAN OF THE YEAR. IN 1981, THE MAGAZINE NAMED A WOMAN OF THE YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME. LATER IN THE 1980S, THE MAGAZINE COVERED THE “STORY OF THE YEAR.” HERE ARE BRIEF LOOKS AT THOSE HONOREES.
1966 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR WILLIAM K.H. MAU
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, AMERICAN SECURITY BANK
WILLIAM K.H. MAU
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Mau’s first break was buying a half interest in a hot dog stand, but he soon showed a knack for real estate development. At American Security Bank (which decades later and after several transactions, eventually became part of Bank of America), he ushered in a new and multicultural image for the bank, offering night hours, opening more branches and making borrowing easier. He saw the immense potential of Waikīkī and created the Waikiki Business Plaza, with its revolving Top of Waikiki restaurant. It opened in 1965 with Mau lighting a string of 100,000 firecrackers. He also developed the 315-room Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, which opened in 1968, and the Empress Hotel in Hong Kong, among many other ventures. He died in 2011 at age 97 and in his obituary, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Mau was involved in a multimillion-dollar tax fight with the IRS in the early 2000s.
1967 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR
HAWAI‘I’S AMBITIOUS YOUNG NEWCOMERS The magazine surveyed a crop of young businessmen – and a few women – under the age of 35. Each had migrated to the Islands and were already playing active roles in the community. They included Gerald Allison, partner at architecture firm Wimberly, Whisenand, Allison and Cook (which later evolved into the international firm WATG); Tap Pryor, who created Sea Life Park and was working to make Hawai‘i a center of oceanography; and Hal Hansen, one of the biggest condo developers in the state. Chris Hemmeter (see 1977, when he was Businessman of the Year), then only in his 20s, was already making waves in restaurant operations. Ken Smith, age 27, was building a 100unit marina subdivision at Hawai‘i Kai. Bob Behnke built a computer firm that worked with the military and private companies. Ernie and Barbara “Baba” White had a fashion line, Baba Kea, while another husband-and-wife team, Bruce and Pegge Hopper, were slaying it in the design field. The newcomers were even getting into politics, the magazine noted, with John Goemans elected to the state House after just squeaking in to make the residency requirement.
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
OF 1969 MAN THE YEAR
THE WORKER
HAWAI‘I’S MANPOWER SHORTAGE GROWS CRITICAL
1968 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR CHINN HO
PRESIDENT, CAPITAL INVESTMENT CO.
A shopkeeper’s-son-turned-multimillionaire, Ho gained a reputation for his savvy land investments before blossoming into a hotel developer. In 1963, he took over the floundering Ilikai, pivoting it from selling apartment units to hotel rooms, with total private investments of $45 million. He was internationally famous: Time magazine dubbed Ho “the Rockefeller of Hawai‘i”; both versions of TV’s “Hawaii Five-O” had a character named Chin Ho Kelly and James Michener modeled his character Hong Kong Kee on Ho in his book “Hawaii.” At Theo H. Davies & Co., Ho became the first Asian American to serve on the board of a Big Five company. He also headed up a group of investors who owned the Honolulu Star-Bulletin from 1961 until 1971. A philanthropist, he died in 1987 at age 83.
With its economy soaring 12% to 15% a year, Hawai‘i had one of the highest rates of growth in the nation. But with statewide unemployment at less than 3%, businesses struggled to find workers. Tourism, which was the fastest growing industry at the time, was especially eager for employees, as were construction companies, pineapple growers and police departments. “The high cost of living, the short supply of housing, and the limited range of job opportunities are the three major factors that not only discourage many people from coming to Hawai‘i, but actually encourage many local people to leave.” Sound familiar?
1970 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR LOWELL DILLINGHAM
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, CEO, DILLINGHAM CORP.
The third generation to run the business founded by his grandfather in 1889, Lowell Dillingham was king of the deal. In the 1950s, as president of Hawaiian Land Co., a precursor to Dillingham Corp., or Dilco, Dillingham spearheaded the development and financing of Ala Moana Center. During his tenure at Dilco, the company completed acquisitions of 7 out of every 10 firms it went after. Dilco branched out from its origins in construction, land development and maritime industries to become a diversified, international firm doing business in energy distribution, mining, automotive parts, and even the interior design industry. Dillingham was elected to the Hawai‘i House of Representatives in 1984. He died at age 76 in 1987.
1971 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR HARRY FLAGG
PRESIDENT, TELECHECK INTERNATIONAL
A graduate of MIT, Harry Flagg came to Hawai‘i in 1958 with the Navy and, once discharged, became a management consultant. He noticed that many businesspeople were concerned with check verification, so in 1964 he started Telecheck, a data processing and check cashing service. By 1969, it was a $2 million a year operation, and grew to a $50 million a year business by January 1971, with Flagg expanding into investments as diverse as business colleges, oceanography and houseboat manufacturing. Alas, it was not to last. In May 1972, Telecheck filed for bankruptcy and Flagg stepped down as chairman and president. In 2005, Flagg was a defendant in a multilevel marketing case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. In the final settlement, though he admitted no liability, Flagg was “prohibited from engaging or participating in any prohibited marketing program,” according to the FTC’s court filing.
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1972 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR
OF 1974 MAN THE YEAR
HERBERT T. HAYASHI
HIDEO SHOJI
CHAIRMAN, HTH CORP.
The son of sugar plantation workers, Herbert Takami (“H.T.”) Hayashi began in construction before rising in the hospitality industry. When he was profiled, he had recently bought the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikīkī (renamed in 2017 as the ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach). He was also wrapping up a $2 million redevelopment project that turned a vacant roller rink on Ke‘eaumoku Street into the Hawai‘i Manufacturing Center. There, visitors could watch and shop among 30-some businesses as local artisans created their wares. Hayashi was also the owner of the Pagoda Hotel and Floating Restaurant, which he opened in 1964 – the venue is now owned by aio, the parent company of Hawaii Business Magazine – and King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. Hayashi died in 2005 at age 85.
MANAGER, MAKAHA INN AND COUNTRY CLUB
spread across agriculture, mortgage banking, restaurants, electrical supplies and more. Eighty percent of its businesses were outside of Hawai‘i, including on the West Coast, in Japan and in South America. One of Amfac’s best known entities was department store chain Liberty House; the company also developed Whalers Village on Maui. Walker’s father was Amfac’s president starting in 1927. Henry Jr. joined in 1947, starting as a trainee loading trucks and rising through the company ranks. He died in 2000 at age 78.
In 1973, Tokyo businessman Mineo Shoji paid $14.5 million to buy the Makaha Inn and Country Club from its developer, Chinn Ho of Capital Investment. Shoji sent his 31-year-old son and company VP, Hideo Shoji, to manage the resort. As the company’s first overseas venture, the Mākaha property had 196 hotel rooms, 350 acres of golf courses and undeveloped land. Hideo Shoji represented a wave of Japanese investors who came to the Islands from 1971 to 1973, and false rumors flew that one of the property’s two golf courses would be reserved for Japanese nationals only. Nearly from the get-go, the property struggled, with occupancy rates below 20% and by 1976 the owners were in bankruptcy court.
OF 1973 MAN THE YEAR
HENRY A. WALKER JR. PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN FACTORS
OF 1975 MAN THE YEAR
JAMES GARY After taking his role in 1967, Walker oversaw explosive growth at American Factors (later Amfac), turning the Big Five sugar company into Hawai‘i’s largest company. In 1973, the corporation had $750 million in revenue and 20,000 employees 18 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
PRESIDENT, PACIFIC RESOURCES INC.
Energy expert James Gary’s first job in Hawai‘i was as an executive at Honolulu Gas Co. (now Hawai‘i Gas) in 1967. In 1971, he founded a parent holding company, Pacific Resources
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
Inc., for Honolulu Gas and the new Hawaiian Independent Refinery. Gary had worked with Gov. John Burns, U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye to bring the refinery to the state; it opened in 1972 in a Foreign Trade Zone at Campbell Industrial Park. (The refinery is now owned by Par Hawaii.) PRI companies became key suppliers of jet and diesel fuels, gasoline, synthetic natural gas and propane throughout the Pacific Basin, and under Gary’s leadership, went from $18 million in yearly sales to $1.7 billion. Gary died in 2004 at age 83.
1976 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR JOHN BELLINGER
PRESIDENT AND CEO, FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK
A star athlete at Roosevelt High School, Bellinger began his career at Bishop & Co. as a teller in 1942. In 1969 – the same year the bank’s name was changed to First Hawaiian Bank – he became president. During his tenure, the bank’s total assets, profits and paid dividends rose, and in 1976, the bank’s assets exceeded $1 billion for the first time. In 1975, he oversaw the acquisition of Hawaii Thrift & Loan Co. The community-focused Bellinger also raised money for renovations at Palama Settlement and Kawaiaha‘o Church. He died suddenly in 1989 at age 66. Hawaii Business wrote that he was “burly” and “at times gruff,” yet he fostered an excellent team that included his successor, Walter Dods Jr.
1977 BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR CHRIS HEMMETER DEVELOPER
CHRIS HEMMETER
Few had the charm and audacious vision of Chris Hemmeter, who when profiled at age 37 had an empire made up of a half-dozen corporations and partnerships. He had just developed Hemmeter Center, which included the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and its swanky waterfall-decorated lobby, and a 100,000-square-foot shopping center. Hemmeter started as a trainee at the Sheraton Royal Hawaiian and when he became a developer, was known for his lavish hotels, such as the Westin Kaua‘i, where a team of Clydesdales pulled wagons (that resort was later a casualty of Hurricane Iniki). In 1991, Hemmeter moved his operations to the mainland, where he invested in gambling businesses, especially in New Orleans. He was wheeling and dealing until the end, working on a golf-based project and a Western style restaurant when he died at age 64 in 2003.
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OF 1979 MAN THE YEAR
OF 1980 MAN THE YEAR
LEX BRODIE
CARL WILLIAMS
PRESIDENT, LEX BRODIE TIRE CO.
OF 1978 MAN THE YEAR
ELMER CRAVALHO
MAYOR OF MAUI COUNTY
The strong-willed first mayor of Maui, Cravalho fought for the county’s ability to control its own growth – especially as it related to the tourism industry – rather than being dictated to by the state. Cravalho served as speaker of the territorial and state House of Representatives from 1958 to 1967. Hawaii Business Magazine named him Man of the Year nine years into his role as mayor, when he was helping guide the development of Wailea and Kīhei. “Rigid, hard, dictatorial – I’ve heard all that before … but I’m not wishywashy,” he said. He abruptly retired as mayor in 1979. Cravalho was a founding member of the Kula Community Federal Credit Union in 1954 and served on its board until 2014. He died in 2016 at age 90.
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Alexander “Lex” Brodie was a graduate of Roosevelt High School and in the 1930s was among the first Waikīkī Beach Boys. He opened his first Lex Brodie’s Tire Co. in Kāne‘ohe in 1958; he moved to the corner of Queen and Coral streets in Honolulu in 1964, where the company’s flagship operation remains. His business became famous for its hammer-wielding caveman mascot, speedy customer service and TV commercials that ended with Brodie saying, “Thank you, very much.” In 1975, he co-founded a group to represent the interests of small businesses at the state Legislature, and feuded with the state over its unemployment insurance benefits system. In 1979, his business was a $5 million a year enterprise with a profit-sharing plan for its 50 employees. He served on the state Board of Education from 1992 to 2003, and surfed until age 90. He died in 2013 at age 98.
LEX BRODIE
PRESIDENT, HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO.
Georgia native Carl Williams wound up on O‘ahu at the end of his World War II Army service. He took a mechanical engineering job at HECO in 1945. Known for his no-nonsense approach, Williams became HECO’s president in 1972, guiding the company through the challenging energy sector atmosphere of the 1970s. Tight regulations, oil embargoes and a 2.5% average annual increase in demand for power from HECO customers all kept him on his toes. During his tenure the company began
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
planning for a wind farm in Kahuku. Williams retired from HECO at the end of 1980; he died in 2004 at age 89. OF 1981 WOMAN THE YEAR
EILEEN ANDERSON
MAYOR, CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
A social liberal and fiscal conservative, Democrat Eileen Anderson was the first and only woman to become mayor of Honolulu, coming from behind to beat flamboyant incumbent Frank Fasi in 1980. She had been working for the state in various capacities for a quarter century, including as Hawai‘i’s first director of the Department of Budget and Finance. During her tenure as mayor, she focused on lowering crime, improvements in Waikīkī and investing in TheBus. She canceled the Honolulu Area Rail Rapid Transit project after federal funding became tenuous. Anderson was an avid sports fan and volunteered with the Boy and Girl Scouts, Aloha United Way and Kaneohe Little League. She died in 2021 at the age of 93.
OF 1982 STORY THE YEAR
HOW MID PAC UPSET THE AIRLINE APPLECART Mid Pacific Air – founded by former Hawaiian Airlines executives – started flying in March 1981. President John Higgins, VP of Finance and Administration Ed Nielsen and Senior VP Nolan Kramer were featured in the Hawaii Business story, which described how Mid Pac had found a niche in the no-frills travel
OF 1983 STORY THE YEAR
THE BATTLE FOR CROWN
market. Its super-low prices, such as a $10.95 standby fare ($35.68 in 2024 dollars), triggered fare wars with local competitors Hawaiian, Royal Hawaiian Air Service, Air Hawaii, Midway Airlines and Aloha Airlines, among others. Mid Pac also cut costs by using nonunion labor and turboprop planes. “We’re definitely here to stay,” said Higgins. But by 1988, Mid Pacific was out of business.
It seemed like a routine business lunch, but after the dishes were cleared, Crown Corp. President Bill Fuller was staring down a takeover of Crown, a diversified holding company with about $22 million in assets. The takeover was initiated by Evanston Ltd. – a company that had been formed for the sole purpose of buying Crown. It included Greg Watkins, a fourth-generation builder/developer based out of Brisbane, Australia; two local real estate pros, Bill Atkins and Robert Holman; and another Aussie, Hugh McMaster. At first, Crown stockholders resisted, but after a four-month battle, the deal was settled at $5.25 million. Evanston changed the name from Crown to Watkins Pacific Corp. – or Watpac – operating subsidiaries Honolulu Roofing, Mercantile Printing, Monarch Building Supply, Tongg Publishing and K. Yamada Distributors. And despite the kerfuffle, Fuller stayed with the company. In 2018, Watpac was acquired by Dutch company BESIX and is now known as BESIX Watpac.
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OF 1985 STORY THE YEAR
THE REGULATORS: CAN THE KIDS HANDLE THE SCAMS?
OF 1984 STORY THE YEAR
GOODBYE BIG FIVE The magazine documented the end of an era. In 1983, two of Hawai‘i’s Big Five, Amfac and Castle & Cooke, appointed non-Hawai‘i CEOs and moved their administrative headquarters to the mainland. Two others, Theo H. Davies and C. Brewer, had already been reporting to out-of-state parent companies, and Alexander & Baldwin was looking for a mainland investor while seeking to diversify. For 100 years, most of the state’s workforce had been employed by or at least connected to one of the Big Five, which led the sugar and pineapple industries. The Big Five held sway over the government of Hawai‘i, too. But by the 1980s, economic dependency on the Big Five had weakened, with the state increasingly reliant on tourism, construction and military spending.
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The magazine profiled the four new watchdogs heading up the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, all of them lawyers: DCCA Director Russel Nagata and Deputy Director Robert “Robbie” Alm, then both 33; Bank Examiner Donna Tanoue, 30; and Insurance Commissioner Mario Ramil, the old man of the group at 38. It was a delicate time, with Reaganomics leading to the deregulation of many industries. The group was somewhat outgunned – its members didn’t have computers yet, though many of their counterparts in the business world did. But they went on to illustrious careers. Nagata became state comptroller and then a judge. Alm was executive VP of Hawaiian Electric prior to his current position as president of the Collaborative Leaders Network, an Omidyar Family Enterprise initiative. Tanoue served as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Washington, D.C., during the Clinton administration, and as vice chairman at Bank of Hawai‘i until 2018. (She is also married to Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of Honolulu from 2013 to 2021.) Ramil died in 2017 at age 70, having served on the Hawai‘i Supreme Court from 1993 to 2002. OF 1986 STORY THE YEAR
DAVID MURDOCK
CHAIRMAN/CEO, CASTLE & COOKE
He left school after the ninth grade, but by 1985, California-based real estate financier David Murdock had amassed a fortune that allowed him to take over Castle & Cooke in a deal that included Dole Food Co. and 98% of Lāna‘i. Murdock merged a transportation company he controlled, New York-based Flexi-Van Corp., with Castle & Cooke, which was at the time overdue on $7 million in interest payments and facing
potential bankruptcy. Some people opposed the merger – the cover page headline on the January 1986 issue was “Murdock takes over: Rescue or raid?” But he told Hawaii Business Magazine that “between 75 and 85% of all the shareholders voted in favor of my coming in. Is that a raid?” A proponent of a plant-based diet, Murdock is, at the time of this writing, 101 years old and still CEO of Castle & Cooke.
OF 1987 STORY THE YEAR
IS WAIHE‘E BAD NEWS FOR BUSINESS? John Waihe‘e III was elected governor little more than a month before this article appeared, so the speculative answers to the question asked in the cover page headline was based on interviews with many sources but not on Waihe‘e’s actual actions in office. He was the first, and remains the only, elected governor of Native Hawaiian ancestry and served until 1994. He was born in Honoka‘a on Hawai‘i Island, graduated from UH’s Richardson School of Law and was instrumental in the creation of the Office
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
of Hawaiian Affairs, through his leadership at the 1978 Constitutional Convention. Prior to being elected as governor, Waihe‘e had been lieutenant governor under Gov. George Ariyoshi. After Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Waihe‘e traveled internationally to promote Hawai‘i tourism. In July 2024, at age 78, he was elected by the East-West Center Board of Governors as its new chairperson.
OF 1988 STORY THE YEAR
THE NEW BIG FIVE? In 1984’s Hawaii Business story “Goodbye Big Five,” the magazine noted that Amfac, Castle & Cooke, Theo H. Davies, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin had lost their traditional grip on Hawai‘i’s economy. The “New Big Five” were foreign investors – from Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom – who had cumulatively accounted for 95% of total foreign investments in Hawai‘i since the 1950s. Other offshore investors were starting to flex their muscles, including those from Indonesia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The types of foreign investments were shifting, too, from hotels, restaurants and smaller manufacturing companies to corporate stocks and land holdings. The flow of cash was quenching Hawai‘i’s thirst for capital, but some residents worried that foreign investments were causing higher housing prices and a loss of local economic control.
OF 1989 STORY THE YEAR
THE YEAR OF THE BUYOUT In the previous 15 months, dozens of Hawai‘i-based companies had been acquired by national or international entities. Those companies spanned 21 industries, from construction and auto sales to resorts and ranching. The story explored the potential effects: On the plus side, new owners might bring in stronger management and new resources; on the flip side, concerns were raised about possible absentee management and a sell-off of assets, such as land holdings. Many of the new owners – aware of these concerns – tried to build good relationships by supporting local charities and community projects. For example, David Murdock, who had taken over Castle & Cooke and was developing resorts on Lāna‘i, built a recreation center there for the community.
OF 1990 STORY THE DECADE
THE JAPANING OF HAWAII Throughout the 1980s, as Japan’s economy boomed, Japanese investment touched nearly every sector of Hawai‘i’s economy, especially tourism, real estate and construction. In the late 1980s, Japanese investors bought 58 7-Eleven convenience stores, began development of Ko Olina, and purchased the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu, among many other deals. In 1988 alone, Japanese investors accounted for 92% of the foreign money coming into the state. The influx of capital boosted Hawai‘i’s economy and helped make it a player in the international market. The governor at the time, John Waihe‘e, noted that while Island residents benefited from an economy fueled by international investments, there was also a “sense of loss – loss of their land to others, and more important, loss of control.” Whether it was good or bad, the magazine concluded, it was reality.
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BY BEV ERLY CR E AM E R THIS ARTICLE, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 10 YEARS AGO, HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO REFLECT CURRENT TIMELINES.
AUDACIOUS BEGINNING FOR
Hawaii Business
I
T WAS 1955. THE FDA APPROVED THE SALK POLIO VACCINE AND ROSA PARKS REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT ON A MONTGOMERY BUS. The
Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series for the first time and Disneyland opened. James Stewart and Grace Kelly were Hollywood’s biggest stars. That was 70 years ago. In Hawai‘i, a military plane crashed in the Wai‘anae Mountains, killing 66 people; it was the worst air disaster in Hawai‘i history. The Islands were still four years from statehood and the business oligarchy known as the Big Five continued to dominate the local economy. And Ethel and Joe Murphy launched a magazine in July called Hawaii Engineer. By August 1962, the monthly had morphed into Hawaii Business; today it’s known as the first and oldest regional business magazine in the country. That August cover asked, “Office Space: Is Honolulu oversupplied?” with pictures showing two office towers dominating an otherwise low-rise Honolulu skyline and an artist’s rendering of the proposed Bishop Insurance Building. Now don’t confuse this with a spy story or a whodunit. There are no murders or alien abductions to read about. No, this is better than that, because it’s about entrepreneurs in a time when few knew the
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word and no Google search existed to help folks connect the dots. It’s about a couple of dreamers who risked their savings to offer Hawai‘i a thoughtful monthly evaluation of the who, what, where, when, why and how of local business.
SHE SIGNED HUMPHREY BOGART’S CHECKS
But let’s start closer to the beginning. Ethel Bolter was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1913, and raised by her lumberman father after her mother died. Joe served in the Navy and they met and married in California, when she was working in the business office at MGM Studios. “She used to sign Humphrey Bogart’s checks and give him his paycheck at the end of the week,” Ethel’s step-grandson, New York architect Jeff Murphy, said in 2015. The Murphys came to Hawai‘i in 1952 so Joe could sell vacuum cleaners door to door. But the young man was also a writer and, when vacuum-cleaner sales and sending stories to other magazines proved less than satisfying, a friend suggested the couple start their own publication. So they did. Ethel was a pistol and Joe was no pushover either. Jeff remembers him as a loudmouth and another grandson, Hawai‘i’s Ross Conquest, said in 2015 that Joe’s standard place to interview new hires was his favorite bar. “I hear a lot of stories about the interview process,” Conquest said
“
EVERY TIME THE MAGAZINE WAS READY TO BE MAILED, WE’D PICK IT UP IN KIM’S BLUE FORD CONVERTIBLE WITH THE TOP DOWN.” – PHIL KINNICUTT WORKED AT HAWAII BUSINESS FROM 1963 TO 1965 AND FROM 1969 TO 1971
with a laugh. “People would be interviewed by Kim (editor Kim Jacobsen) first and, then, if things went well, they’d be interviewed by Ethel, and, if they needed a third interview, it would be with Joe, who was running things outside the office and would interview people at the old Tropics bar. “More than one person said their final interview was with Joe Murphy at the Tropics. In fact, Kim was hired at the bar. He’d recently moved to the Islands and was just having a beer and met Joe at the bar and started talking story. He said he was looking for a job and Joe said, ‘Well, I run a magazine.’ ”
Magazine ETHEL AND JOE MURPHY LAUNCHED A MAGAZINE IN JULY 1955 CALLED HAWAII ENGINEER, ABOVE. AFTER A FEW NAME CHANGES, THE MAGAZINE HAS BEEN CALLED HAWAII BUSINESS SINCE 1962.
That was that, and Jacobsen spent a lifetime at Hawaii Business, first as editor and then publisher, finally retiring around the time the magazine was sold in 1997 to aio and Pacific Basin Communications, the current parents of the publication.
OFFICE WAS WHERE WALMART STANDS TODAY
Ethel Murphy lived and breathed the magazine. She was at the heart of Hawai‘i’s business world and each day meant another working lunch. Conquest remembered that she and Jacobsen sat at desks facing each other, in a Ke‘eaumoku Street building that looked like a World War II hangar.
“They used to call it Korea-moku because it was in the heart of all the Korean bars and nightclubs and restaurants,” Conquest said. “We grew up visiting the office on Ke‘eaumoku all the time. It was within walking distance of the Pagoda Hotel and where Walmart is today.” Ethel and Joe ran the magazine together until Joe’s left-leaning convictions – he joined anti-Vietnam War protests – made it difficult for him to lead a business publication when most local companies were pro-military. He withdrew from daily office tasks but continued to provide input from a distance. “As the story goes,” said grandson Jeff Murphy, “he couldn’t be politically active and protesting the
Vietnam War and run a business magazine. Ethel, who also had political convictions, but wasn’t as militant as my grandfather, stayed on and continued to be the publisher well into her 80s – from the 1950s through the 1990s.” It was the business acumen of both that created a long-lasting template for news coverage, which chronicled developments in Hawai‘i business and politics as the Islands transformed over time from a plantation economy into a modern society. The pages were filled with ads for companies that still exist today and others that have passed into posterity. Ringo Airways or States Line anyone? Longtime Hawai‘i advertising executive Phil Kinnicutt worked for H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 25
the Murphys twice, from 1963 to 1965 and 1969 to 1971. His final interview was also at the Tropics. “We were a small group,” Kinnicutt said in 2015, “and we all did everything. I even opaqued negatives to get rid of the imperfections so you wouldn’t have black dots or squiggly lines. “Every time the magazine was ready to be mailed, we’d pick it up in Kim’s blue Ford convertible with the top down. At the printers we’d put on the mailing labels, bundle them according to ZIP codes, deliver them to the post office, and then go out and have a beverage or two.”
years to see her and his grandfather. Though she’d never gone to college, Ethel had an innate business sense, he said. “She was very beautiful, very dignified. Because of her personality she seemed bigger than life, though she was shorter in stature. When she said something, it wasn’t frivolous. She didn’t waste her words. “The other thing that was pretty extraordinary was at a time when women were not so prominent in leadership roles in business, Ethel made this great business for herself and became someone really well known in the business community.”
LIVED LIFE TO THE FULLEST AUDIT’S RECOMMENDATION: PUBLISH ON TIME
Several years later, from 1977 to 1979, Kinnicutt was taking courses as part of the inaugural executive MBA class at UH Mānoa’s College of Business. A business audit was a capstone requirement of the program, so he put together an auditing team, with Hawaii Business as its subject. Through the audit, Kinnicutt’s group eventually made a number of recommendations to his old bosses. “One of them was to bring the magazine out on time,” he said with a laugh. “In the good old days, it would be three or four weeks late. Whenever we came close to getting out on time, there would be a celebration. But, as the magazine became more and more sophisticated, that got better.” Jeff Murphy saw his grandfather and step-grandmother as pioneers, creating a new life and a new business model in a new community. “I remember how impressed I was with that,” he said. Their courage and chutzpah created a template for the whole family, certainly for him, he said. “Ethel was a pretty savvy person,” he said, recalling the many visits he made to Hawai‘i in later
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Joe Murphy died Sept. 5, 1992 at the age of 77, 18 months after much of his esophagus was removed because of cancer. During those 18 months, he and Ethel lived life to the fullest. That included a threemonth tour of Europe. “We had Eurorail passes, and we went to eight countries to visit friends and relatives,” Ethel said after his death. “He was not as strong as before, but he was able to live a normal life. Then we came home for a few months and went on some more trips to the mainland.” Ethel lived to be 101. She died in Honolulu on Oct. 9, 2014. To New Jersey attorney Joel Murphy, Joe’s son from his first marriage, Hawaii Business was more than the nation’s first regional business magazine. “It was a forerunner for all the state magazines all over the country,” Joel Murphy said. “This was the first one. Now every state in the union has a monthly magazine, but Hawaii Business was the first. And Hawai‘i wasn’t even a state yet.” As Jeff Murphy and his father, Joel Murphy, reminisced, their stories created a picture of a dynamic couple who were committed members of their Hawai‘i community, who shared liberal politics and who loved to travel the world, especially by train.
“
AT A TIME WHEN WOMEN WERE NOT SO PROMINENT IN LEADERSHIP ROLES IN BUSINESS, ETHEL MADE THIS GREAT BUSINESS FOR HERSELF AND BECAME SOMEONE REALLY WELL KNOWN IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.” – JEFF MURPHY SON OF HAWAII BUSINESS CO-FOUNDER JOE MURPHY
“I remember my grandfather coming to New York one January in his aloha shirts and shorts,” says Jeff, “and walking around New York in 20-degree weather in that outfit and buying things like salami and bologna and taking them back to Honolulu because you couldn’t get that stuff.” Jim Dowden, who in 2015 was the executive director of the national Alliance of Area Business Publications, confirmed Hawaii Business’ distinction as the oldest regional business magazine in the nation. “I haven’t heard of anything older,” he said in 2015. “The oldest ones (on the mainland) would be Florida Trend, Georgia Trend and, maybe, Utah Business.”
WA I K I K I ’ S O N LY A L L
ocean view H OT E L
E S C A P E
Proud sponsor of Hawaii Business Magazine’s Mental Health & Wellness Conference
OFFERING OCEAN VIEW AND OCEANFRONT ROOMS AND SUITES
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BY V ICKI V IOTTI
THE ADVENT OF COMMERCIAL JETLINERS IN THE 1950S MADE TRAVEL TO THE ISLANDS PRACTICAL AND AFFORDABLE FOR MANY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
Hawai‘i : Tourism A Century and a
Half in the Making 28 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
IMAGES: COURTESY MATSON ARCHIVES
BEFORE THE ADVENT OF COMMERCIAL JETLINERS IN THE LATE 1950S, MOST TOURISTS ARRIVED IN HAWAI‘I ON A MATSON LINER.
HAWAI‘I’S REPUTATION AS AN ENTICING TRAVEL DESTINATION ESSENTIALLY BEGAN BY WORD OF MOUTH and was enhanced by
the works of popular writers like Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London. “As early as the Kalākaua years (1874-1891), you do have a tiny bit of tourism,” says John Rosa, a UH professor focused on the history of modern Hawai‘i. But “it’s mostly world travelers, and people who are related to missionaries, or missionaries themselves, or, like Robert Louis Stevenson, they write.” Even if few people actually traveled here, the alluring image of the islands also spread through postcards and early filmmaking: Thomas Edison’s 1906 film clips of Hawai‘i’s panoramic sights and colorful people, like surfers and paniolo, can still be seen on the internet. What first accelerated tourism was the opening of Waikīkī‘s first hotel, the Moana, in 1901, and the Royal Hawaiian in 1927, along with the engineering of the Ala Wai Canal in 1928, which enabled further development of Waikīkī in decades to come, Rosa says. “A lot of it has to do with Waikīkī having a very desirable climate that even Native Hawaiian ali‘i liked. Even Kamehameha lived here in Waikīkī for a while; so did Ka‘ahumanu. This whole ahupua‘a was – outside the month of August – very cool. And you’ve got trade winds, pretty much, and it’s pleasant to live at,” he says.
“And what works for the ali‘i is going to work for the tourists.” In the first half of the 20th century, most tourists arrived on “white ships” – the term for the luxury ocean liners that sailed between Hawai‘i and the West Coast.
“DEVELOPING A DREAM DESTINATION”
Rosa and UH economist James Mak say tourism took off after World War II. “One of the things that World War II did for people was to demonstrate the viability of airline travel,” Mak says. “People said, ‘All these planes are flying around, it must be safe. It must be efficient.’ ” Mak, a UH professor emeritus of economics, has written reports for UHERO, the UH Economic
Research Organization, and in 2008, authored the book “Developing a Dream Destination: Tourism and Tourism Policy Planning in Hawai‘i.” He says Hawai‘i hosted nearly a quarter of a million visitors in 1959, a tally that surged with the start of jet flights between Hawai‘i and the continent. That transition to large-group tourism involved a significant degree of government regulation, which persists today. The federal Civil Aeronautics Board was tasked with authorizing the flights and overseeing the airlines to ensure they were properly equipped. “The CAB was created by Congress in 1938,” he says. “The motor carriers were also regulated – even today here in Hawai‘i, even though in most states they have been dismantled. … The tour buses you see here, H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 29
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
PASSENGERS BOARD A SIKORSKY S-43 “FLYING BOAT” OPERATED BY INTER-ISLAND AIRWAYS, THE ORIGINAL NAME OF HAWAIIAN AIRLINES.
they still have to be approved by the PUC (state Public Utilities Commission). Existing firms can actually object to granting additional players in the field.” Although federal authorities retain oversight of matters such as airline mergers because of antitrust concerns, other government intervention has eased over time, beginning with reduced oversight of airline route expansion. “More and more people began to realize, in the 40 years of the CAB’s existence, that this was counterproductive; it’s not efficient,” Mak says. “They started to open up the various markets, including the air carriers, to open competition.”
CHEAPER FLIGHTS
Jumbo jets began regular routes to Hawai‘i in 1970, and starting in 1978, airlines were free to set their own prices, he adds, which made flights more affordable. Concurrently, hotels built up their capacity, Mak says, and the construction crane, the saying went at the time, became the “state bird.”
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“Initially, the hotels that were built, they were not by national chains like Hilton and the like. They came later actually,” Mak says. “The first hotel, as I recounted in my book, was the Armed Forces YMCA Hotel, which (hotelier) Chris Hemmeter took over to build his palatial office building, and which was sold to the state.” The YMCA Hotel is now Capitol Modern: The Hawai‘i State Art Museum. Even the first large hotels, such as the complex constructed by developer Henry J. Kaiser before it became the Hilton Hawaiian Village, were individual private enterprises. There was also some synergy with airlines, Rosa notes. “The Ala Moana Hotel, which is fairly large for when it got built, American Airlines helped raise the capital,” he says. Large group packages were common. Although Japanese visitors ultimately became more comfortable with traveling independently, in the 1960s and ’70s, they benefited from the time savings and language support that group travel provided, Mak says. “The jumbo jets made it possible, because they were carrying large
groups of people, and they were able to move en masse,” he adds. “And this was particularly important among Japanese travelers because they are time-constrained. Take a look at how long Japanese travelers were staying in Hawai‘i – like five days. … Efficiency was extremely important.” The speed of jet travel hastened the decline of ocean liners. According to a paper co-authored by Mak and UHERO’s Andrew Kato, “Technical Progress in Transport and the Tourism Area Life Cycle,” by the time the first Boeing 747 arrived in Hawai‘i in 1970, vacationers arriving by sea represented less than one-half of 1% of Hawai‘i tourists from North America. The last sailing of a white ship followed soon after, in 1978.
FAR FEWER JAPANESE TOURISTS
The annual tourist tally started from a maximum of roughly 10,000 visitors before World War II, Rosa says. The numbers steadily increased after the war and by 1967, Hawai‘i had hit the 1 million annual visitor mark; by 1988, there were 6 million visitors. At its peak in the early 1990s, the Japanese market alone topped 2 million a year, Mak says, but it has shrunk to a fraction of that today. For all of 2023, there were 572,979 visitors from Japan. In those early boom years, Hawai‘i was marketed to potential tourists in a straightforward fashion, says Frank Haas, a marketing consultant and former VP and director of marketing for the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. “In the early days of volume
tourism to Hawai‘i, the big tour operators were selling Hawai‘i as a fun-sun-sand-surf destination,” Haas says. “There wasn’t much competition from other markets. But as people become more aware of the nuances of the place, you can fold in more nuanced messaging.” There have been other major changes in recent decades. For example, apps and social media have led to the increase of vacation rentals within residential neighborhoods. Haas says microtargeting enabled by the internet has allowed the industry to market to visitors more specifically. “The message went from ‘Sun, sand, surf, Hawai‘i is a playground’ to, over time, what was different and special about the place,” he adds. “And the last 10 years, we can now talk to people interested in different things. “The market went from mass market to particular markets. Now you can find people interested in bird-watching, heritage tourism, agritourism, voluntourism … these narrowly defined interests that we can connect with.”
“THOSE ARE WISH LISTS, NOT A PLAN”
Marketing, as well as the development of the Hawai‘i Convention Center, are two aspects of the otherwise privately developed visitor industry that have taken significant government investment, Mak says. According to the Kato/Mak
paper, in 1988, tourism’s share of the state’s gross domestic product peaked at 24.7% and has been declining ever since. Hawai‘i’s economic slump in the 1990s, driven partly by the bursting of the Japanese economic bubble in 1991, prodded the tourism industry to accept a hotel room tax to help pay for marketing and to finance the convention center, all in hopes of boosting visitor numbers and spending, Mak says. Another long-standing arena for government involvement has been tourism planning, he says. That’s only going to intensify as the industry works to adapt to changing trends through destination management.
Whether or not this will work is uncertain. “Today we talk about sustainable tourism,” Mak says, “but Hawai‘i’s tourism plan in 1976, which became the Hawai‘i Tourism Functional Plan in 1980, that was truly what sustainable tourism was all about. “On the other hand, these plans express the community aspirations for tourism. That doesn’t mean they’re actually carried out.” Today, he says, “the Legislature is really hot on the DMAPs – the destination management action plans – even though (economist) Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas and I don’t think it’s a plan. Those are wish lists, not a plan.”
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BY KATHRYN D RU RY WAG NE R
A LOOK AT THE POLICY DECISIONS, EXTERNAL CRISES AND SOCIAL CHANGES THAT GAVE HAWAI‘I THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSING IN THE NATION. KNOWING HOW THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF HAWAI‘I CREATED THIS CRISIS HELPS US BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW TO FIX IT. 32 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
ARTWORK: JEFF SANNER
IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE NOW, BUT 30 YEARS AGO, HAWAI‘I HAD AN OVERSUPPLY OF HOUSING. That’s when the state was mired in a decadelong recession triggered by Japan’s economic bubble crash (1991), a U.S. war (Desert Storm, also 1991) and Hurricane Iniki (1992). By the mid-1990s, “there was standing inventory of unsold homes,” says Stanford Carr, CEO of Stanford Carr Development. “We were in that predicament, as were all the major homebuilders here. We came off from doing 20 houses a month. Everybody was doing like a house a day, till it came to a screeching halt.” Today, the state is at least 64,000 housing units short, according to Carr. The problem is not exclusive to Hawai‘i: The U.S. has a nationwide shortage of at least 1.5 million housing units, according to the National Association of Home Builders, and more than half of the overall inflation in the economy has been due to the rising costs of housing. But Hawai‘i’s housing costs are the highest in the nation. How did we get here?
DECREASED HOUSEHOLD SIZE “As more people want to live independently, as people live longer and survive their spouses, as people choose to not get married or want smaller families, you need more housing units,” says Sterling Higa, executive director of Housing Hawai‘i’s Future, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the workforce housing shortage. “You need smaller units, too, like studios and one-bedrooms for people who want to live alone.” In 1950, Hawai‘i’s population was 499,800, according to
the U.S. census, with an average household size of 4.3 people. By 2020, the population had grown to more than 1.45 million, with the average number of people per family dipping to 3.38. Despite the drop in family size, Hawai‘i still has relatively large households; the national average is 2.53 people per household. With the drop in number of people inhabiting a household, the state would need nearly a third more houses than in 1950, even if the population had not grown at all. There are also different expectations of housing today. “Many of Hawai‘i’s laborers 70 years ago were working menial jobs at plantations,” says Higa. “You look at those plantation houses, these are oftentimes 700 square feet or less, and those were three-bedroom homes. Someone buying a three-bedroom today probably wants more than 700 square feet.” Today’s homeowners also desire parking spaces, which adds considerably to the cost of building a residence, and eventually translates to higher rents and for-sale costs. “Structured parking costs like $55,000 a stall,” says Carr.
WAS THERE A GOLDEN AGE? Housing can certainly be built quickly. Shortly after World War II, the Mānoa War Homes project whipped up 522 two-bedroom and 478 one-bedroom units: housing for 1,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families. And other local development was brisk. “The example I always give is Makiki,” says Higa. “Most of those buildings were built by small groups of local investors. So, let’s say, a few small-business owners, a doctor, a dentist, pooled
some money. They got a low-interest loan. They had a contractor build a walk-up, and they took some of the units themselves, sold some units, rented some.” He notes land was much less expensive back then because more of it was still undeveloped. The demand for real estate in 1955, when Hawaii Business Magazine was founded, was very different from what it was even four years later, notes Higa. “Prior to statehood, Hawai‘i was not even really a national market for real estate. After statehood, it becomes a national, then international real estate market, with successive waves of various investors — Canadians, Japanese, Chinese and Brazilians.” After statehood, “capital investment poured in to build the tourism engine that we think of today, but was also accompanied by a large demographic shift, with lots of people moving in from the mainland relative to historic trends,” says Trey Gordner. Gordner is a policy researcher at UHERO, UH’s Economic Research Organization; an advocate for affordable housing; and a member of the ‘Ewa Beach Neighborhood Board. “For the people who were already in Hawai‘i, there was a rising concern for issues that echo down to today, such as cultural loss, environmental degradation and carrying capacity.” The result was Hawai‘i’s State Land Use Law, adopted in 1961. It set four land-use districts: urban, rural, agricultural and conservation. To administer the law, the state Legislature established the Land Use Commission. “The idea of zoning, of government having some influence over patterns of development, has existed for a very long time,” says Gordner. “Rome had a plan. What makes the modern U.S. distinct is what we call Euclidean zoning, where you have separation of uses and the prioritization of single-family homes over all else.” For example, he notes that you can
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build a single-family home in an apartment district, but not the other way around. Another American style of zoning is a strict separation of commercial and residential spaces. “We’re retreating from that a fair bit now with mixed use, but we’re still in the early stages,” he says. Within this American context, “Hawai‘i imported a zoning scheme that was really best suited to wide-open spaces,” says Gordner. “We grafted in a lot of things that might be fine in the Great Plains, for instance, but that don’t make a lot of sense when you have the coast on one side, the mountains on the other, and you can’t just continue to grow into the next county. “So, we have a lot of natural barriers, but we also have a lot of artificial barriers. Now, just because we have those artificial barriers doesn’t mean that we should tear those down, necessarily. As I said, there was a reason why, and there is a policy consensus that lasts to this day, why we don’t build as much.” The challenge with this tight level of zoning – and it is tight, with only 4% of land in the state zoned for residential housing – “is that people from outside
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the state have income that is not bound by the local economy and can afford to pay higher housing prices than people who are constrained by the local economy,” Gordner says. “It’s very hard … in a constitutional free market system, to prevent those people from coming in, and in attempting to do that through land-use policy, the by-product is you end up hurting the people who are already here.”
THE CONTROLLED GROWTH MOVEMENT During the years George Ariyoshi was governor, from 1974 to 1986, a restrictive approach to development became the norm. “A core component of Ariyoshi’s platform was managed growth,” says Higa, “and he was running against Frank Fasi, the mayor of Honolulu, who was a very big proponent of growth.” During the Ariyoshi administration, state government was “making it pretty difficult, intentionally, procedurally, to do much [building], especially on a grand scale,” says Gordner. The 1978 Hawai‘i State Constitutional Convention marked
another notable shift, with concerns for prioritizing water use for Native Hawaiians and preserving historical and archaeological sites. “All together, this effectively constrained development – as it was intended to do,” explains Gordner. “It was a policy success in the sense that it was what people wanted at the time, and it did what it was supposed to do. And it’s still doing that today.” In Carr’s opinion, it would have been better to have left land-use decisions at the county level. “It’s their own backyard, their responsibility as far as shaping their long-range planning for each of their respective counties, as opposed to the state having that authority. It’s contributed considerably to the cost and supply of housing here.”
PERMITTING SLOWS “Thirty years ago, I could get a building permit in a day and a half. Now it could take as much as a year or more,” says Carr. “Castle and Cooke, they’re building Koa Ridge. It took them 17 years to get through the entitlements. When they initially petitioned the Land Use Commission, they were projecting to sell homes in the $300,000 range but by the time they broke ground, they had to sell their single-family homes for a million dollars.” Back in 1955, the year Hawaii Business Magazine was launched, 4,840 private residential building permits were granted in Hawai‘i, and by 1959, that had increased to 8,932 permits. Compare that to 2023, when only 3,117 permits were authorized, says Paul Brewbaker, an economist at TZ Economics. Says Brewbaker: “Let’s look at 2008 to 2023. The average is 1,000 fewer units authorized by building permit annually in the entire state of Hawai‘i than were authorized … without the use of computers, in the year Hawaii Business Magazine was established.”
ARTWORK: JEFF SANNER
A LONG-DELAYED RAIL SYSTEM
Brewbaker estimates that in the 1950s Hawai‘i was building the equivalent of 4% of the existing housing stock on average every year. In other words, the number of new housing units was 4% of top of the existing inventory on average every year from the 1920s until 1975. But for the last 50 years, it’s been barely 1%. And, Brewbaker says, “People ask, ‘Why is there a housing shortage?’ ” Brewbaker stresses the goal is not to build up recklessly, but to get a balance of responsible growth. “Ninety-five percent of the land in Hawai‘i is not in the urban land district, and a little more than half of the land in the state’s urban land district is urbanized. So perception is we’re paving paradise to put up a parking lot and the reality is, we could nearly double the amount of urban land use within the existing footprint, and 95% of Hawai‘i’s land would remain in the conservation and agriculture districts. “You’ve seen the bumper stickers, ‘Keep the Country Country.’ Mine is, ‘Make the City City,’ ” says Brewbaker. “They are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they’re complementary.”
Then-Honolulu Mayor Neal S. Blaisdell suggested rail as part of a mass transit plan in 1968. The project planning came and went with various leaders, but a stake went through the HART – the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation – in 1992, when the City Council, after two 5-4 votes in favor, voted 5-4 to reject a 0.5 percentage point surcharge on the state’s general excise tax that would have helped to pay for rail’s construction. “Honolulu had an opportunity in 1992 to start doing a rail that would have interconnected the city, brought down transportation costs, and allowed for more [urban] development,” says Higa. The city finally broke ground for the Honolulu rail transit project in 2011. “Housing and transportation are integrally related,” Higa explains. “Transportation is 15% to 20% of most people’s household spending. One of the primary ways that a city or a county can save people money is by reducing their transportation costs.” Carr says he would like to see “equitable, transit-oriented communities, especially around the rail stations. What we need to do proactively is the infrastructure assessments – sewer, water, drainage, power, traffic mitigation – to install the infrastructure ahead” of rail being installed.
DEVELOPMENT OF A SECOND CITY In 1977’s general plan, the City and County of Honolulu designated the ‘Ewa area as O‘ahu’s secondary urban center.
Gordner notes that while the idea of a second city was to take pressure off the urban core of Honolulu, in practice, “polycentric cities are hard to pull off. You can think about a moment in time when we might have made the political decision to allow the center to keep growing up, allowing the first ring of suburbs to grow up more modestly into towns, as opposed to the subdivisions as they are. That is a more organic, natural way for cities to grow.” Creating a low-density second city, he says, commits people to using the H1 freeway if they still work in central Honolulu. That means people now have farther to travel for work, and that bind has increased with the commitment to rail.
DO WE SUFFER FROM OVERPOPULATION? Is it possible there are simply too many people living in the state? “No, we could build a ton more housing,” says Higa. “It’s definitely a housing shortage. The fact that people have been complaining about overpopulation in Hawai‘i for 200 years tells you that it’s less about population than it is about housing. Do you hear anybody complaining less [about housing] over the last eight years, when the population has declined?” Between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, the state of Hawai‘i’s population decreased by an average of 12 people per day – or about 4,000 people during those 12 months – according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And that drop was prior to the Maui wildfires, which caused an additional exodus from the state. The previous 12 months – July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022 – the State of Hawai‘i’s population decreased by 19 people a day. Carr notes that more than half of the housing demand in Hawai‘i is for market units above 140% of the area median income. “What that tells you is that we’re just supply constrained. We’re not building to keep up.”
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BY A NN AUMA N
THE TRANSITION UCIAL PIVOT POINT IN CR A ED RK MA AR YE TO THE HAWAI‘I THE MID-20TH CENTURY E TH OF DS AN ISL E S MAGAFROM TH S IN HAWAII BUSINES RT PO RE E TH OF NY W. OF TODAY. MA OF WHAT WE FACE NO RS GE IN RB HA E AR 82 ZINE DURING 19
2 8 9 1
ge u H f o r a A Ye i ‘i a w a H n i Chang e s
T
HE ISSUES FACED IN 1982 SOUND FAMILIAR, more than four
decades later: a blowback against tourism, high interest rates that stifle expansion and development, weak housing sales, a shortage of capital, the need for diversification, the high cost of health care, the telescopes on Mauna Kea. Those issues and many more were covered in the pages of Hawaii Business Magazine during 1982, an important transition year between early statehood Hawai‘i and today. The magazine reflected other changes taking place in the Islands, too. Women appeared more often in its pages, though most of the coverage was still about men. In the pictures that accompanied its stories, readers saw more aloha shirts and fewer suits and ties; even the ads were changing, as black and white gave way to color. What Hawaii Business called the Story of the Year was, “How Mid Pac upset the airline applecart,” published in January. However, the airline – like many newcomers in the local economy – was gone before the end of the decade. (See page 16 for more on that article and other person of the year and story of the year reports throughout the years.) Here are headlines and highlights from selected stories from Hawaii Business Magazine in 1982.
JANUARY
“GROWING PAINS FOR A MATURING ECONOMY. THE WORST RECESSION EVER?” HAWAI‘I HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING RECESSIONS EVERY FOUR TO SIX YEARS. Generally, the effects of a reces-
sionary economy reach the Islands a few months after they are felt on the mainland, though the recovery locally usually follows the national pattern. And this recession may have been the worst yet for Hawai‘i. The four legs of the local economy – tourism, the military, sugar and pineapple – had traditionally resisted recessionary pressures, largely because of their indeFE BRRUA FEB UARY RY 22002255 36 | FEB
pendence from national market conditions (they were more affected by international conditions). Government spending and debt had tripled in the last decade, and government employed 1 out of every 5 Hawai‘i workers. The state had a $200 million surplus because of high taxes, Hawaii Business reported. Rock-bottom prices for sugar due to a worldwide glut saddled local companies with more than $100 million in losses. Lobbying efforts to establish government-guaranteed sugar prices for U.S. growers faced considerable opposition. The pineapple industry was on an even level that year, though, and diversified agriculture was helping too. Defense expenditures were up and the construction industry was holding its own, but future residential developments were on hold, with builders calling the housing slump that began in 1980 the worst ever. A bright spot: Ohana zoning laws were set to take effect soon, allowing second dwellings on properties. For most of Hawai‘i’s industries, the recession of the early 1980s was the worst to date. In fact, the magazine predicted, with tourism sagging and the viability of the sugar industry in question, the early 1980s may well be remembered as a turning point in Hawai‘i’s economy.
FEBRUARY
“DAVIES DIVERSIFIES: BY 1986, THEO H. DAVIES MAY BE MORE INVOLVED IN ENERGY THAN SUGAR” THIS STORY COMPARED TWO OF HAWAI‘I’S “BIG FIVE” COMPANIES – Amfac and Davies – that earned most of their
income from farming. Amfac closed sugar plantations; Theo H. Davies shifted resources to oil and gas exploration on the mainland due to depressed sugar prices, and was bought by Jardine Matheson & Co. of Hong Kong in 1973. Despite the moves, sugar remained a Davies mainstay for years.
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
“TOURISM: A TROUBLED INDUSTRY CHOOSES KEN CHAR. A LOT OF CHANGES ARE IN STORE AS THE HVB’S NEW PRESIDENT COMES ON BOARD.”
“PEOPLE’S MAKES THE SWITCH: AN ETHNIC S AND L DECIDES IT OUGHT TO BE AN ETHNIC BANK INSTEAD” PEOPLE’S SAVINGS & LOAN REGISTERED PROFITS IN ITS FIRST YEAR because it catered to underserved communities:
Filipinos and other Asian immigrants. Joseph Macapinlac, People’s president, said People’s wasn’t saddled with low-interest mortgages in its loan portfolio and instead tied interest rates to the prime rate to ensure a return during periods of fluctuation. The bank’s multilingual employees educated the Filipino and other communities on banking and finance – from checking accounts to interest rates. Some customers brought in bags with thousands of dollars in cash for safekeeping in the bank. Word spread and soon People’s was the only profitable S and L in the Islands.
“BANK DEREGULATION AT WORK” HAWAI‘I’S BANKS AND SAVINGS AND LOANS WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD when national bank deregulation
brought in competition, plus high interest rates caused the cost of borrowing money to skyrocket. Profits took a hit and the S and Ls were hurt the most because they held so many long-term mortgages and other loans with low fixed rates.
MARCH:
CHAR’S MANDATE AT THE THEN-HAWAI‘I VISITORS BUREAU was to revamp the industry’s marketing
and its relationship with government. His strategy involved uniting a fragmented industry and redirecting Hawai‘i’s marketing to a more aggressive, destination-focused plan.
“ANOTHER FLAT YEAR? THE TOURIST INDUSTRY MAY BE FACING ITS THIRD YEAR OF NO-GROWTH.” 1980 AND 1981 WERE YEARS OF NO GROWTH IN TOURISM – in fact, Hawai‘i registered its first-ever year over year decline in visitors, albeit a miniscule 0.7%. One important change was that group travel was declining as more people chose independent travel. The start of the visitor slowdown was traced to two events in mid-1979: a United Airlines strike and the grounding of DC-10s after a Chicago crash. Additionally, national media reports on crimes against tourists shattered the illusion of Hawai‘i as a paradise. Escalating airfares were also a problem.
“WINDWARD MALL ON SCHEDULE. THE NEW MALL WILL OPEN LATER THIS YEAR.” The mall in Kāne‘ohe was the first regional shopping center on O‘ahu’s Windward Side.
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PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
“A GROWING ROLE WITH A SHRINKING BUDGET. VICTOR LI TALKS ABOUT THE EASTWEST CENTER’S ROLE IN THE PACIFIC.” THE 41-YEAR-OLD WAS 6 WHEN HIS FAMILY EMIGRATED FROM CHINA TO NEW YORK CITY. He had impressive
credentials when he became president of the East-West Center: a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and law degrees from Columbia and Harvard. He had taught at Michigan, Columbia and Stanford; his specialty was the Chinese legal system. At the East-West Center, he proposed a greater alliance with the local business community as well as some cost reductions. Li served as EWC president until 1990. That year, he founded the Asia Pacific Consulting Group for the law firm Watanabe Ing & Kawashima, with former Gov. George Ariyoshi. Li helped U.S. companies set up operations in China while Ariyoshi did similar work for Japan.
public sector: 19% by the federal government and 32% by the territorial government. Meanwhile, private sector employment fell. In 1977, an attempt was made to slow down the hiring of “alien” labor in the construction industry and to increase wages. As a result, construction costs rose 40%, and the industry dried up. Close to half of the 300 construction-related companies shut down. One advantage Guam had was tariff protections on its exports to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the European Common Market. Guam’s leaders worked on a long-term strategy to build on these advantages.
“HOW DOES AMOS STAY FAMOUS?” WALLY AMOS, FAMOUS FOR HIS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, STARTED BAKING THEM IN 1975. What’s the secret to his busi-
ness success? “I’m not a businessman – I’m a promoter,” he said in 1982. He handpicked key people to run his company: Sid Ross, a former coffee wholesaler, was president of the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Corp., and Bill Armstrong, the man who convinced Amos to move to Hawai‘i in 1977, was VP. He opened his first store on Ke‘eaumoku Street, and the business took off. (Amos died on Aug. 13, 2024, at his Honolulu home at age 88.)
“TOUGH TIMES FOR YOUNG FARMERS” IN HAWAI‘I, RAISING CAPITAL WAS A BIGGER CHALLENGE THAN RAISING A CROP, and young people had been leav-
ing farms to pursue other careers for years. As a result, the state’s agriculture community was steadily aging, with the average age of workers at 55. (Currently, the average age is 60.8 years.) Diversified farming could face a precarious situation in the next decade, the magazine reported. Those who decided to give it a try had trouble finding initial investment if they didn’t already have a family farm.
APRIL
“GUAM REPORT: DIGGING OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS. GUAM IS LOOKING FOR A NEW APPROACH TO ITS OLD PROBLEMS.” GUAM WAS MOSTLY DEPENDENT ON JAPANESE TOURISM AND LOOKING FOR KOREAN TOURISTS AS WELL. The public sector grew under Gov. Paul Calvo,
and about half of Guam’s workers were employed in the FE BRRUA FEB UARY RY 22002255 38 | FEB
MAY
“CATCH-UP TIME FOR MAUI COUNTY. WHERE’S THE BOTTOM?” A DECADE OF EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH LEFT INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE ON MAUI. In the 1970s, Maui
grew by leaps and bounds, thanks to the blossoming of its tourist industry. Construction and service industries flourished, but all that was changing as Maui entered the 1980s. Undercurrents of local resentment toward growth were surfacing, and ironically it was happening just as the economic machinery had slowed down. Even so, business was bustling in the resort area of Ka‘anapali. Sugar, pineapple and tourism on Maui faced uncertain futures. But state and county housing projects totaling some 2,000 units were in various stages of planning and development. Real estate development had become one of the alternatives for sugar companies scrambling to diversify, but some of that land was donated for housing. Condo projects begun several years earlier were being completed and buyers could find bargains because of weak sales.
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“WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT” SEVERAL WOMEN ON MAUI WERE EXAMPLES OF THE TREND TOWARD MORE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP. They
included Nora Cooper, GM of Maui Publishing, editor of the Maui News and the first woman president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce. Lynn Britton was the executive director of the chamber, where she was formerly the secretary and handled a variety of jobs. When the previous executive director left, she applied for the job and was unanimously accepted. Alma Cooper was provost of Maui Community College. She began her career as a teacher, then went into middle management and performed well in a variety of positions in higher education. Halaki Hughgill was the manager of Maui 800, a reservations service for travel agents. She started at a major hotel on Maui and was made acting group and conventions manager when her boss left the business. After three months and persistence, she was awarded the title outright, but not the salary. When she left, the man who replaced her got the full salary of her old boss. However, her work there gave her the experience she needed to run Maui 800.
JUNE
“HOUSING: SURVIVAL TACTICS IN A DOWN MARKET” THE RECESSION HIT THE HAWAI‘I HOUSING INDUSTRY HARD.
Deregulation of financial institutions and regulation changes under President Ronald Reagan’s administration had permanently shifted the economy from its postWorld War II track and put off a quick rebound. Developers were not interested in creating housing for low- and moderate-income people, and particularly not rental housing, because of high construction costs, low return on investments, and the scarcity of available land. Young buyers couldn’t afford Hawai‘i’s high housing costs, which put more pressure on rentals. Instead, public housing agencies stepped in to provide rental housing. In Hawai‘i, less than half of households owned a home, much lower than the national average. With tourism flat, resort condominiums coming on the market could have provided much-needed rental housing, Hawaii Business Magazine reported, but they were likely to be returned to the more lucrative visitor market when tourism picked up. FE BRRUA FEB UARY RY 22002255 40 | FEB
JULY
“KAUAI: SUGAR SCARE SHAKES UP THE COUNTY” KAUAI GOT A LOT OF SCARES IN 1981:
Tourism declined for the third consecutive year and sugar prices tumbled, putting the industry on the edge of disaster. Pineapple had already left the island. Add to that California’s embargo on fruit treated with the EDB pesticide, which hurt the ag industry badly, particularly papaya growers. A focus on tourism could have been one way out, but Garden Island residents argued against continued growth in tourism and instead pushed for diversified agriculture. Yet, attitudes against tourism appeared to be softening, with some politicians arguing for controlled growth.
“TOURISM: LOCAL BOYS MAKE GOOD. HAWAII’S HOTEL INDUSTRY IS DISCOVERING TOP TALENT IN ITS OWN BACKYARD.” AMONG THOSE PROFILED WERE LAHAINA NATIVE JUAN AQUINADE, 42, who started his hotel career scrubbing
pots and pans at the Sheraton Maui for $1.45 an hour. In 1982, he was VP of operations for Amfac Hotels and GM of the new $60 million, 460-room Waiohai Resort on
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
pounds of papaya. The rotting fruit, along with a lot of rain, caused a fungus to build into an uncontrollable epidemic that cost the industry three-quarters of its crop. C. Brewer, another of the Big Five companies, produced more guavas than it could sell. Taro, bananas and other crops met local demand, but land and capital shortages limited their export potential. A 100-acre prawn farm had closed in 1980 because of unfavorable weather.
Kaua‘i as well as a 150-room Po‘ipū Beach hotel. Christian Chang, 43, born in Honolulu, started as a pantry helper at the Halekūlani. The job paid 90 cents an hour. By 1982, he was GM of Hawaiian Pacific Resorts’ 242room Kauai Resort hotel in Wailua. Harold Rapoza, 39, born in Hilo, got his first hotel job as a desk clerk at the Ka‘anapali Beach hotel on Maui in 1966. Fourteen years later, he returned to the same hotel – this time as GM. By July 1982, he was GM of the $20 million Hanalei Bay Resort complex in Princeville.
“CRISIS TIME FOR FARMERS: KAUAI FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE IN MAINTAINING ITS AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY” KAUA‘I’S SUGAR PROBLEMS WERE WELL KNOWN AT THE TIME and pineapple had been lost a decade earlier. Its
second-largest crop, papaya, suffered its worst year in its history, a result of California’s ban on the EDB pesticide. The ban suddenly closed off half of Hawai‘i’s market and left farmers holding hundreds of thousands of
“KAUAI’S INVISIBLE HOTEL” WHEN CELEBRITIES LIKE BARBRA STREISAND, BARRY MANILOW AND OTHER PRIVACY-MINDED VACATIONERS WERE ON THE GARDEN ISLAND, they stayed
at Kaua‘i’s “invisible hotel,” a little-known collection of about 100 private homes scattered along the island’s northern and southern shores. The “invisible hotel” relied on word-of-mouth advertising by its customers. Yet demand for these vacation rentals was up. While other visitor accommodations wrestled with declining occupancy rates in 1981, bookings for private homes were up 50%, say Clare Miller and Lucy Kawaihalau, whose Kauai Vacation Rentals handled most of the vacation homes on the island. Most of their clients were returnees to Hawai‘i who knew their way around and preferred the comforts of a private home to a hotel. The vacationer could choose a modest cottage, a spectacular oceanfront villa or something in between, with prices from $250 per week to $250 per day. Maid service was an additional $10 an hour, but few clients bothered with the option. Vacation renters stayed longer than other tourists. In the winter, the average was one month; in the summer, it was two weeks. And for large groups, it was cheaper per person than hotels. Prosser Realty, which handled about a dozen home rentals, did no active advertising, Realtor Betty Bell said at the time, “yet we get more business than we can put into the houses.” Most of the landlords were mainland absentee owners who used the units as their own vacation homes. Others saw their units as second homes or retirement properties, and some turned a nice profit.
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“DOG DAYS FOR KAUAI REALTORS” 1982 WAS THE YEAR OF THE DOG and, fittingly, Kaua‘i’s real estate market was rolling over and playing dead. During the first quarter, Kaua‘i’s 280 Realtors – down from 340 the year before – sold only 17 properties. Home prices were plummeting. Sales of resort condos to visitor-investors had dropped to 20% of one Realtor’s business, and 80% of sales were to residents seeking homes and vacant land.
“MISS MABEL MUST BE SMILING” MABEL WILCOX KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WANTED TO HAPPEN TO HER HOMESTEAD WHEN SHE PASSED ON.
In 1971, Miss Mabel, as she was widely known on the Garden Island, announced that the home and grounds where she’d been born, raised and lived her life were to be converted into a living museum depicting the Grove Farm plantation’s history. In 1978, 96-year-old Miss Mabel died. Her legacy is now the Wilcox family’s 80-acre plantation, museum, gardens and home, built in the 1850s.
AUGUST
“TRANSPORTATION: SURFACE SHIPPING HITS THE DOLDRUMS” IT WAS SLOW SAILING THROUGH RECESSIONARY SQUALLS FOR HAWAI‘I SHIPPERS. Primarily due to a slumping econ-
omy, Matson saw westbound container cargo volume decline for three straight years. Declining shipments of construction equipment and household furnishings and appliances reflect the falloff in the local home construction business. One bright spot was eastbound refrigerated shipments of papayas, nursery stock and agricultural products. Operating profits were up 49% as a result of investments in new vessels and shoreside facilities. But fuel costs, which were 10% of operating expenses in 1971, grew to 60%.
“RETAILING: POMARE ‘TURNS ON’ THE TOURISTS” JIM ROMIG, FOUNDER OF RETAILER HILO HATTIE AND CHAIRMAN OF POMARE, could not have been prouder than when
a couple ahead of him in an airport line – whose outfits he was admiring – told him they were wearing Hilo Hattie’s matching alohawear. In fact, lots of tourists bought the company’s alohawear.
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Hilo Hattie is better known as a mu‘umu‘u maker than as the entertainer of the 1950s from whom the clothing line takes its name and pays a royalty. Pomare sees itself as a marketing and merchandising company more than a manufacturer.
“FORECLOSURES” DEFAULTS ON HOME MORTGAGES, unusual in the past, had been skyrocketing, and a record number of people were losing their homes on the foreclosure auction block. Many included young, first-time buyers and mainland investors. The problem was the recession: Homeowners couldn’t sell their properties in a bad market.
“ALOHA: SUZIE, DEBBIE, AND PAM JUST GAVE YOU A TAX BREAK. THE MORE WE GIVE THE MORE WE’VE GOT.” AN AD FROM THE HAWAII PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION TRIED TO COUNTER THE BACKLASH AGAINST TOURISTS by remind-
ing residents that tourists provided millions in tax dollars to state and county governments. The ad featured a picture of three young female tourists in bikinis on Waikīkī Beach, with the headline reminding readers that people like these women were paying local taxes during their visits and giving locals “a tax break.”
SEPTEMBER
“FINANCE: HOW AN IDAHO COWBOY SALVAGED THC FINANCIAL” THIS IS ABOUT THE FRAUD, mismanagement and failure of THC Financial, and how J. Carl Osborne was urgently called off a golf course in Los Angeles to help sort out the mess when the government seized its assets. In the end, THC was liquidated, with depositors getting 33 cents on the dollar.
“MANUFACTURING: A $2.5 BILLION INDUSTRY THAT WANTS SOME RESPECT” IN 1960, MANUFACTURING IN HAWAI‘I – WHICH INCLUDED SUGAR AND PINEAPPLE PROCESSING – RANKED FOURTH after federal expendi-
tures, construction and sugar/ pineapple in its contribution to Hawai‘i’s economy. By 1980, it ranked third, after federal spending and the visitor industry – totaling $2.5 billion a year. Most of the 740 diversified manufacturing companies in Hawai‘i could be grouped into six major sectors: oil refining, cement and steelmaking, textile and garment manufacturing, food processing, printing and publishing, and jewelry and tourist-related products. Of these, oil refining contributed the most revenue. One company that was profiled: the Kamaka Ukulele Factory, founded in 1916.
“HERE COMES BARBERS POINT. WHETHER IT’S NEEDED OR NOT IS NOW MOOT; THE HARBOR IS UNDERWAY.” THE IDEA FOR A DEEP HARBOR AT BARBERS POINT WAS SPAWNED IN THE 1950S by a New York planning firm hired
by the Campbell Estate. The inlet was seen as a relief harbor for Honolulu but also as a catalyst for the creation of a new metropolis on O‘ahu’s western coast, where Campbell Estate had considerable land holdings. The estate trustees liked the idea and so did the state, so a feasibility study was done. It was completed in 1963 and included in a federal rivers and harbors act. A design study was also completed in 1976 after several delays; in 1978, President Jimmy Carter’s administration approved a cost-sharing agreement that gave the federal government responsibility for 96% of the cost of the first construction phase. The work included widening the channel entrance and deepen-
ing the harbor by excavating and dredging coral, which would be stockpiled on Campbell Estate land. The cost would be over $47 million. Nearly 90% of the proceeds from selling the 10.6 million cubic feet of coral would go to the estate in exchange for 246 acres of land on which the harbor facilities were being constructed, with the state receiving 11%. Remaining phases would be paid for by the state.
“CAMPAIGNING BY COMPUTER – FROM HAWAII. COMPANIES LIKE VOTER CONTACT SERVICES ARE CHANGING THE WAY POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS ARE RUN.” ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST FIRMS SPECIALIZING IN POLITICAL APPLICATIONS operated out of a converted
family room in a small home in Honolulu. That company was Bill Daly’s Voter Contact Services, which provided information to candidates on 20 million registered voters in 11 western states. The company said its high-speed printing made direct mail contact effortless. The company dominated in Hawai‘i as well as the Pacific Northwest and some midwestern states, and was competitive in California.
“ETHNIC CHIC – KEO’S THAI CUISINE. THE IMMIGRANT RESTAURATEUR HEADS UP A GROWING FAMILY ENTERPRISE.” AT THE TIME, KEO SANANIKONE, THE 29-YEAR-OLD OWNER OF KEO’S THAI CUISINE, was one of about 2,000
Laotian immigrants to settle in Hawai‘i since the Indochina wars drove a mass exodus of refugees. Keo’s on Kapahulu was known for its delicious Thai food and celebrity guests, such as Carol Burnett and Olivia Newton-John. Keo and his family also had an Asian Market, and sourced locally grown food from local Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese farmers for their restaurant and shop. His brothers and sisters also ran restaurants. In addition to Keo’s Thai Cuisine he, along with his sister Nancy, managed the dining concession at the East-West Center.
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 43
OCTOBER
“LOOKING FOR A CURE: AS SUGAR SLIPS, THE BIG ISLAND HUNTS FOR AN ECONOMIC RX.” THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CONTINUED TO RISE ON THE BIG ISLAND; for the previous seven years, the island had
the highest unemployment rate in the state. Tourism and sugar were both shrinking. Puna sugar would shut down in 1984, taking with it 500 more jobs, but some land would be converted to macadamia nuts and other diversified agriculture uses, including coffee and fruits. New operations were a bright spot, ranging from astronomy and satellite launching services to geothermal power and manganese mining. The county’s hopes were also riding on Kohala as a tourist destination. Hilo airport offered the only direct flight to the mainland, operated by United Airlines. A cross-island highway between Hilo and Kona would reduce driving time to Kona and was a top priority for local residents, but not for Gov. George Ariyoshi. The depressed economy and high interest rates also brought real estate activity on the island to a virtual standstill.
“THE ECONOMY OF ASTRONOMY. STAR GAZING ON THE BIG ISLAND IS A $7 MILLION A YEAR BUSINESS.” THE MAUNA KEA SCIENCE RESERVE bristled with some
$53 million worth of costly, complex optical and infrared instruments. Before the decade ended, another three telescopes worth $59 million may be probing the stars, according to the story. Most of the capital to build the telescopes came from outside the county and state. The corporations that owned the equipment employed over 100 people, with 6 of every 10 being local hires. Their combined operating budgets pumped almost $7 million a year into the state economy, with most of the money being spent in Hawai‘i County. The man most responsible for the rise of astronomy as an economic force on the Big Island was astronomer John Jefferies. As director of UH’s Institute for Astronomy, Jefferies wanted to turn Mauna Kea’s summit into “one of the great observatories of the world,” as Science magazine put it in its November 1981 article on the man and the mountain. Robert Fujimoto, president of HPM Building Supply, was one of astronomy’s staunchest friends on the Big Island. He was also chairman of the UH Board of Regents, which exercised ultimate authority over proj-
FE BRRUA FEB UARY RY 22002255 44 | FEB
ects proposed by Jefferies’ Institute for Astronomy, and was a good friend of Jefferies and Hawai‘i Island Mayor Herbert Matayoshi, who initially didn’t like the idea of the domes on the mountain. Jefferies said that each telescope meant 20 to 40 jobs for the island’s economy and that he envisioned as many as 13 instruments on the summit by 2000. In 1982, four separate groups operated six telescopes: UH, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corp., the United Kingdom’s Science Research Council and NASA. The little town of Waimea, which benefited from the construction, served as a base camp for employees, such as telescope operators, mechanical technicians and electrical and optical engineers.
“HAWAII’S LAST FRONTIER. IN THE ‘70S ALL EYES WERE ON KONA; NOW THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON PUNA.” SPACE SERVICES INC., a private satellite launching company based in Texas, hoped to launch its first commercial payload into space in April 1984 from South Point on the Big Island. Land deals had yet to be negotiated, however. (Various proposals to launch satellites from the Big Island have been proposed for more than half a century, but Hawaii Business was unable to find evidence that any launch ever took place.)
“COUNTDOWN FOR KA‘U” THE PUNA DISTRICT IS A BIG DIAMOND-SHAPED RURAL AREA SOUTH OF HILO, with
few paved roads and lots of open, inexpensive land. Here, people live off the grid. The terrain ranges from rainforest to lava fields. Puna’s population had been growing as mostly low to moderate income earners sought inexpensive homes and land. Kea‘au and the former plantation village of Pāhoa were also growing, with Kea‘au developing into a bedroom community for Hilo. Crime had risen, and the police force was too thin. As a result, many people armed themselves. Other county assets and services, such as firefighters and water lines, were also lacking, and there was pushback on geothermal power. Meanwhile, marijuana growers flourished. Puna was known for producing the state’s most popular exported flower, the anthurium. But the state’s largest crop by far was commonly called Puna
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Butter – marijuana. Since it was illegal, no one knew how much was produced in Puna, but estimates put the value at several hundred million dollars. And it was an all-cash business. NOVEMBER
“EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK BY KIM JACOBSEN, EDITOR & PUBLISHER” “IT WILL SURPRISE MANY OF OUR READERS THAT THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY IN HAWAI‘I IS A $300 MILLION-A-YEAR BUSINESS – almost as large as the
sugar industry – with a labor force of some 11,500 people,” Hawaii Business Magazine’s Kim Jacobsen wrote. “But like sugar, Hawaii’s hospitals are facing serious problems.” Escalating hospital costs created problems for everyone, especially those in private business who pay the “lion’s share of medical costs” through health insurance programs.
“HOSPITALS AT A CROSSROADS. THE DECADE AHEAD WILL HOLD MANY CHANGES IN HAWAII’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.” THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY’S PLIGHT WAS NOT UNLIKE THAT OF SUGAR. Costs were skyrocketing while revenues
were plummeting. Hospitals were looking to the federal government for a remedy. Hawai‘i’s hospitals are for the most part financially sound, but that could change. The problem was that the federal government was attempting to ease out of the medical insurance business – Medicare and Medicaid – which covered more than half of Hawai‘i’s patient population. These programs were already reimbursing Hawai‘i hospitals for less than their costs – as little as 70 cents for every dollar – and cutbacks were expected to continue over the next three years. With government underpaying the tab for so many patients, the institutions were left with a staggering shortfall. The state’s hospitals constituted an industry as large as sugar, which was valued at $328 million in 1981. They spent more than $300 million a year, and over half of that was for labor. Hawai‘i was seen as having too few hospital beds, with only 3.3 beds per 1,000 people, compared with the mainland’s 4.4.
“SUGAR AND PINEAPPLE ONCE RULED. NO MORE.” DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE WAS GROWING, according to this story
on the high value of diversified agriculture, including flower and nursery products, macadamia nuts, vegetables and melons, dairy and livestock. In 1981, diversified agriculture accounted for “a surprising” 40% of the total value of the state’s agricultural crop; sugar, meanwhile, accounted for 42% and pineapple 18%.
“FOOD IS KING” HAWAI‘I’S NUMBER ONE RETAILER IN 1981 WAS THE SUPERMARKET CHAIN FOODLAND, with 27 stores, 1,200 employ-
ees and annual sales of more than $170 million. As the article said, “In a recession, food is one thing consumers cannot do without.” A related article said 1982 marked the end of a 25-year boom in shopping center development. The story declared Hawai‘i had reached its shopping center saturation point. Hawai‘i had all the regional shopping centers it needed: Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge Center, Windward Mall and Kahala Mall served the four major population centers of O‘ahu. The Neighbor Islands had too small a population to support full-sized regional centers, but each had or would have a “B” facility that hosts several anchors. Far down the road, Mililani and Hawai‘i Kai may grow large enough to warrant regional centers.
“GOLDEN OLDIE: WELL-BUILT BUILDINGS NEVER DIE; THEY JUST GET RECYCLED.” INSTEAD OF TEARING DOWN OLD BUILDINGS IN CHINATOWN, the story touts giving them a facelift as part
of a growing “rehabilitation” movement. Tax breaks helped spur the renovations.
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BY A NN AUMA N
1959
HONOLULU HARBOR AND THE SURROUNDING AREA ARE LARGELY MANMADE, AS SHOWN BY THE MAP AT RIGHT PUBLISHED BY HAWAII BUSINESS IN JUNE 1959. THE BOLD OUTLINES SHOW MARSHES AND OCEAN FILLED IN BY SEDIMENT FROM DREDGING OF THE HARBOR BY HAWAIIAN DREDGING AND CONSTRUCTION CO. FOR INSTANCE, SAND ISLAND WAS ORIGINALLY TWO SMALL ISLETS OF LESS THAN 15 ACRES AT HIGH TIDE; TODAY THE ISLAND IS OVER 500 ACRES.
THE YEAR HAWAI‘I BECAME A STATE
T
HE ADMISSION ACT – signed into law on
March 18, 1959, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower – dissolved the Territory of Hawai‘i and established America’s 50th state. Statehood took effect on Aug. 21, 1959. So it is not surprising that 1959 was not only a year of immense change in Hawai‘i but a time of grand visions for the future. Some came to pass and others remained just dreams. Many of those changes and visions were covered in the pages of Hawaii Business Magazine (then called Hawaii Industry). Here are some headlines and highlights from the archives of 1959. FEBRUARY
“NAVY REPAIRS RUSSIAN SHIPS (AT MIDWAY)” TWO STORM-BATTERED RUSSIAN SHIPS limped into
Midway Island lagoon on Jan. 22, 1958, after surviving 20 days of one of the worst storms ever recorded in the North Pacific. The story said it was a “miracle” that one of the ships, the freighter General Panfilov, came back to any port. “Stove-in plating to the very top of the pilot house told of the height of the waves which broke over her. All the lifeboats had been smashed to kindling wood and their heavy steel launching gear twisted like thin wire,” the magazine reported. The ship also had a “nasty crack, extending across more than a third of the main deck in the location where so many Liberty ships had split open before structural alterations were made.” Technical assistance was requested from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, and designers and welders arrived to help repair three vessels – the two Russian ships and a Greek-flagged vessel. On Feb. 5, 1959, the last of the three ships cleared the harbor. 46 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
MARCH
“HAWAII SUGAR: CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM FELT AFTER A BAD YEAR IN 1958” A FEBRUARY-JUNE STRIKE IN 1958 WAS THE LARGEST INDUSTRYWIDE WORK STOPPAGE IN THE HISTORY OF HAWAI‘I
SUGAR. Normal annual production of a million tons
dropped to 764,953 tons. Officials estimated the overall Island economy lost $36 million as a direct result of the strike but felt things would turn around in 1959. JUNE
“WALTER F. DILLINGHAM – FOREMOST MAN OF INDUSTRY” IN 1902, WALTER F. DILLINGHAM FOUNDED HAWAIIAN DREDGING CO., a general contracting firm
that eventually did work in Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Borneo, Texas and California. But its greatest impact was in Hawai‘i. The company developed much of Honolulu’s waterfront – from Waikīkī to Honolulu Harbor – plus the Ala Wai Canal. It helped build Pearl Harbor, the military air bases at Kāne‘ohe and Ford Island, and bases on Palmyra, Johnston and Midway islands. The company also built hotels, homes, schools and office buildings. Some of its buildings are architectural landmarks, including the Honolulu Museum of Art (opened in 1927) and downtown’s Dillingham Transportation Building (1930).
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“JAMES CAMPBELL INDUSTRIAL PARK”
In 1959, Hawaii Business lauded Dillingham’s many achievements and then focused on one aspect. “While his contributions to the growth and development of the economy of the Territory of Hawaii have been numerous and significant, he is most widely known as a creator of land where no land existed before,” the magazine said. “Over the 57-year span of his company’s dredging and building operations, almost 5,000 acres of now extremely valuable land have been added to the coastline of the Island of Oahu alone.” Dillingham died in 1963 at the age of 88, but the company he founded lives on. Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. ranked 15th on Hawaii Business Magazine’s 2024 Top 250, the annual ranking of the biggest companies in the Islands. It is the largest construction company on the list.
“AIRLINES ADD NEW PLANES” ALOHA AIRLINES PLACED ITS NEW ROLLS-ROYCE-POWERED FAIRCHILD PROPJET F-27S IN SCHEDULED SERVICE DURING THE SUMMER OF 1959. “The sleek, 44-passenger aircraft are not only pressurized but air conditioned both on the ground and in flight,” the magazine reported. Meanwhile, United Airlines started using Douglas DC-8 aircraft between Hawai‘i and the West Coast later that year. JULY
“OVER 700 MILES OF WIRE USED FOR ALA MOANA CENTER TELEPHONES” SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. WAS SLATED TO OPEN AUG. 13, 1959, at the center, with the official grand opening scheduled for October. Hawaiian Telephone was installing 526 telephones at the center; in comparison, the entire Kona district had only 541 phones. Additionally, the telephone company estimated it would install more than 10,000 telephones in 1959 throughout the Islands.
THE TRUSTEES OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES CAMPBELL INITIATED DEVELOPMENT STUDIES FOR O‘AHU’S HONOULIULI DISTRICT IN 1954, AND PLANNING AND WORK WERE WELL ADVANCED BY 1959. These lands west of the Barbers Point Naval Station were considered well suited for industrial development: a dry climate, winds that would blow smoke out to sea and an excellent foundation on flat land that could support heavy buildings. One disadvantage, inadequate utilities, was gradually being overcome. Two nearby residential areas were to be built – one on One‘ula beach (the community now called ‘Ewa Beach) and the other mauka (Makakilo). AUGUST
“HAWAII STATE FERRY SYSTEM” JOHN HULTEN, WHO WENT ON TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE SENATE, was the foremost proponent of a state-owned interisland ferry system. He called it a practical, not-too-costly system of surface transportation that would spur the local economy and help integrate the state. He died in 2002, five years before the privately owned Hawaii Superferry first launched service between Honolulu Harbor and Kahului and Nāwiliwili harbors. But that’s the closest Hawai‘i came to Hulten’s vision. Superferry operations were suspended in March 2009 after an adverse Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling and never resumed. OCTOBER
“HAWAII’S NEW CAPITOL” JOHN HAMILTON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, explained the process of selecting a new Capitol site in Honolulu. The location was defined in a bill passed by the Territorial Legislature as bounded by Hotel, Richards, Beretania and Punchbowl streets. The “Civic Center” site was part of 52.8 acres of stateowned land that extended to the waterfront. The article pointed out that the “front door” to Honolulu was once the waterfront, but now that 4 out of 5 visitors arrived by air, “the front door is no longer the waterfront.” H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 47
BY A NN AUMA N
HEADLINES, HIGHLIGHTS AND INTERESTING TIDBITS FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF THE TURBULENT SEVENTIES IN HAWAI‘I
1970
A YEAR OF FIRSTS AND G R OW I NG T R E ND S
I
N 1970, THE PRICE OF PARADISE WAS ALREADY TOO HIGH.
As reported in the February issue of Hawaii Business Magazine that year, the U.S. Labor Department said a family of four in Honolulu needed to earn $8,168 a year for a “minimum” standard of living. A moderate lifestyle would cost $12,064 and the family would need to make $17,823 for an upper income way of life. If you think $8,168 a year in family income is no big deal, consider that in 1970, the per capita income in Hawai‘i was just $4,599. Rising gas prices were one big squeeze on residents’ budgets and would get worse: The price of a gallon of regular gasoline increased fourfold from 1968 to 1981, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those rising gas prices were one factor behind a big story on changing car buying habits in the January 1970 issue of Hawaii Business. Here are some extracts from 1970, when the statewide population hit 768,561. JANUARY
“JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS LEAD IN FOREIGN CAR SALES” IN 1969, TOYOTA AND DATSUN OVERTOOK VOLKSWAGEN IN SALES IN THE ISLANDS; Hondas appeared on the
local market and Mazdas would arrive in March 1970. People in Hawai‘i, beleaguered by increasingly crowded highways and high gasoline prices, liked the economical and fuel-efficient Japanese cars, Hawaii Business reported. The magazine skewered the then-conventional wisdom: “Contrary to popular notion, the success of the Japanese automakers in Hawaii is not traceable to the large segment of Hawaii’s population that is of Japanese extraction. “The dealers report that sales have been broadly based across all ethnic lines. Hawaii if anything has 48 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
avoided a Japanese orientation. Advertising has stressed American styling, cost, safety and economy, and Caucasian models have been used in all commercials.” Nonetheless, Ford and Chevrolet were still Nos. 1 and 2 in the local market, with Toyota third and Dodge fourth.
INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH ISSUES • CONVENTIONS IN 1969 ATTRACTED 90,000 DELEGATES, up 25% from 1968’s record 72,000. • HAWAIIAN AIRLINES added three bilingual people to its staff to help with a growing number of Japanese customers. • THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES has designated 22 sites in Hawai‘i as places of historic interest. (There are now 375.) • KILAUEA SUGAR CO. on Kaua‘i, owned by C. Brewer, said it would close in January 1971 after 94 years because it had become unprofitable. C. Brewer planned to plant some 2,500 acres of macadamia nut trees instead. • HUTCHINSON SUGAR in Ka‘ū on the Big Island curtailed its dumping of factory waste materials into the ocean to meet state water standards. Instead, the materials would be used as landfill. • RESORT DEVELOPERS and others in construction work brought in archaeologists for the first time to protect and restore Hawaiian artifacts, heiau and village sites. At Mākaha, developers rerouted golf courses around the sites and planned to include them as tourist attractions. Some at the state Legislature wanted to make such archaeological surveys a requirement before land could be developed. • MAUI WAS TO GET A 500-ROOM HOTEL: The Maui Surf was to be built at the southern point of Ka‘anapali. Meanwhile, ground was broken
PHOTOS: HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
on the 350-room Hilo Hawaiian hotel, and the 360-room Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikīkī was formally opened as Japanese tourism continued to increase. • A LOUISIANA FIRM BOUGHT 3,000 ACRES OF BISHOP ESTATE LAND IN KA‘Ū. The company planned to develop a resort on oceanfront land along Ka‘alu‘alu Bay. (However, no resort was ever built.)
MARCH
“THE CHANGING CHARACTER OF DOWNTOWN HONOLULU” THE PACE OF CONSTRUCTION WAS STARTING TO SOFTEN IN 1970, but projects moving ahead included
the 20-story first tower of the Amfac Center at the foot of Bishop Street (now one of two towers of the Topa Financial Center), Hawaiian Telephone’s 17-story building at the other end of the street, and the 14-story Bishop Trust Building at Bishop and King streets (now the Cades Schutte Building). Two more buildings, the Davies Pacific Center and Amfac’s second tower, were being planned.
Credit went to a task force set up by Gov. John Burns three years earlier. The task force set the guidelines for construction and a consultant, Ralph M. Parsons Co., was largely credited for getting the job done in a tight time frame.
HAWAI‘I PAVILION AT EXPO ’70 HAWAI‘I HAD A PAVILION AT THE FIRST WORLD EXPO IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, HELD IN OSAKA. It was shaped like a volcano, and the theme centered on Hawai‘i as the hub of the Pacific. The state allocated $800,000 for the exhibit. But a follow-up story in the June issue reported that mounting criticism led organizers to revise the pavilion to emphasize its most successful feature: the entertainers. The original idea – to show Hawai‘i as a meeting place in the Pacific – failed to resonate with visitors.
HOTELS UNDER CONSTRUCTION THE KUILIMA RESORT HOTEL IN KAHUKU (now the Turtle Bay Resort) and its 18-hole golf course, under construction in 1970, eventually opened in May 1972. And with Hawai‘i Island headed for another record year in construction, work would begin on the $14 million, 31,000-acre Waikoloa resort. A resort was also being planned for Moloka‘i at Pūko‘o.
“HONOLULU’S FASTEST GROWING BUSINESS”
“HONOLULU GREETS THE JUMBO JET” HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WELCOMED ITS FIRST REGULARLY SCHEDULE JUMBO JET FLIGHT ON MARCH 3, at the new Diamond Head Gull Wing Terminal. At the time, Hawaii Business reported, it was the first facility in the world designed specifically for jumbo jets and ready for action.
MOVIE HOUSES ALONG HOTEL STREET THAT FEATURED SEX FILMS WERE MULTIPLYING while the issue of whether the films were pornography was being debated in the courts. In 1970, there were 10 adult film houses on Hotel Street or close by. Another was planned for River Street and one more on Nu‘uanu Avenue.
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 49
“MILITARY POPULATION HIGHEST SINCE 1965”
“LANAI MAKES A BID FOR TOURISTS”
AS OF APRIL 1, 1970, 117,943 MILITARY MEMBERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS WERE IN HAWAI‘I. (By 2022, that had shrunk to 100,000, according to the state’s Hawaii Defense Economy website.) Meanwhile, plans for rebuilding the Army’s resort center at Fort DeRussy called for a modern high-rise complex – the Hale Koa Hotel – on the last remaining property on Waikīkī Beach without a high-rise. The complex eventually opened in 1975.
THE NEW OPERATORS OF THE LANAI LODGE (later named the Hotel Lanai) hoped to attract visitors looking for an escape to a quieter place. To that end, it featured outdoor activities; for example, visitors could now take four-wheel-drive vehicles up Lāna‘ihale or down to Shipwreck Beach. Back in 1970, Lāna‘i was chiefly thought of as the Dole Co.’s private plantation island and had no other hotels. The lodge’s new owners, Webb Beggs of Maui and Lāna‘i’s Dr. Edwin Willett, the community’s only physician for many years, hoped to attract visitors and pay off their investment. The lodge had been remodeled and a bar and regular meals added, and vehicles were made available to guests.
THIS AND THAT • THE HAWAIIAN MISSION HOUSES MUSEUM got $275,000 to remodel; its goal was to become a popular visitor attraction.
NOVEMBER
“DR. FUJIO ‘FUDGE’ MATSUDA, PRIME MOVER IN THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT”
• C&H MADE THE FIRST DELIVERY OF ITS LIQUID SUGAR to be used by bakeries and soft-drink makers. • FOR YEARS, THE MAUI LU WAS THE ONLY HOTEL IN KĪHEI. In 1970, two resort condominiums were being built there and Alexander & Baldwin was working toward developing its resort at nearby Wailea. • HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. made a $13,000 research grant to UH to determine the feasibility of electric cars in the state. An important phase of the study was to find ways to extend the 100-mile range of such cars.
SEPTEMBER
“E.A. ATTEBURY: THE MAN WHO’S MAKING FASHION PROFITABLE AT AMFAC” UNDER E.A. ATTEBURY’S LEADERSHIP, AMFAC’S LIBERTY HOUSE HAD BECOME ONE OF THE NATION’S MOST PROFITABLE DEPARTMENT STORE CHAINS. The company acquired Rhodes stores and was establishing Liberty House as a major fashion retailer in the San Francisco Bay area. The Ala Moana location had the strongest retail sales and was a huge success.
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A PROFESSOR TURNED ADMINISTRATOR, FUJIO MATSUDA RAN THE STATE DEPARTMENT WITH THE LARGEST BUDGET — Transportation. The department would spend nearly $182 million in fiscal year 1971 for airports, highways and harbors. The budget was larger than those of all but the four biggest companies in the state. Hawaii Business Magazine reported that Hawai‘i had become a national leader in the development of its own international airport. The state highway system was also moving forward after lagging other states. Matsuda unified the Transportation Department by getting employees to see all modes of transportation – surface, air and water – as part of one big system. When he accepted the job, Matsuda took a two-year leave of absence from UH, but he ended up staying eight years. DECEMBER
“AN IDENTITY OF ITS OWN FOR UH AT HILO” THE PEOPLE OF THE BIG ISLAND got what they wanted in 1969: a four-year university. In September 1970, the Hilo Technical School was transferred to UH and became Hawai‘i Community College.
BY ST E V E P E T R A N I K
Deaths, Taxes and Other Fascinating Facts About Hawai‘i, Then and Now THE ANNUAL STATE DATA BOOK IS A LOCAL TREASURE: THE NUMBERS INSIDE TELL US MUCH ABOUT WHERE HAWAI‘I AND ITS PEOPLE ARE NOW AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
Here are just a few of the things I found interesting and revealing in the Data Books, which are all online beginning with the 1967 edition, and other sources.
POPULATION
• After the Japanese attack on military bases around O‘ahu on Dec. 7, 1941, Hawai‘i became America’s headquarters for the war in the Pacific. In 1944, the territory’s military population peaked at 406,811, almost as much as the civilian population of 452,134. That year’s combined population would not be surpassed until 1974. • With the exception of one year (1999), Hawai‘i’s civilian population grew every year from 1953 to 2018. But the civilian population shrank by several thousand in five of the six years since. • The biggest reason for those decades of local population growth: Births far outpaced deaths. For instance, in 1958, there were more than five births for every death in Hawai‘i. But the ratio slowly fell and in 2023, there were 1,903 births and 1,872 deaths. The resulting ratio of 1.02-to-1.00 is the lowest recorded.
GOVERNMENT
• In 1960, the year after Hawai‘i became a state, tax collections by the state and counties totaled $155.1 million. The population in the Islands that year was 641,500, so the per capita tax was $241.78. Using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI inflation calculator, that would be equivalent to $2,229.95 in July 2021 dollars. • In 2021, the last year for which I could find combined numbers, state and county tax collections totaled $11.22 billion. Based on the state population that year, the per capita tax was $7,758.49. • Interestingly, the proportionate size of the overall government workforce in Hawai‘i was essentially the same in those two years: 22.01% of the state’s civilian labor force in 1960 and 22.67% in 2021.
TOURISM
• Japanese visitors used to outspend U.S. mainlanders almost 3 to 1. For example, in 1974, the first year for which the Data Book provides numbers, the average Japanese tourist spent $123 a day in Hawai‘i and the average mainlander spent $46. Today, there is little difference between the two groups, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. In the first half of 2024, the average Japanese visitor spent $239 per day. In the same period, visitors from the U.S. East spent more – $267 on average per day – and U.S. West visitors spent a little less, $233.
• In 1960, the Employees’ Retirement System for state and county workers had 24,092 members and 1,971 pensioners and beneficiaries – for a ratio of more than 12-to-1. Last year, there were 73,240 members and 54,973 pensioners and beneficiaries – a ratio of 1.33-to-1.
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 51
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TODAY, THEY ARE MOSTLY GONE. BUT FROM THE OVERTHROW OF THE HAWAIIAN MONARCHY IN 1893 TO THE 1950S, HAWAI‘I’S ECONOMY, SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT WERE DOMINATED BY AN OLIGARCHY OF COMPANIES KNOWN AS THE BIG FIVE.
The five – C. Brewer & Co. (founded 1826), Theo H. Davies & Co. (1845), H. Hackfeld & Co. (1849, later named Amfac), Castle & Cooke (1851) and Alexander & Baldwin (1870) – were connected by family ties and common interests. “The Big Five’s power came about as sugar plantations became a more dominant part of the economy, and labor recruitment followed,” says social and cultural historian John Rosa, a professor at UH Mānoa. “Many aspects of life were Big Five-related, all the way up until the mid-20th century.” Hawaii Business Magazine launched in 1955 as the Big Five’s influence began to give way to a tsunami of economic and social change. One by one over the next six decades, all of their sugar plantations were shut down, their fields turned to other uses or laid fallow. Three of the Big Five companies have disappeared altogether, but two have evolved into modern real estate and residential development companies: Alexander & Baldwin and Castle & Cooke. Signs of the Big Five endure in street names and historical markers, and more significantly, in the multiethnic society its members shaped. By importing plantation labor from the Philippines, Japan, China, Portugal and other nations, they changed the Islands forever. Today, water for golf courses, resorts, and residential and commercial areas often comes from irrigation infrastructure they created to grow sugar. 54 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
And Hawai‘i’s two largest banks, First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawai‘i, descended from institutions established in the Big Five era. “Friends who have just moved to Hawai‘i are often shocked that we don’t have continental-based national banks,” Rosa says. In the Big Five era, the Republican Party dominated the territorial government and Big Five officers and investors often served in important posts, including as governor. With the power of the Big Five behind it, the party shaped government regulations in favor of its business interests, Rosa says. But beginning in the 1950s and especially after statehood in 1959, the Democratic Party gained increasing power within state government and eventually established a dominance that continues to this day.
SUGAR HIGH
All established between 1826 and 1870, the Big Five started by facilitating trade and shipping between Hawai‘i and China, North America and Europe. Its members rose to power in the years leading up to the sugar boom of the 19th century as “factors” or agents connecting plantation owners with the supplies and financing needed to run their businesses. They invested in Matson Navigation Co. in the 1910s, which gave them control over transportation to and from the Islands for decades to come. While generally described as owned and run by missionary descendants, only Alexander & Baldwin can claim this directly: Founders Samuel Thomas Alexander and Henry Perrine Baldwin, who met and grew up together in Lahaina, were sons of early missionaries. Castle & Cooke co-founder Samuel Northrup Castle came to Hawai‘i on a ship that also carried mis-
sionaries and was assigned to the “depository,” a combination store, warehouse and bank through which missionaries pooled their resources, purchased supplies, negotiated shipments, and distributed and collected payments for goods. Amos Starr Cooke was a teacher with accounting expertise. Three of the five companies were based locally but owned by merchants foreign to pre-annexation Hawai‘i: C. Brewer’s founder, James Hunnewell, was a sailor and ship’s captain from Boston; Theo H. Davies was from Britain; and Heinrich Hackfeld was from Germany. H. Hackfeld & Co. became American Factors – later shortened to Amfac – after Germany’s defeat in World War I, when the U.S. government seized the company and ordered the sale of its shares. The largest buyers of the newly formed, patriotic sounding company American Factors included Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., Castle & Cooke and Matson, according to Moon-Kie Jung in “Reworking Race: The Making of Hawaii’s Interracial Labor Movement.” The Big Five first flourished during the U.S. Civil War, when the North lost its supply of sugar from Louisiana, and Hawai‘i filled the void. In 1875, the U.S. and Hawaiian Kingdom signed the Reciprocity Treaty, eliminating U.S. tariffs on sugar and shielding Hawai‘i’s sugar planters from competition in the world market. Collectively, their power grew as increased global demand pressured independent plantation owners to keep expanding. In the book “Sovereign Sugar,” anthropologist and social scientist Carol MacLennan wrote that independent plantation owners became more dependent on credit provided by agents for the Big Five companies. Agents then began to require assurances of sound management practices before extending credit for major purchases, increasingly inserting themselves into day-to-
THE HACKFELD BUILDING, LEFT, LATER RENAMED THE AMFAC BUILDING, WAS FINISHED IN 1902 AT THE CORNER OF QUEEN AND FORT STREETS, NEAR THE HARBOR IN HONOLULU. THE STONE BUILDING WAS REMOVED IN 1969 TO MAKE WAY FOR AN OFFICE TOWER.
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
THEO H. DAVIES, FROM WALES, TOOK OVER AND EXPANDED A GENERAL MERCHANDISE COMPANY STARTED IN 1845 AND RENAMED THEO H. DAVIES & CO.
day operational decisions. Some took debt payments in the form of ownership shares in plantation companies. MacLennan reported that by 1920, the Big Five controlled 94% of the sugar crop produced in the Islands. During the Great Depression, Rosa says, “Sugar prices dropped and sugar plantations themselves had difficulty” with their credit, which benefited the five companies. “Gradually, they came to own plantations themselves,” he says. The Big Five consolidated power through interlocking directorates, investing in and controlling industries such as shipping, banking, wholesale and retail. Rosa unearthed these relationships in the course of writing his book, “Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History.” Rosa says that as a result of that notorious case in the early 1930s, the U.S. government sent a federal investigative team to the Territory of Hawai‘i.
“The investigative team looked at the status of the economy and charted who’s in charge. It showed the Big Five firms and how their board of directors were interrelated.” Rosa says the density of the spiderweb-like chart of interrelationships in the investigative report shocked even his mother, who had spent her career working in local banks.
TIDES TURN
Becoming a U.S. territory in 1898 cemented Hawai‘i’s ties with its biggest sugar market. But it also diminished the Big Five’s power over labor and politics. As Rosa wrote in “Local Story”: “First, Hawai‘i was now subject to the same restrictions against immigration from Asia. Second, annexation brought universal male suffrage for those over age 21, and after 1920 these voting rights were extended to women as well.”
The Big Five’s economic power further eroded in the mid-20th century as sugar’s profitability declined and tourism and military spending began to drive more of Hawai‘i’s economy. According to Rosa: “The thing that really changed a lot of Hawai‘i was World War II. Hawai‘i was well known as a stopping point on the way to Asia, but after Pearl Harbor was attacked, there was a realization of Hawai‘i’s importance” in geopolitics. Along with military spending, Hawai‘i’s land values began to spike as the introduction of passenger jets launched a tourism boom in the 1960s. And when trade liberalization policies ended U.S. tariff and quota protections against Hawai‘i’s overseas sugar competitors, hotels and homes became more profitable. In its heyday, the Big Five also wielded industry influence through the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association. H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 55
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
AT RIGHT, THE DOWNTOWN HONOLULU HEADQUARTERS OF ALEXANDER & BALDWIN WAS BUILT IN 1929 AND REMAINS TODAY ON BISHOP STREET, BETWEEN QUEEN AND MERCHANT STREETS. THE COMPANY STARTED IN 1870 AND IS ONE OF TWO BIG FIVE COMPANIES STILL IN EXISTENCE. ON THIS PAGE, THE BIG FIVE FLOURISHED DURING THE U.S. CIVIL WAR, WHEN THE NORTH LOST ITS SUGAR SUPPLY FROM LOUISIANA AND HAWAI‘I FILLED THE VOID. BY 1920, THE BIG FIVE CONTROLLED 94% OF THE SUGAR CROP PRODUCED IN THE ISLANDS.
INSET PHOTO: COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“That organization helped to fund scientific research on crop management and pest prevention, but also shared information on how to manage workers and how to keep wages low and stable,” Rosa says. Labor unions became more effective in securing workers’ rights in the decades following the 1920s’ Dual Strikes coordinated by Japanese and Filipino laborers. Asian American veterans of World War II, educated on the GI Bill, became increasingly involved in politics. The veterans and union members – many were both – united within the territo56 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
rial Democratic Party. In 1954, Democrats elected a majority of the territorial Legislature and the delegate to Congress. Growing scrutiny by the U.S. government over monopolistic practices spelled the end of the Big Five’s dominance in the latter half of the 20th century. In 1964, the Department of Justice sued to challenge the majority ownership of Matson Navigation by four of the Big Five. At the time, A&B, Amfac, C. Brewer and Castle & Cooke together owned nearly three-quarters of Matson, which carried 80% of all cargo shipped between the mainland and
Hawai‘i. The lawsuit was settled under a consent decree that barred the four companies from sharing officers, executives and directors. After that, A&B bought out the other three firms for $22 million, acquiring 94% of Matson. By 1989, the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism declared the death of sugar as an economic driver for the state, reversing decades of support for the industry. The state’s last sugar plantation closed in 2016 but by then, the Big Five era had long since passed.
CASTLE & COOKE CO-FOUNDER SAMUEL NORTHRUP CASTLE ARRIVED IN HAWAI‘I IN 1837 AND WAS ASSIGNED TO THE “DEPOSITORY,” A COMBINATION STORE, WAREHOUSE AND BANK. CASTLE & COOKE, FOUNDED IN 1851, STILL EXISTS. ON OPPOSITE PAGE, A STOCK CERTIFICATE FROM C. BREWER & CO., WHICH WAS FOUNDED IN 1826 BY JAMES HUNNEWELL, A SHIP’S CAPTAIN FROM BOSTON.
ALEXANDER & BALDWIN COFOUNDER HENRY PERRINE BALDWIN IS SHOWN SEATED WITH HIS FAMILY.
H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 57
2024
CEO YE AR OF THE
Christine Camp
“Christine, your visionary leadership in developing homes and transforming communities has made a profound impact on Hawai‘i’s future. We’re proud to share this journey and honor your outstanding achievement.” —JASON FUJIMOTO, CHAIRMAN & CEO, HPM BUILDING SUPPLY
“Christine Camp’s leadership, service and impact on Hawai‘i’s communities is an example for all of us. On behalf of the ProService team, I extend heartfelt congratulations to Christine on this well-deserved recognition as CEO of the Year. Mahalo for inspiring us all to dream big and build a stronger Hawai‘i together.” — DAVID HIJIRIDA , PRESIDENT, PROSERVICE HAWAII
The CEO of the Year Celebration Breakfast and Panel Discussion, held on December 4 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, was a morning of inspiration and recognition. The event celebrated Christine Camp, 2024’s CEO of the Year, highlighting her remarkable achievements in real estate and community impact. Attendees were treated to an insightful panel discussion and an opportunity to learn more about Christine’s journey and leadership. The event served as a powerful reminder of the importance of resilience, vision and service in shaping Hawai‘i’s future.
M AHALO TO OUR SPONSORS CO-PRE SE N TI N G SP O N SO R S
Congratulations, Christine, on this well-deserved recognition! Your leadership not only shapes skylines, but fortifies the foundations of community and opportunity in Hawai‘i. At Office Pavilion, we’re proud to share Christine’s passion for creating spaces that matter—places where people can thrive, connect and grow. Her inspirational journey from modest beginnings to leading Avalon are proof that big ideas paired with heart can truly change lives. For nearly 40 years, we have been dedicated to Creating the Best Places to Work, Serve, Learn and Heal – and as we look forward, we are committed to building a brighter, more sustainable future for Hawai‘i together. —WENDY SHEWALTER , PRESIDENT CEO, OFFICE PAVILION
“Congratulations to Christine Camp of Avalon Group for the prestigious recognition as the 2024 CEO of the Year. Christine has dedicated her career to building and shaping Hawai‘i through development projects across the state – largely building and developing much-needed housing for our residents. Lung Rose Voss & Wagnild is honored to have worked with Christine to help solve one of the largest issues our state faces and look forward to our continued partnership.” — CR AIG P. WAGNILD, PARTNER , LUNG ROSE VOSS & WAGNILD
B RE A K FA ST SP O N SO R
S U PP O RTI N G SP O N SO R S
The passion and vision Christine Camp and the panelists shared for revitalizing downtown Honolulu and Chinatown were truly invigorating. Our company has been a part of this community for more than 65 years and I left the event feeling optimistic and excited about the future of DOHO over the next decade under their stewardship. — NATHAN K AM , SENIOR PARTNER , ANTHOLOGY FINN PARTNERS
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H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 59
BY NO ELLE FU JI I -O RI DE THIS STORY, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY HAWAII BUSINESS MAGAZINE IN NOVEMBER 2015, HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT CURRENT TIMELINES.
Hawai‘i’s 10 Oldest Organizations Started 175 Years Ago or More HAWAI‘I’S OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED COMPANIES, NONPROFITS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS INCLUDE MANY FAMILIAR NAMES AND A FEW LESSER-KNOWN ONES. HERE ARE 10 ENDURING RANCHES, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, EACH WITH HISTORIES THAT STRETCH BACK AT LEAST 175 YEARS. MOKUAIKAUA CHURCH
Mokuaikaua Church: This church in Kailua-Kona is the oldest Christian church in the state, though it did not officially incorporate until long after its founding, according to an interview with church historian Yolanda Olson in 2015. And based on its founding in 1820, it could be considered Hawai‘i’s oldest continuously operated organization. Before the first group of missionaries arrived from Boston in 1820, Kamehameha II had lifted 60 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
the kapu on men and women eating together, overturned the traditional religion and ordered all temples to be destroyed, leaving a void that would later be filled by the missionaries and Christianity. The Hawaiians “were ready for it because it gave them a chance to learn, to read and write,” Olson said. She said the church was officially founded on April 4, 1820. Church members first worshipped in a canoe shed, then a grass hale church that seated about 300. When the group outgrew that building, another grass church was built. Olson says that building was destroyed by fire and, in 1836, construction of a lava-rock church began. John Adams Kuakini, then-governor of Hawai‘i Island, financed the construction, and the building was completed in 1837. It remains today.
MOKUAIKAUA CHURCH IN KAILUA-KONA WAS FOUNDED IN 1820, MAKING IT HAWAI‘I’S OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED ORGANIZATION. THE LAVA-ROCK BUILDING PICTURED HERE WAS COMPLETED IN 1837.
KAWAIAHA‘O CHURCH
Some of the missionaries who first landed on Hawai‘i Island continued on to O‘ahu and established Kawaiaha‘o Church, the oldest church on the island, said the Rev. Curtis Kekuna in an interview in 2015. The church was founded in April 1820, but the exact date is unclear. According to “The Stone Church at Kawaiahao,” a book published by the church’s trustees in 1945, the O‘ahu missionaries and their followers held their first service on April 19,
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE HELD THEIR FIRST O‘AHU SERVICE ON APRIL 19, 1820. SEVERAL THATCHED CHURCHES WERE CONSTRUCTED BEFORE KAWAIAHA‘O CHURCH’S CURRENT STONE BUILDING, SHOWN HERE, WAS COMPLETED IN 1842.
1820, just 15 days after Mokuaikaua’s founding on Hawai‘i Island. On April 23, another Christian service was held there for ships’ officers and sailors, Hawaiian chiefs and commoners, and other residents. The first building was erected in 1821 near the current stone church and was thatched with grass, lined with mats, and furnished with glass windows and seating for 300. Over time, the church grew in both size and members. Kekuna called it Hawai‘i’s first megachurch. After going through several thatched churches, construction of the current stone church began in 1838. A dedication for the completed building was held in 1842 and Kekuna guessed the name “Kawaiaha‘o” was officially used around that time. “Ka wai” means “the fresh water” and “Ha‘o” is the name of a princess. The freshwater aquifer located outside the church belonged to Ha‘o and tradition has it that she bathed there.
HAILI CHURCH
Pastor Brian Welsh said in a 2015 interview that Haili is the oldest church in Hilo, with its first building dedicated in May 1824. “When the original group of missionaries came, there had been a request to share with other parts of the island,” Welsh said. “And so, in 1823, there was an actual expedition around the island, partly by canoe and partly by walking. And they identified that Hilo was the largest major population center already and had the best deep-water bay and port availability, and people thought this would be a good central hub for the entire eastern side: Hāmākua, Puna, Ka‘ū, everything.” Though the church was originally referred to as the Waiakea Mission Station, Welsh said, its current name came from a nearby forest: “It became known as the
Haili Church because the wood came from Haili Kulamanu forest, so that’s Hawaiian culture and tradition.” The church’s first four buildings were thatched pavilions. Its current wooden building was dedicated in 1859. More than a century later, a fire in July 1979 damaged the building and no services were held there for many months, Welsh said. However, the church’s Christian school, which was started in 1978, continued functioning in other churchowned structures. “We’re one of the first Christian churches on the Hilo side and we’ve remained, from then all the way until now, because of these different generations,” church member Kelcey Bufil said. “I think that’s the most interesting thing: that we’re able to remain all these years through all the different generations and continuously operate.” H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 61
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
HAILI CHURCH STARTED IN 1824 AS A THATCHED PAVILION IN HILO, AFTER A MISSIONARY-LED EXPEDITION SELECTED THE SITE AS THE BEST HUB FOR THE EASTERN SIDE OF HAWAI‘I ISLAND. THE WOODEN STRUCTURE WAS BUILT IN 1859.
The school became a public technical high school under the territorial Department of Education in 1923 and today is known as Lahainaluna High School. The school still operates its boarding program, which was first established in 1836. Part of that program includes a chorus in which boarders learn the culture and values of Hawai‘i through song and dance. The Hawaiiana Club is the equivalent for day students. Gomez-Karinen said the two groups perform at the school’s annual David Malo Day to give back to the Lahaina community and to show their appreciation for what they’ve learned.
PUNAHOU SCHOOL
LAHAINALUNA SCHOOL
Lahainaluna, which survived the 2023 wildfires, considers itself the oldest school west of the Rocky Mountains based on its founding in 1831 on the West Maui slopes above Lahaina town. It was founded by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, and back then it was known as Lahainaluna Seminary, Lori Gomez-Karinen, an alumna and retired curriculum coordinator, said in 2015. The school opened its doors on Sept. 5, 1831, with 25 male students under the direction of the Rev. Lorrin Andrews. 62 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
“The ali‘i at that time here in this ahupua‘a and the missionaries both decided they had to have education for the people. Toward that goal, they set up a school” and the students trained to be teachers, said Gomez-Karinen. The history section of the school’s website says the first newspaper west of the Rockies, Ka Lama, was printed in Hawaiian at Lahainaluna on Feb. 14, 1834. Until 1877, Hawaiian was the only language of instruction. Gomez-Karinen says it was the missionaries who taught the students everything, in Hawaiian, from geometry to geography to social studies.
Punahou can be considered Hawai‘i’s oldest continuously operated formal organization based on the date it received its first charter of incorporation, according to the state archives’ Articles of Incorporation. While its roots extend back to 1841, the nonprofit’s first charter of incorporation was issued on June 6, 1849, and its second on May 23, 1853. It was originally called Punahou School and went through several name changes – it was called Oahu College for 81 years – before settling back on Punahou School in 1934. The school sits on land called Ka Punahou, which was donated by then-O‘ahu Gov. Boki and his wife, Liliha. James K. Scott, president of Punahou back in 2015, said then the gift of land from Hawaiian ali‘i was critical to the school’s establishment. “Its early days were dependent upon the American Board of Missions and the personal generosity and hard work of the missionaries in Hawai‘i, and the school remained very small,” he said.
PUNAHOU SCHOOL CAN BE CONSIDERED HAWAI‘I’S OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED FORMAL ORGANIZATION, BASED ON THE DATE IT RECEIVED ITS FIRST CHARTER OF INCORPORATION: JUNE 6, 1849. SHOWN HERE IS THE ORIGINAL BINGHAM HALL, BUILT IN 1883.
O‘AHU CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
Hawai‘i’s first cemetery not associated with a church has been around since 1844, when it was named Nu‘uanu Cemetery, according to its president, Scott Power, in a 2015 interview. Back then, the main cemetery for burials was at Kawaiaha‘o Church, which was only open to its members. “So if you were a seaman or died aboard a ship and came to land, or you were sick or in the hospital here, but weren’t a member of that church, there wasn’t a place that you could be buried. … So, a group got together to form the cemetery that would accept people of all faiths.” The cemetery began with 4.5 acres in Nu‘uanu Valley and expanded as demand increased and adjoining land became available. One of the biggest challenges, Power said, was making sure the property’s finances were
managed well over the years. Around 1859, when the name O‘ahu Cemetery Association was adopted, board members solicited subscriptions. “They got various people to actually commit to buying plots in the cemetery so they could raise enough money to operate,” Power said. Today, the cemetery continues to offer funerals and cremations, but there are no more burials. Its 18 acres are the final resting place of many well-known people, including Alexander Cartwright, the father of modern baseball; Lorrin A. Thurston, leader of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy; and numerous Hawai‘i governors and O‘ahu mayors.
PARKER RANCH
In 1847, John Parker founded Parker Ranch in Waimea, Nahua Guilloz, corporate secretary and senior man-
ager of the ranch, said in 2015. Parker had arrived in Kailua-Kona in 1810 and befriended King Kamehameha I, who hired him to shoot the wild cattle roaming the land. “After a while of doing that, he thought, ‘I could get a place in Mana’ – back then, that’s where all the wild cattle were – ‘and start domesticating a few, little by little,’ for his personal use,” Guilloz said. He purchased 2 acres at Mana in 1847 and, three years later, purchased 640 more acres. The next year, he purchased another 1,000. The ranch remained in the family until Richard Smart, the final heir to the ranch, died in 1992. After that, the bulk of the estate went to the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust, which continues to operate the ranch and donate proceeds to local charities. Today, the ranch has about 130,000 acres, of which 28,000 are leased from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the state and other landowners. Guilloz said H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 63
PHOTOS: COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE ARCHIVES
IN 1847, JOHN PARKER FOUNDED PARKER RANCH IN WAIMEA ON HAWAI‘I ISLAND, STARTING WITH JUST 2 ACRES OF LAND. THE RANCH REMAINED IN THE FAMILY UNTIL RICHARD SMART, THE FINAL HEIR TO THE RANCH, DIED IN 1992.
the ranch’s endurance is impressive. “When you look at the changing of the hands, all of the different owners, all of the different family members, and the ranch is still here today and we’re still operating and still impacting our community.” - NE‘OHE KA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
This church in Windward O‘ahu is Hawai‘i’s second-oldest continuously operated organization, based on date of incorporation. It received its charter of incorporation on Nov. 19, 1849, Sunday Bible School superintendent and church board member Jean Kanoho said in a 2015 interview. The church was founded in 1834 by the Rev. Benjamin Wyman Parker, and worshippers first gathered in a grass hut. Throughout its history, the church has had more than 30 ministers and numerous names, such as Kaneohe Protestant Church, Lanakila Church, Kaneohe Hawaiian Church and its current full 64 | FE B R UA RY 2 0 2 5
name, Kāne‘ohe Congregational Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Despite struggling at times with maintaining attendance, its doors have never closed, Kanoho said. KAANAPALI LAND MANAGEMENT CORP. (AMFAC)
In 1849, a German immigrant named Heinrich Hackfeld and his brotherin-law, J. C. Pflueger, opened a dry goods store in Honolulu called H. Hackfeld and Co. That single store grew into American Factors, and later Amfac, the biggest of Hawai‘i’s Big Five sugar plantation companies; at its peak, it controlled 60,000 acres across Hawai‘i. It also owned the Liberty House department stores. Janis Yee, VP of the legacy company Kaanapali Land Management Corp., said the company incorporated as American Factors Ltd. in 1916. “Amfac,” originally an abbreviated nickname, became the company’s official name in 1966. During the 1970s and 1980s, the company engaged in resort
operations, sugar plantations, the distribution of electrical and plumbing supplies, property development and investment, and food operations, both in and outside of Hawai‘i. In 1988, Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp. bought Amfac and its subsidiaries, with the main successor operating as Amfac/JMB Hawaii Inc. According to Yee, the company filed for bankruptcy in February 2002, reorganized its assets and came out of bankruptcy that November. Amfac later went through numerous mergers and the resulting company was named Kaanapali Land LLC. Kaanapali Land Management Corp. is the current operating subsidiary of Kaanapali Land and its main asset is land in West Maui.
KUALOA RANCH
The ranch’s president, John Morgan, said in 2015 that his great-greatgreat-grandfather, Dr. Gerrit Judd, purchased 622 acres of land – the
OTHER LONGTIME ORGANIZATIONS YEAR*
KUALOA RANCH ON O‘AHU’S WINDWARD COAST CAN TRACE ITS ROOTS TO THE 1850 PURCHASE OF 622 ACRES OF LAND FROM KAMEHAMEHA III. THE PURCHASE WAS MADE BY CURRENT RANCH PRESIDENT JOHN MORGAN’S GREAT-GREATGREAT-GRANDFATHER, DR. GERRIT JUDD.
entire ahupua‘a of Kualoa – from Kamehameha III in 1850. Over time, Judd’s son, Charles Judd, purchased additional acreage in the ahupua‘a of Ka‘a‘awa and Hakipu‘u. Through the years, the owners grew a variety of crops, including peanuts, macadamia nuts, pineapples and sugar. The Kualoa Sugar Mill ran from 1863 to 1870, and the brick remains of that mill still stand near Kamehameha Highway. According to Morgan, Julie Judd Swanzy, Gerrit Judd’s granddaughter, incorporated the ranch in 1927. In 1985, most of the ranch’s current tours were added. “The family knew the organization wasn’t sustainable from an economic point of view,” Morgan said. “We wanted to continue owning it, we wanted to operate it ourselves, but didn’t want to develop it. So we had to figure out a business plan to help us preserve the land and make it economically self-sufficient. That’s what led us to tourism.”
ORGANIZATION
HEADQUARTERS BUSINESS SECTOR
1841 Punahou School Honolulu 1847 Parker Ranch Kamuela Foundation Trust 1851 Love’s Bakery Inc. Honolulu 1858 First Hawaiian Bank Honolulu 1859 The Queen’s Health Systems Honolulu 1863 ‘Iolani School Honolulu 1864 Grove Farm Co. Inc. Līhu‘e 1869 YMCA of Honolulu Honolulu 1870 Alexander & Baldwin Inc. Honolulu 1879 New York Life Insurance Co. Honolulu 1882 Matson Inc. Honolulu 1883 Hawaiian Telecom Honolulu 1884 Hawaii Health Systems Corp. Honolulu 1884 Kiewit Corp. Honolulu 1887 Kamehameha Schools Honolulu 1888 Swinerton Builders Honolulu 1888 Maui Soda & Ice Works Ltd. Wailuku 1891 Hawaiian Electric Honolulu Industries Inc. 1894 Salvation Army Hawaiian Honolulu & Pacific Islands Division 1897 Bank of Hawai‘i Corp. Honolulu 1897 Meadow Gold Dairies Honolulu 1899 City Mill Company Ltd. Honolulu 1899 Child & Family Service ‘Ewa Beach 1900 Kuakini Health System Honolulu 1900 Young Brothers LLC Honolulu 1900 JBG Corp. Honolulu 1902 Hawaiian Dredging Honolulu Construction Co. Inc. 1903 Fernandez Entertainment Inc. Kapolei 1904 Hawai‘i Gas Honolulu 1905 I. Kitagawa and Co. Ltd. Hilo 1907 University of Hawai‘i Honolulu 1907 Suisan Group Inc. Hilo 1908 Mid-Pacific Institute Honolulu 1909 C. S. Wo & Sons LLC Honolulu 1909 Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust Honolulu 1909 Maui Land & Lahaina Pineapple Co. Inc. 1911 First Insurance Company Honolulu of Hawaii Ltd. 1913 Y. Hata & Co. Ltd. Honolulu 1915 Watumull Bros. Ltd. Honolulu 1915 Hawaiian Insurance Honolulu and Guaranty Co. Ltd. 1916 Puna Plantation Hawaii Ltd. Hilo 1916 Hawai‘i Community Honolulu Foundation
RANK IN 2024 TOP 250
Primary and secondary education Nonprofit: Cattle ranch: real estate development
72
The bakery company closed in 2021, but Love’s brand products are still sold in Hawai‘i and on the continent.
Financial services Health care facilities Primary and secondary education Real estate development/ commercial properties Nonprofit fosters healthy spirit, mind and body for all Real estate development/ commercial properties Insurance and financial services Ocean transportation and logistics Technology and communications Nonprofit health care provider Construction and development Nonprofit educational charitable trust Construction and development Coca-Cola bottler, Roselani Ice Cream maker Energy services and financial services
12 9 105 165 53 5 31 18 19 36 3
Nonprofit focusing on social services Financial services Dairy products and fruit drinks Hardware stores and storage/ organization outlets Nonprofit focusing on social services Nonprofit health care provider Inter-island freight transportation Marine cargo handling Construction and development Leisure, recreation and food concessions Gas energy company Auto dealerships and auto parts stores Higher education and research Wholesale frozen foods and other groceries Pre-K to 12 independent school Furniture retailer Social services nonprofit Real estate development; resort operations Property and casualty insurance
13 113 156 60 55 88 15 152 38 95 8 99 103 218 37
Food wholesaler and distributor Clothing; gift shops; building Investments; more Insurance for autos, homes
24 64 187
Operates KTA Super Stores and other retailers Nonprofit community foundation
48
*YEAR FOUNDED IN HAWAI‘I H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 65
PA R T I N G
S H O T
BY RYAN N N OEL AN I C OUL E S
TIME: 10:00 A.M., AUG. 23, 2016 | LOCATION: HC&S PU‘UNĒNĒ SUGAR MILL | PHOTOGRAPHER: AARON YOSHINO
A Future for Hawai‘i’s Last Sugar Mill FOR A CENTURY, SUGARCANE WAS THE BIGGEST INDUSTRY IN HAWAI‘I.
But as sugar began to decline in the mid-20th century, tourism became the central pillar of the local economy.
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Plantations and mills closed one by one until only Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.’s plantation and mill in Central Maui remained. Known as “the Beast,” the massive Pu‘unēnē Mill could turn 7,000 tons of sugar cane into brown sugar crystals each day. After 115 years of production, its closure in 2016 ended an era. In 2018, owners Alexander & Baldwin sold 36,000 acres of former sugar cane fields to Mahi Pono, a farming company that aims to cultivate diverse crops on the land. And
in March 2024, local construction company Nan Inc. acquired the mill and 300 adjacent acres. The acquisition includes industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential-zoned land. VP Wyeth Matsubara said Nan plans to “maximize the best uses of each property zoning.” Asked if Nan plans to tear down the mill, Matsubara said, “We’re going to probably have to do some substantial demolition of at least the interior machinery that was done for all the production.”
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
Upraising the Future WO R L D R E N OW N E D A P P R A I S E R G E R A L D K WO C K T R A N S F O R M S A L I F E T I M E O F C O L L E C T I N G I N T O U N E N D I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S F O R LO C A L S T U D E N T S .
“This scholarship isn’t just about access,” said Eric La‘a, a philanthropy advisor and longtime scholarship officer at HCF. “It’s about completion. Gerald was early to recognize the importance of renewable scholarships because he saw the need to ensure students don’t just start college—they finish it.”
HAWAI‘I’S KING OF COLLECTIBLES, MR. ROUGH RIDER
Kwock’s fascination with collecting began as a child in Kaimukī. At age six, he brought home milk bottles, now worth $50 apiece to savvy collectors. Later, his worldwide travels in the 1950s led to a trove of stamps from Hong Kong’s Treaty Ports that he recalls buying for $60 and selling ERALD KWOCK SEES VALUE WHERE at a Christie’s auction in 1990 for OTHERS DON’T. Over eight $248,000. That windfall launched his decades, Kwock has been a charitable foundation, on which he collector of everything from milk bottles partnered with HCF in 2015 to handle to ice picks, spending his life recognizing administration. the extraordinary among the mundane. Kwock recounts an astonishing Now, at 86, the retired appraiser and array of items he’s collected over the Roosevelt High School (RHS) alumnus years, including antique license plates, is embarking on a final matchbooks, medals, can project that fulfills both his openers, postcards, milk “[Gerald] saw the caps and covers, phonogenius for collecting and need to ensure graph records, historical his calling to help others. Kwock plans to liquidate students don’t just documents, and many his vast collection, estistart college—they coins and tokens, like a mated to be worth millions, 1930 lunch token from finish it.” and donate it to the Gerald Ala Moana School (which W. G. Kwock Charitable doesn’t exist anymore). Foundation Scholarship “I found it in a junk Fund at the Hawai‘i Community bowl in Knoxville, Tennessee, for 25 Foundation (HCF), thereby endowing cents,” Kwock recalled. “That token is his namesake scholarship that supports now worth about $30,000.” underprivileged Hawai‘i students. His Though Kwock’s collecting is eclecrenewable scholarship provides up to tic, his loyalty to his alma mater, Roo$12,000 for students attending the sevelt High School, is singular. From University of Hawai‘i (UH) for eight putting the “S” in PTSA to ensure semesters, contingent on maintaining a student representation to organizing 2.8 GPA or higher. fundraisers and campus restoration
G
projects, Kwock has been a fi xture of RHS life, estimating that he annually volunteered 2,500 hours, incredibly more than a full-time job every week, for more than two decades. “Gerald is Mr. Rough Rider,” said former RHS Spanish teacher Cynthia Teramoto. “He has had a profound, positive impact on the students, families, and faculty of Roosevelt High School and the local community. His loyalty to the Roosevelt ‘ohana is unmatched.”
TRASH TO TREASURE, PEOPLE TO POTENTIAL
Kwock’s scholarship fund supports UH students pursuing fields including journalism, English, and communications—areas he felt were traditionally overlooked by scholarships. “What I want them to remember is simple,” Kwock said. “Get a good education. I want underprivileged students to have the opportunity to succeed.” Kwock also donates extensively, including 500 territorial bottles to the Hawai‘i State Archives and 22,000 yearbooks to the Hawai‘i State Library. “Gerald invests in the overlooked, whether it’s a forgotten yearbook or an underprivileged student,” notes La‘a. “He recognizes their potential and lifts them up.” Endowed by his collection’s proceeds, Kwock’s scholarship will support students in perpetuity, ensuring his vision of empowering Hawai‘i’s youth lives on. “I have no children or family to leave this to,” Kwock said. “But I know the scholarship will go on forever, helping students who need it. That’s enough for me.”
T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T H O W T H E H AWA I ‘ I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N DAT I O N C A N H E L P YO U AC H I E V E YO U R P H I L A N T H R O P I C G OA L S , V I S I T H AWA I I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D AT I O N . O R G/D O N O R S O R C A L L (8 0 8) 5 6 6 5 5 6 0 . H AWA I I B U S I N ES S | 67
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