Last month Randall Hew sent me an essay written by Donald Graham in 2008 about building Ala Moana Center. He was the point person in its creation. It’s fascinating and has given me some insight in building what they call “Hawaii’s Center.” Read more
Seventy-five years ago an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in Alaska generated a series of tsunamis that hit Hawaii on the morning of April 1, 1946, killing 159 people. Read more
In Parts 1 and 2 of this exploration of theme parks in the islands, I looked at some that opened and closed or are still around greeting thousands of visitors. Read more
Earlier this year I began exploring locations that were considered for Hawaii auditoriums, stadiums, meeting halls, museums, schools and other entities. Read more
Sixty years ago this November, aliens landed a spaceship on the 23rd floor of the Ala Moana Building and opened a restaurant. Well, that’s what it looked like to me. Read more
I’m sure many readers will remember that my predecessor at the paper, Bob Krauss, wrote a column called In One Ear. It began in 1953 with things people told him. This week’s column pays homage to him with things people told me recently. Read more
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Those were the words of President John F. Kennedy at his inauguration in 1961. Read more
Recently, Eleanor Waterhouse suggested I ask my readers what it was like to grow up in Kailua, on the Windward side of Oahu. Read more
Each year, I write about key companies and nonprofits that pass important milestones in the year. In February I wrote Part 1. Here’s Part 2. Read more
I heard from over 50 readers regarding the June 18 article about news carriers, including from three papergirls. Here are a few of their stories. Read more
In the past, many local papers found their way to your porch — and hopefully not the bushes or roof — by bicycle. Mostly boys — and a handful of girls — braved the elements to deliver the news to your door. Read more
I wrote about Fort Ruger two weeks ago. Barb Miller Elm wrote eloquently about her idyllic childhood on the base that is now Kapiolani Community College. Read more
Actor Nicholas Hormann asked whether “anyone remembers an open-air movie theater somewhere in the Aiea area in the late 1940s. Read more
Fort Kamehameha guarded the eastern side of the mouth of Pearl Harbor and has been absorbed into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Read more
Every now and then I find myself with interesting tidbits that didn’t fit into a previous column or are too short to take up a column of their own. Here are several “leftovers” from the past few months. Read more
Reader Edward Allen reminded me that Ala Moana Boulevard did not connect to Kalakaua Avenue until the early 1950s. Read more
An anonymous reader asked me a curious question recently. He heard that the general manager of Sears in 1959 would not agree to move from its Beretania Street location to the new Ala Moana Center unless it could bring a vendor everyone called “the peanut lady” with it. Was it true? he wanted to know. Read more
I’ve been talking to Carol Hoshiko, a dean at Kapiolani Community College. The college is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. One topic that came up in our conversation was the Cannon Club, the officers club at Fort Ruger, where KCC is today. Read more
In the past few months I’ve spent some time exploring locations that were considered for iconic Hawaii places, such as the Hawai‘i Convention Center, the state Capitol, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Neal Blaisdell Center, Aloha Stadium and University of Hawaii. Read more
Ten years ago, on April 15, 2011, I wrote my first Rearview Mirror column. Ten years is not all that much in the newspaper business. Ferd Lewis and Bob Krauss both topped 50 years. Still, it’s a lot for me. Read more
My wife and I visited Australia and New Zealand 10 years ago. When we boarded the plane in Auckland to come home, I heard a voice call my name. It was a former student of mine from Hawaii Pacific University. Read more
