Coin show spotlights rare collectibles

• Sept. 18, 2016

In a world that prizes perfection, Joe Au-Franz looks for flaws. He keeps an eye out for cracks, chips, misalignments, missing or added elements and other mistakes on coins that sometimes occurduring the minting process. Read more

Luxury Oahu hotel offers historic house tours

• Sept. 11, 2016

Halekulani’s philosophy about hospitality is summed up in three words: “For You, Everything.” Read more

Waimea edifice still inspires, enlightens

• Sept. 4, 2016

For more than 80 years, students of Waimea School on Hawaii island attended classes in a 157-foot-long, 5,580-square-foot plantation-style building that the state Departmentof Education designated as Building N. Constructed in 1915 and opened a year later, it was the first public school in the picturesque ranching community. Read more

Coast-to-coast Big Isle trail beckons all birders

• Aug. 28, 2016

Catch Rob Pacheco during his spare time and he’ll likely be peering at the sky or trees through binoculars. He’s traveled all over the United States and Canada as well as exoticlocales such as ­Botswana, Trinidad, Rapa Nui, Guatemala and Nicaragua specifically to observe birds. Read more

Magic is back at Big Island’s Kahilu Theatre

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• Aug. 21, 2016

Mimi Kerley became president of Kahilu Theatre’s board of directors in June 2012, a month after the theater closed its doors to re-evaluate its mission, goals and fiscal matters. She had just one year of board participation under her belt and was its newest and youngest member. Read more

Visitors touch past at Kona coffee farm

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• Aug. 14, 2016

In Gavin Miculka’s view, history is best learned via the senses — sight, sound, touch, smell and taste — rather than just words and pictures in a book. Read more

Hapa Haole Hula Festival celebrates bygone era

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• Aug. 7, 2016

As the story goes, Bing Crosby first heard “Sweet Leilani” during a mid-1930s vacation in Honolulu. His friend Harry Owens, then music director of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, had written that hapa haole song in October 1934 to celebrate the birth of his daughter. Read more

Tahitian competition teaches important life skills

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• July 31, 2016

Pat Finberg discovered Kauai’s magic in 1969, during a nine-week visit with her mother. She was 15 and, like countless others, fell in love with the island’s beauty, friendly people and relaxed lifestyle. Read more

Police museum showcases artifacts, photos

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• July 24, 2016

More than 150 years of Honolulu Police Department history is chronicled in a little-known museum on the ground floor of HPD’s headquarters in downtown Honolulu. Read more

Tech park tours offer ‘science in action’

• July 17, 2016

Hawaii is the most isolated population center on earth, with some 2,400 miles of ocean separating it from California, the nearest landmass. About 90 percent of the isles’ food is imported, and more than 70 percent of its electricity is from oil. Read more

Moana Surfrider hails mighty mango

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• July 10, 2016

Few fruits can match the diversity of the delectable mango. Depending on the variety (there are reputedly more than a thousand), it can be round, oval, kidney-shaped or long and slender. Read more

Oceans of discovery at Maui aquarium

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• July 3, 2016

From shallow reef to open ocean, Maui Ocean Center showcases myriad creatures that inhabit Hawaii waters, including 41 species of live Pacific corals. Read more

Sleek roadsters add pep to Maui travels

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• June 26, 2016

Some people view them with nostalgia — as time machines that recall the carefree days of their youth. For others the attraction is purely physical: They’re sleek, beautiful and elegant. Read more

Happy Tokyo brew crew

• June 26, 2016

Email “Signs of Hawaiian Life” photos to mpoole@staradvertiser.com or mail to Signs of Hawaiian Life, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. Include the full names of those in the photo, when and where it was taken and the name of the photographer. We apologize but mailed photos cannot be returned. Read more

4 activities offer motive to drop by Sea Life Park

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• June 19, 2016

Many kamaaina grew up with Sea Life Park; the marine attraction/bird sanctuary has been popular for family outings since it opened in 1964. Read more

Kayak outings peppered by dolphins

• June 12, 2016

Once-in-a-lifetime events can happen with serendipity. Read more

Hub links community, culture in Hawi

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• June 5, 2016

The rural district of North Kohala on Hawaii island is abuzz with excitement about the Kohala Village Hub, a new community center in Hawi town that provides a variety of programs, services and facilities through its three branches: the education-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) Feed Hawaii; the quaint Kohala Village Inn; and the Hub Pub, whose simple but hearty fare is based on fresh Kohala-grown ingredients. Read more

Big Isle man carries on taro tradition

• By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
• May 29, 2016