Business

The Planter Box Rooted in Faith

Friday, September 9th, 2016

Photo by Sarah Ching

By Sarah Ching

Starting a business on Molokai has its share of challenges but when Leah-che and Ross Takashima chose to leave a stable career in order to see their business dream come to fruition, it required faith. The Planter Box, in the location of the former Simply Natural in Kaunakakai, is a new business on the block featuring custom coffee, local produce and natural products.

“We prayed a lot,” the couple said of the big step. “We prayed about this opportunity, we prayed when making any kind of decisions.”

When Ross chose to leave the stability of his job in order to fully help in the business they admit it was scary.…

Lunch Wagon Legacy

Friday, September 9th, 2016

Photo by Sarah Ching

By Sarah Ching

For those who relish the savory eats you find at Cory’s Lunchwagon, you may not know the long history behind this local eatery. Launched in 1996 by Melody Alcon, it originated as Cody’s Lunchwagon. Kapua Balbas, current owner and operator of Cory’s, reflected on her time assisting her mother with the family owned lunch wagon up until she moved to Arizona after completing high school.

“Once I graduated and moved to the mainland, I was hungry for local style food, [such as] spare ribs, hamburger steak and shoyu chicken, so I’d call home and get recipes from my mom,” she said “All of the recipes were taught over the phone and I’d recreate them for my friends.”

She tried to keep the recipes as authentic as possible, however living out of state she often had to improvise.…

Healthy Eats at Fiesta Market Place

Friday, September 9th, 2016

Photo by Catherine Cluett Pactol

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

For Marcy and Zhander Fiesta, hard work has made a dream come true in the form of newly-opened Fiesta Market Place, where Outpost Natural Foods was formerly located. They’ve completed a renovation impossible mission, revamped a locally-focused menu and are building an eco-friendly business they hope will grow into the future.

With a lunch counter offering options for both vegetarian and meat-eaters, as well as smoothies, health food retail products, local produce and frozen desserts, Fiesta Market Place is off to a running start since the couple acquired the business in January.…

Making Money Matter

Friday, August 26th, 2016

By Sarah Ching, Dispatch Staff

Running a business on Molokai can be tough, but it can be easier with healthy money habits, according to financial educator and entrepreneur Helen Wai. No stranger to financial struggle, Wai is incorporating her personal experiences to assist community members in breaking detrimental money habits that have often been instilled since birth.

“It’s time to break the cycle, and change what has become second nature,” she said of a two-hour workshop she is offering on Molokai called “Money Habits Matter,” on Aug. 29 at Kuha`o Business Center.

Growing up in Hawaii, Wai has overcome her own trials with finances and persevered to become the self-made business owner she is today.…

Cable Outage Caused by Water Leak

Saturday, March 12th, 2016

Oceanic Time Warner Cable customers on Molokai were without cable services for about 30 hours last week starting Wednesday evening. The outage was caused by a water leak in the east end building that houses Oceanic’s equipment, according to Norman Santos, vice president of engineering for Oceanic.

The company uses microwave signals to send cable and Internet signals from Lahaina, Maui to Molokai. A small building in east Molokai serves as the hub to receive those transmission signals. Santos said water started dripping into the building last Wednesday evening, March 9, and shorted out the two receivers for video signal. The third receiver for Internet remained operational, and Oceanic Internet did not fail during that time, according to Santos.…

Ho`olehua Credit Union Closed

Friday, January 22nd, 2016

On Dec. 29, 2015, the First Hawaiian Homes Federal Credit Union (FHH FCU) closed its doors after being liquidated by the  National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Located in Ho`olehua, the small building at the corner of Farrington and Pu`upe`elua Avenues served 1,379 members and had assets of nearly $3.2 million, according to the credit union’s most recent Call Report.

First Hawaiian Homes Federal Credit Union closed its doors on Dec. 29. Photo by Catherine Cluett

An NCUA press release said the national organization made the decision to liquidate the FHH FCU and close operations “after determining the credit union was insolvent and had no prospect for restoring viable operations.”

John Fairbanks, public relations specialist for the NCUA, said he could not give any additional reasons for the lack of solvency due to confidentiality in protection of FHH FCU members and union.…