Tag archives: Hawaii

What’s up in Honolulu and Wacky Waikiki?
By Leslie Westbrook   |   July 30, 2024

Plenty, as usual, it turns out. Before checking into my second Hawaiian hotel (one of four on my eight-night islands foray), I had a fantastic brunch/lunch at Istanbul Hawaii, a delightful Turkish restaurant opened five years ago in the Kamake’e Corridor of Ward Village. Turkish native Chef Ahu Hettema, along with her mother Nili Yildirim […]

To Oahu, with Love: Part 1 The Kahala Hotel + Resort
By Leslie Westbrook   |   July 9, 2024

I traveled to the Hawaiian Islands for eight nights and visited four hotels this past spring for three reasons: 1. To see my dear friend of half a century – the amazing octogenarian artist, Dr. Masami Teraoka and his family who live on the island of Oahu, while reporting on my tourism stops. 2. To give […]

Magical Maui Rising from the Ashes: Let’s support our Maui Strong! Hawaiian Island friends
By Leslie Westbrook   |   June 18, 2024

My cosmic arrival, after a short flight from Honolulu, on the scarred and traumatized island of Maui, began auspiciously with my Uber driver Giuliano and his purple unicorn. A lanky, charming lad, the yoga instructor/wellness coach said he was “into shamanic sounds healings.” Giuliano and his talisman (along with a crystal heart dangling from his […]

Helping Hawaii
By Richard Mineards   |   August 22, 2023

Oprah Winfrey, who owns more than 2,000 acres on the Hawaiian island of Maui with three different properties, has been helping out at a local rescue center after the catastrophic wildfires killed nearly 100 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. The former TV talk show titan, 69, brought diapers, pillows, and bottles of shampoo to […]

Oprah’s Hawaiian Digs
By Richard Mineards   |   March 21, 2023

While former TV talk-show titan Oprah Winfrey has been reducing her waistline as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, now rebranded WW, she has been expanding her property empire. The longtime Montecito resident, 69, now owns nearly 1,000 acres of land on the Hawaiian island of Maui, I learn. She has splashed out $6.6 million on […]

Hawaiian Roots
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 25, 2022

Kulāiwi has only been together for less than two years, but the three Hawaiian musicians that make up the group – Lehua Kalima, Shawn Pimental, and Kawika Kahiapo – have been making music of the islands for decades. Between them they have claimed dozens of Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, which is considered Hawaii’s equivalent of […]

Aloha from Hawaii
By Richard Mineards   |   December 31, 2020

Oracle tycoon Larry Ellison, who has owned a number of homes in Santa Barbara for many years, is quitting California to live in Hawaii. Ellison, 76, the world’s 11th richest man, owns 98 percent of Lanai, the state’s sixth largest island at 140 square miles. He bought it in 2012 and employs the majority of […]

Happy B-Day/V-Day… I Pray
By Ernie Witham   |   March 5, 2020

After about a decade of marriage, I came to the realization that my wife has a birthday every year. That was also about the time she told me that I had given her the same humorous birthday card four of those years in a row. She also showed me the three “unique” heart necklaces with […]

Road Trip, Hawaiian Style
By Ernie Witham   |   February 27, 2020

My wife hesitated at a puddle of unknown depth at the former Kahuku Sugar Mill parking lot, which is now a series of small restaurants and food trucks that cater mainly to the surfing crowd at North Shore on Oahu. “This thing could cross a raging river,” I said. “The rental company might charge us […]

Dream Come True
By Richard Mineards   |   February 27, 2020

Young Santa Barbara mother of two, Belmi Tepecque, 22, and her family are the latest recipients of the largesse of the Dream Foundation, which has delivered more than 32,000 dreams over the past 22 years. The popular organization is providing Belmi’s final dream of a trip to Maui with her husband, Gustavo, and two children […]