Hailey Akau

Oct 1, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Noelle Fujii-Oride |Hailey Akau

Is college still worth it? Increasing tuitions and rising student debt continue to fuel national debate about the value of postsecondary degrees. Average U.S. college costs, including full-time tuition, fees, and room and board, have increased by 14% over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.

Aug 8, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Hailey Akau |Mari Taketa

We reached out to nearly 80 places for updates a year after the Maui fires. Dear Lahaina restaurants, bars, snack shops and food trucks,We haven’t forgotten. Our hearts are full, remembering all of you who were part of the Lahaina of our memories. Where are you now? More than wanting to know, we want to help.

Aug 7, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Hailey Akau

Our HONOLULU intern returns to Maui to visit family and the town that was a second home. I never lived in Lahaina, but I always loved Lahaina. I have lots of childhood memories of Maui, of time spent with my Auntie Brenda and cousin ​Brandie, of the juicy mangoes from my cousin Wendy’s tree and of riding the sugarcane train with my grandparents.

Aug 2, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Hailey Akau

This summer, the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation (IABKF) hosted their first community open auditions for their production of Newsies since before the pandemic, with performances from Aug. 16–25. Founded after Ron Bright’s passing in 2015, the nonprofit, whose mission is to “perpetuate the teachings and legacy of Mr. Ronald E. Bright by supporting the performing arts and education,” also put on previous productions of The King and I, The Wiz, Children of Eden and Songs for a New World.

Jul 16, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Hailey Akau

During my sophomore year of college, my Vietnamese roommate’s family regularly sent care packages filled with spices and coffee. Every morning, she filled a glass with ice and condensed milk, poured hot water over coffee grounds in a small metal filter set on top and let the coffee drip onto the ice and milk below. That was my introduction to Vietnamese iced coffee.