Entries from September 2007 ↓

Everyone loves walking on the beach in Waikiki. The sand. The sun. The surf.

Let’s assume that you’re new to Hawaii or visiting the islands. What would you expect to find at a newly popular tourist destination called Waikiki Beach Walk? Sand? Sun? Surf? Nope. Won’t happen.

Waikiki Beach Walk is a half-billion dollar renovation of a seedy side of Waikiki. New shops, new hotels, new looking hotels, new restaurants– but no sand, sun, or surf. The Beach Walk isn’t even close to the beach. It’s nothing more than a small, seldom used street tucked away and behind the famed Halekulani Hotel and Resort.

Now it’s a prime destination for locals and tourists to dine, shop, dine, meet, walk, and wish the luxuriously appointed beach walk really was close to the beach.

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One of the most ridiculous arguments of all time has to do with how surfer’s in Hawaii measure wave height.

How hard can it be? Look at the wave. Measure the distance from the lowest point in front of the wave, the base, to the highest point on top of the wave.

A wave that measures four feet from top to bottom would be a four foot wave, right? Wrong. Surfers in Hawaii have no less than half a dozen ways to measure a wave’s height.

One of them is so silly I can only assume that it’s satire, mocking the complicated methodology some surfers use to measure a wave’s height. Read the detailed explanation on the s-spot and see if you don’t conclude the obvious. It’s a nutty way to measure anything.

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Hawaii’s SuperFerry was expected to make a splash with inter island transport service. The splash had little to do with service and more to do with politics and special interests.

The promise of the SuperFerry was to lower costs for people and vehicles traveling between Hawaii’s islands. Based on the rising cost of fuel, the added per-passenger and vehicle surcharges, and reduced-fare competition between the local airlines, and SuperFerry has become a super bust. An expensive super bust.

The arguments proposed by various special interest groups to prohibit SuperFerry service in Hawaii are interesting, if not somewhat malformed.

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When the economy is good, and people are employed and bringing home a regular paycheck, automobile and truck sales increase.

Car dealers and their sales people (no longer ‘salesmen’ since some are women) rank slightly higher than congressmen (and congresswomen) on the list of least liked and least respected professions. Finding an honest seller of cars isn’t quite as difficult as finding an honest politician.

With all the sales and pricing gimmicks imposed upon new car buyers these days, the only thing that keeps the peasants from revolting against local dealers is the good economy. When everyone has money, no one reads the fine print.

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The most common phrase I’ve heard in the past 20 years about Honolulu’s most populated tourist destination is that “locals don’t go to Waikiki.”

The complaints most of us have heard about Waikiki include the crowds, high prices, no parking, and the other negatives of drugs, hookers, and high prices again. I’m not so sure that Waikiki is avoided as much as we may think. Why?

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Where are the secret surf locations in Hawaii? Basically, there are no secret surf locations. If there were, no one would know where they are. That’s what secrets are all about, right?

All seriousness aside, a local secret surf spot is one that is known to only a few local surfers, and a location not visited frequently by the average surfer, short or long board, and never visited by tourists.

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Where’s Mufi? That’s not the name of a new game, though it might be, especially when applied to politics and government in Honolulu.

Mufi Hanneman, Honolulu City and County’s mayor and arguably the tallest local government official, has developed a decidedly lower profile than previous mayors. Why?

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Dogfighting. Cockfighting. Animal fighting is a way of life for some people in Hawaii. It’s cultural. It’s also illegal.

What’s the difference between dogfighting and cockfighting in Hawaii? It’s a Class C felony to participate and possess animals for fighting. It’s considered aggravated cruelty to animals. What else?

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Letterman and Leno need to move over. There’s another old guy in town.

Hawaii’s Andy Bumatai is back on TV and the only differences between Andy and other late night television hosts are a real set (and a studio audience, and a late night time slot, and national acclaim). Good? Bad? Or, just Ugly Andy?

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Where’s the best place to live in the US? The latest poll says California, Florida, then Hawaii. Which city is the best place to live? Honolulu shows up in 7th place. Both were down a notch from last year’s poll.
The Harris Poll also puts Hawaii as the top destination for baby boomers.

Why does Hawaii rank so high? Blame it on the sun, the beach, and Hawaii’s weather, and not any policy by government or opportunity by local business. Hawaii remains a preferred destination despite their efforts.

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