Rainbows

Saw this picture on u local Island Images on the KITV 4 website:

Source

Rainbows are one thing I definitely took for granted while growing up in the islands because we saw them so often. I appreciate them so much more when I see them during my visits back home now. So beautiful and awe-inspiring (especially the double rainbows)...

Abundance of local food in Gardena

My previous post about the Signs of Hawaiian Life section in the Honolulu Star Advertiser reminded me of my drive through Gardena yesterday... I had already known that there were quite a few Hawaiian food places in Gardena, but I didn't realize just how many they were until yesterday. The following is a list of some of the "local food" places in Gardena:

• Bruddah's
• Bob's Okazuya
• L&L Hawaiian BBQ - Gardena
• Marukai food court
• Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop (serves local food)
• Harry's Cafe
• Teriyaki Hawaii
• Ohana Grill Hawaiian BBQ

I am not exactly sure why Gardena has so many Hawaiian food places... Perhaps there are a lot of Hawai'i transplants in that area. I tried looking it up online, but I couldn't find anything - probably have to ask Southern California residents about it to find out.

I've been to a few of the local food places in Gardena this year - Bruddah's, Bob's, L&L, and Marukai. It's always nice to see local people and eat local food.

Here are a couple pictures of the USC Hawai'i Club at Bob's Okazuya and Marukai:

Bob's Okazuya

Marukai

"Hawaii" = "relaxed" or "mellow" in the Czech Replublic

Such a cute discovery!

From the Honolulu Star Bulletin: "The Search for Signs of Hawaiian Life"

Source

Alicia Ku'ulani Heffelfinger, a Kaneohe girl who now lives in San Diego, discovered the global power of the aloha spirit last year during a visit to the Czech Republic. At Machovo jezero, a lake in the Liberec Region, she came across an eatery named Hawaii, complete with a tropical-themed logo. Heffelfinger learned that the Czech people use the word "Hawaii" to mean relaxed or mellow. "The actual phrase is 'that is so Hawaii' when referring to something peaceful," she said. "Hawaii is so special that halfway around the world another country uses it (as) slang for serenity."

Hawai'i's Tap Water

Source

Liz's recent post, "A Slice of Life," talked about germ-filled lemons served with drinks at restaurants and prompted me to post about Hawai'i's tap water.

Hawai'i is one place you will never find restaurants serving lemons with water. And very few people use water filters, such as Britas. The tap water in the islands is so good that they just don't need it! In fact, most people in the islands prefer the taste of Hawai'i's tap water to that of bottled water.

Much of Hawai'i's tap water comes from aquifers, which are filled with rainwater that percolates through porous volcanic rock. This natural filtration is what gives the water such purity. We are definitely blessed to have such high quality water - and an abundance of it!

This may sound strange, but one of the things I missed the most when I came to LA for college was the tap water from back home.

For those of you not from Hawai'i: When you travel to the islands, do not buy bottled water - just drink from the tap! :)

Childhood obesity problem in Hawai'i

Earlier in the semester in my EXSC-205Lxg class (The Science of Human Performance), we discussed obesity and how serious of an issue it is for the United States, as well as other countries around the world. We learned that presently, about 15-20% of children (under 17 years of age) in the US are considered obese (BMI ≥ 30). However, I did not think that obesity or childhood obesity was a problem in Hawai'i until I came across this article today:

Campaign tackles childhood obesity

The article states that a 2003 Hawai'i study found that almost 1 out of 3 children entering kindergarten was overweight or obese, and the problem is worse in rural communities, where this number is up to 40% for Hawai'i's public school children entering kindergarten. With childhood obesity increasing at such a rapid pace (in the 1970's, only about 5% of children in the US were overweight), these numbers are probably even higher today.

These are alarming statistics, and I was quite surprised to hear that obesity is such a major problem in Hawai'i. I had always thought that Hawai'i was a relatively active state - I always see people walking, running, biking, etc. in East Honolulu.

I agree with Dr. May Okihiro that one of the contributions to the overweight/obesity problem is probably the local culture centered around food. Food is at the heart of every gathering, and this cultural emphasis on food has given Hawai'i's children an unhealthy mindset.

Of course, portion size is also an issue, and this factor is definitely not unique to Hawai'i; people everywhere around the US have come to expect gigantic portions for less money - that is "value." And then there is lifestyle - children nowadays spend more time indoors playing computer and video games, rather than playing outside or participating in sports.

But another contributor to the problem could be the food itself. A lot of Hawaiian/local food is very fattening - kalua pork, loco moco, andagi, malasada, etc. And this is in addition to other unhealthy favorites like McDonald's, sodas, etc.

It is good that the state is trying to address this problem because obesity causes many health problems, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and more.

Wind farm plans for Molokai and Lanai

Another very interesting article in today's Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Pattern Energy and Castle & Cooke partner for Molokai wind farm

Image source: Star-Advertiser

After reading about the planned wind farms for the islands of Molokai and Lanai, my first thought was, "What are the Molokai and Lanai residents saying about this?" because there was no mention of their response in the article. This same question was brought up and answered by a few people in the comments:

• misskanalani 4 hours ago

  What was the Molokai community's response? Is the opposition to Pattern Energy's proposal greater or less than it was to First Wind's? Why isn't the community's stand on this mentioned in this story?

  Flag

  1 person liked this.

• usagi00 2 minutes ago in reply to misskanalani

  The majority of the people surveyed on Molokai, same as those on Lana'i, are against the Windmills.

  Flag

• molokai 26 minutes ago in reply to misskanalani

  I am from Molokai, here's my response (Our community is made of many different people - each with his own opinion. Anyone who says they speak for Molokai Community is lying. We do not have an "island leader" who speaks on our behalf.)
  
  I am for the wind mills because we can not afford to continue to say no to everything that comes along. We have no jobs and no future on Molokai. Wind mills won't employ lots of people, but when viewed as one step in the over all process that creates an economic engine and stimulants, these wind mills can be the last straw that opens up our community to healthy futures.
  
  I hear my neighbors say "no power for Oahu" but they take food stamps and the money for that comes from Honolulu and Maui. My neighbor says "not in my backyard" but folks in Oahu and Maui already have wind mills on their moku, in their back yards. My neighbor says that wind mills are noisy and prevent hunting. But we live 20 miles away from these wind mills and will never see or hear them unless we trespass on to private property. I hear my neighbor complain about electric rates but never take any action like this to lower the cost. I hear my neighbor worry about the environment but they prefer to burn oil instead of green energy like this. We have choke space to go hunt where we don't need to trespass. These wind mills will not bother me and many others like me.
  
  Time for my neighbor to understand that none of them are king or queen or governor or president. OK to speak your voice but not ok to insult me or threaten to block the progress just because they don't want it. That way is not pono.
  
  probably will be more easier to see wind mills on Lanai from my house in Kaunakakai than on west end of Molokai.

I think that these wind farms would be good for the islands, and I agree with a lot of what molokai says in his/her response. The island of Molokai been suffering ever since the closure of Molokai Ranch, which employed many of the island's residents - Molokai has the highest unemployment rate of all the islands, at 12.6% (February 2011), according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. As of February 2011, Honolulu's unemployment rate was 5.2%, and the state average was 6.3%. Molokai is in desperate need of an economic stimulant or anything that will help the island grow and advance.

I do understand the concern with wind farms ruining the natural beauty of the islands. However, I personally think that wind farms are an awe-inspiring sight. And like molokai says, the wind farm will be miles away from residents, so hopefully it will not interfere with the residents' daily lives.

This is a step in the right direction - toward clean energy, which is important for a state that must pay particular attention to protecting its environment. It is impossible to find the perfect solution that will please everyone. Some groups will not be happy about this project, but I think it is a worthy sacrifice, as the wind farms are for the betterment of the state as a whole.

Wage Gap in Hawai'i

An interesting article (with some heated commentary and discussion) in today's Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Gender balancing act: Pay gaps that hurt women are costing isle families $1.7 billion yearly, a study finds

Attention-catching numbers and claims, but I am not sure if the study truly does an apples-to-apples comparison...

USC Hawai'i Club - a cultural club, not a state club

2010-2011 School Year T-shirt Design by Kristie Kam

I recently spoke on a panel for PreviewUSC, one of USC's programs offered to prospective high school students during the spring semester and mentioned my involvement in different organizations, including the USC Hawai'i Club. During the Q&A, one parent asked, "You mentioned that you were president of the USC Hawai'i Club... Do other states have clubs? Is there a Texas Club?"

I laughed because the thought had never crossed my mind. It's true - in most universities, Hawai'i is the only state with a club, even if other states have significant representation. But the Hawai'i Clubs are not state clubs; they are cultural clubs, meant to spread the unique culture of the islands and the "aloha spirit" to different communities around the country. Hawai'i is more than just another one of the fifty states - its culture is so unique that sometimes people get confused about whether Hawai'i is its own country or part of the US. This unique culture is also one of the reasons students who go to college on the mainland get more homesick than students from other states. And this is probably one of the other main reasons Hawai'i Clubs were formed around the country - to be a family and support group, where Hawai'i students can instantly feel at home with others who inherently understand them.

No legalized gambling in Hawai'i for at least another year

The following is an article from yesterday's Honolulu Star Bulletin: Lawmakers fold; poker bill fails to advance

A couple points facts I didn't know before:

• Hawai'i and Utah are the only two states without legalized forms of gambling
• All Internet poker sites are currently located outside of the country

I do not have a strong opinion for or against legalizing poker and/or gambling in Hawai'i. To be honest, I do not know too much about the topic, so I am not sure what effect it would have on the state/island. I can see both sides of the argument (for: would bring in much-needed money to the state and could attract more tourism to help the economy; against: would introduce an undesirable element to our islands and have a detrimental effect on the tourist industry).

Many people in Hawai'i like to gamble - so many people from Hawai'i travel to Las Vegas to gamble that Hawaiian Airlines and the California Hotel have special deals for Hawai'i residents. Therefore, I wonder if legalizing gambling would really help to bring in enough revenue to offset detrimental effects... A World Series of Poker in Hawai'i might have a positive impact, but what if the majority of people playing poker in the islands were island locals? In order to inject money into the Hawai'i economy, people from outside Hawai'i would need to travel to the islands to play poker. Are enough people willing to travel all the way to Hawai'i to play poker when they can play in other locations closer to, more convenient, and less expensive for them?

As I said before, I probably need to gain more knowledge on this issue in order to make a better evaluation, but these are just some of my thoughts as of right now.

USC-UH Men's Volleyball

Source: Daily Trojan

Source: Hawaii Athletics

The USC men's volleyball team traveled to Hawai'i to play the University of Hawai'i (UH) Warriors this weekend. On Friday, No. 8 UH handed No. 1 USC just their second loss of the season and snapped their 12-match winning-streak, but on Saturday, USC avenged their loss by sweeping the Warriors.

Read more in the Daily Trojan article "USC splits weekend set with Hawai'i" or on the USC Trojans website - "Hawaii Upsets No. 1 USC Men's Volleyball" and "No. 1 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps Hawaii"

Housing Prices

Recent article from KITV.com: Oahu Home Median Price Drops

One factor to consider when deciding where to live - especially as a young adult just graduating from college - is the average home price in the area you hope to live. Housing on Oahu has always been significantly more expensive than housing on the mainland, and this is one of the reasons many young people from Hawai'i decide to stay on the mainland. The above article mentions that Oahu's median home price has dropped below $600,000 to $548,500 for March 2011. However, in January 2011, the median home price in the West was still significantly lower, at about $193,200, according to RealEstateABC.com (source: National Association of Realtors), and California's median home price was also significantly lower than Oahu's, at $239,000, according to the LA Times.

Of course, you would expect to pay a lot more to live in a place as nice as Hawai'i... But many young adults (and older adults, too, for that matter) just can't afford it.