Two weeks ago, a hiker was rescued from the supposedly forbidden Stairway to Heaven trail on the windward side. According to reports, five fire department units and 16 personnel responded. The hiker was airlifted via helicopter and the insanity of this popular, yet banned, site continues, with costs to both taxpayers and traversers. Apparently, we’ll have to wait for resolution on saving or scuttling these steps until someone finally plummets to his/her death- thus realizing his/her own unfortunate “stairway to heaven”- before definitive action is finally taken on this 80-year old walkway…
Families were forced to leave Red Hill due to tainted water, and now they’re getting hit with federal tax bills for the “gift” of forced living in hotel rooms for months. Some of those now getting taxed got sick from drinking foul water, and now they’re getting sick to their stomachs (again). Let’s hope this is resolved by the time you’re reading it (after all, we’re deep into tax season). As for Red Hill, the compounding issues related to this debacle make Red Hill seem more like an episode of the BBC’s Benny Hill…
In a February Gallup survey, 50% of Americans said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago, the highest percentage to feel that way since the Great Recession (2008/2009). While government cannot/should not be expected to solve all of our social and economic problems, acknowledging that we live in the costliest state in the union should remind those planning to place extra, available state cash into the “rainy day” fund that many here already appear to be drowning…
Kudos to everyone involved with Mohala Mai, Oahu’s first, long-term housing project for formerly imprisoned women. This joint partnership of public and private entities provides more than just much-needed housing. It provides hope, support, and an opportunity for those newly-freed to re-engage, mainstream, and become productive members of our community…
Recent heavy winds and sporadic downpours left in their wake one of nature’s most inspiring wonders in Hawai`i… absolute clarity, which we can all use more of often. When the brooding, overcast skies finally cleared, our environs looked like a scene from a 4K resolution National Geographic special- chiseled, majestic Koolau mountains alive with bright, lush, green foliage amid gorgeous, blues skies; we even scored a few rainbows and a stunning, near-translucent, full moon in the midst of it all.
Think about it…