Think About It Hawaii

Ray Kinsella heard the call: “If you build it, they will come”. That was 33-years ago in the movie, “Field of Dreams”. Ray, of course, was a fictional character. But the concept lives on. The question in Hawai`i has always been- what is “it”? Because we’ve been talking about building something economically viable here to help keep our keiki home, to retain our incredible culture and character without relying so much on the tourism industry alone.

We’ve heard a lot of talk, but little investment or capital put forth in realizing our field of dreams. Cyber-security? Alternative, clean, or renewable energy? Defense initiatives? A mini-Silicon Valley or a tech hub with remote work encouraged? Medical research? Eco-tourism? Rocket farm? Innovative kapuna care? Perhaps dozens of smaller but potentially lucrative and alluring opportunities that add up, rather than pegging our hopes on just a few ideas.

The Census Bureau reminds us of our ongoing streak of losing residents annually- down 12,337 from July, 2020, to July, 2021. That makes five straight years of population decline. Hunches suggest that in-migration includes wealthier second home owners and immigrant service industry workers, while out-migration includes those who want a starter home and a sustainable career, or older folks who’ve simply decided that the price of paradise is too tough to handle in their waning years.

Post-COVID, economic recovery here may quicken as visitor floodgates re-open and tourism numbers increase. Suggested, sensible usage restrictions and user fees may help the state/city coffers without seeing visitor numbers rebound to new records.

But even with an expected, long overdue minimum wage increase, how to thrive here and plan one’s future realistically makes our now-annual population decreases a relevant concern. We need the best and the brightest, from within and without, to hui. We need local stakeholders, passionate empaths, and interested investors to get actively involved in realistic, yet far-reaching, pro-active, economic planning.

If we extrapolate this annual trickle of people leaving Hawai`i out over the next 20 years, it portends a diminished labor force not offset by a retiring, elderly population with age-related needs. It’s time to get serious; this conundrum has been tossed around like a barbeque burger for decades, with little emphasis given to solutions. Entrepreneurs, realists, problem-solvers, culture advocates, philanthropists, educators, gerontologists, astronomers… we’ll need a big room, big thinking, and big action plans. Who’s ready to dream and build?

Think about it…

I’ve suggested before that change is good… as long as it’s good change. You know, if the change works for me, my family, team, bank account, interests, tribe, community, species… yeh, then it’s worth it. 

According to Gallup pollsters, Congress currently has a 20% approval rating. Odd, since the same people asked if they approve of the job Congress is doing annually are often the very same people who vote bi-annually. The Congressional approval rating was 9% in November, 2013, so one could argue that Congress is now over twice as popular! But good luck changing the “system”, which has been befuddling people for years as voting numbers sag. Intransigence, tribalism, self-preservation, false bravado, you name it, we see it regularly.

It’s a bit of a different situation at the state level, as our local legislators are part-time legislators- right or wrong. While most of them do work year round, the annual legislative session lasts for just 60 working days, and in that window, some 2,500-3,000 bills are proffered, but only about 10% pass into law. There must be a smarter way, and a better use of limited time. Yet, 46 of 50 states have part-time legislatures, and some meet for only 30 days a year!

Then there’s the fact that many0 of our local legislators have “outside” jobs. While understandable from a financial standpoint, this would seem to create potential conflicts of interest among other concerns. Having outside jobs arguably keeps legislators grounded and in touch. Being in touch is a good thing; having your fingers in the pie? Not so good. Outside skills and knowledge absolutely come in handy when discussing and deciding upon major issues where inside expertise can be helpful. But how often do legislators recuse themselves when issues being voted on strike too close to home?

We do have some rules and an ethics commission, so this is not to suggest anything other than perhaps it’s time to revisit “the system”. Maybe we should pay higher salaries to full-time legislators? Might that relieve some angst about a constant crossing of a moving line as bills evolve? Maybe it’s time to revisit oft-suggested legislative term limits, though that would remove historical perspective and innate knowledge, plus limit the people’s right to choose. Many questions… perhaps it’s time to look at addressing a confounding, unwieldy, archaic, and sometimes stifling system of democracy here and elsewhere.

Think about it…

This may not be the feel good story of the year, but it’s surely a contender… It stars an under-achiever, or at least the appearance of one. At age 17, he was stoked to get his driver’s license… until his loving mom stunned him with the news that he was an undocumented immigrant. High school and living abroad are tough enough, but with his defiant attitude and 1.3 grade point average, he was on a fast track to nowhere- he couldn’t drive, get a job without a social security number, or open a bank account.

But that’s when this saga becomes movie territory… After failing to get into college through multiple applications over three years, he got accepted at Kapi’olani Community College. With assistance from empathetic teachers and counsellors, he got a campus job and became a participant in the wonderful Lunalilo Scholars Program, a program that provides funding, peer mentorship, and an amazing support network to help those who might not traditionally see college as an option. 

Through initial funding from the Kaneta Foundation, this program is now celebrating its 10^th anniversary at KCC, providing hope and help where perhaps none previously existed. Over 600 students have gone through this program. Graduates have become program mentors, advisors, peers, leaders, and allies, helping others trying to get through life’s myriad complexities.

31% of the Lunalilo Scholars since 2012 have been the first in their families to attend college. While college may not be for everyone, it can be a lifeline for those willing to strive and sacrifice; it can put people on a road that enhances career and life options.

Our aforementioned wandering, wondering youngster didn’t just get through KCC… he became class valedictorian, finished at UH Mānoa, and is now prepared for the daunting challenge of law school! Through KCC’s initiative, he stayed in Hawai`i via DACA- the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. He thrived, overcoming issues like his mom having to move back to their native home. “Sometimes”, he says, “all you need is a hug and a few kind words from your second mom to get you through it.” 

He didn’t just get through it, he busted through. So big mahalo to KCC on the 10^th anniversary of its Lunalilo Scholars Program, our unnamed protagonist, and visionaries Marian and Lester Kaneta and other sponsors. Sometimes special people take real action, and don’t just think about it… 

You sit, ponder, fume, wait, merge… you inch along. As the Rolling Stones once sang, “time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me”. Yes, it’s traffic congestion redux, with serene, pandemic-vacated roadways fading in the headlights of yesterday. You got the left lane closed, you got the right lane closed- sing it to the tune of “The Hokey Pokey”, and yes, some people actually do turn themselves around.

Town-side Pali Highway, for one, has been under construction, or destruction, for four years now. Four years. It’s not that long (I mean the road)! Ever-informative Hawai`i Department of Transportations’ Deputy Director for Highways, Ed Sniffen, said that this multi-phase project should to be done by January, 2023. I appreciate the honesty… but I’ll believe it when I can drive it. Potholes, flying debris (cost me a windshield), speed bumps, metal grates (not great), uneven roadway, orange signs and cones, et al. But 10-months from now, electrical work, sewer and water pipe upgrades, curb repairs, gutter fixes, smoothing of roads will be done, pau, finito!

And after five years, the most satisfying part is that the stone matrix asphalt open graded mix (SMA) being used (the top two inches of the roadway) is soooo strong, it should last for 30-years! While SMA costs 50% more than traditional Hawaii mix IV modified asphalt, that material needed repairs about every seven years (actually, on the Pali Highway, three good/bad rainstorms in a month often necessitated reparations).

Pali Highway’s upkeep has been delayed by COVID, supply line and sewer conduit issues, and upgrading of curbs and gutters, which are completed first to ensure that subsequent road repairs can be level and symmetrical.

Check up on road projects in your area at the DOT’s Construction Projects website: https://highways.hidot.hawaii.gov/stories/s/9rg9-kd8i. Wondering about Wahiawa? Care about Kuakini Highway drainage? Mumbling about Mamalahoa Highway improvements? Weary about Waiawa? They’re all there, with “estimated” end dates plus further details. One important observation- polymer modified asphalt (PMA) road mix is now used on roads lying above utilities (it lasts 20-years) that may need to be torn up for aging conduit repairs. SMA and PMA are now required for all road repairs here going forward. Yeah!

The DOT report might not end road angst or your plans to read “The Iliad” while idling away, but hopefully you’ll see a light at the end of the roadwork tunnel.

Think about it… 

If you’ve been to a store recently, you might have noticed the phenomenon known as    “empty shelf syndrome”. That’s where one section is completely bare, and not necessarily because the missing items are popular. The supply chain issues we know about due to numerous reasons is just one more vestige of the coronavirus era, which ain’t over yet.

Shipping, trucking, production, personnel, and microchip issues continue to wreak havoc with local middlemen and retailers. A produce-supplying friend of mine said he normally gets kiwi fruit (the gold ones are great, have more folate, vitamin C… and sugar) shipped from New Zealand to Honolulu in two weeks, and plans accordingly. But during this shipping/supply crisis, the fruit takes six weeks to get here. Good luck timing ripeness, delivery, and stocking issues.

With fewer cars than ever on most showroom floors, I queried a local senior automotive executive about when local car dealers would start planning/selling 2023 models, since the 2022s might not be en route here until this summer, right about when the new 2023s will start being promoted. Not a lot of historical precedent for some of these lingering problems.

With our isolation, these situations become even more difficult, exacerbated by the fact that so many retailers are having trouble finding employees at their locations. Again, there are many reasons for this, but the bottom line is, well… their bottom line, and it’s tough to make ends meet if there’s no one working the register, cooking the food, or answering the phone.

So while we all look forward to a return to retail normalcy, the human element and product scarcity issues remain a bona fide concern. When you notice your favorite products missing from store shelves, the next time when you do see ‘em, should you hoard, just to be safe? I mean, there are things that make each of our worlds go ‘round… besides toilet paper.

Last summer, food website Grocery Dive provided info from research proclaiming that 46% of consumers “…have built a stockpile of supplies” as the delta variant took control. But even today, stores can’t afford to over-purchase items and then get stuck, especially with food items with expiration dates.

So we start to open up, thankfully, as the new normal surely presents additional unique realities and post-pandemic ripples that will remind us what we’ve just gone through even as we seek to forget.

Think about it…

Like Charlie Brown lining up to kick the football after so many repeated failures with mischievous Lucy as his holder, we have great hope that this time after several false starts; perhaps we are finally getting over the surreal hump of COVID-19. But with over 2.5-billion people worldwide still unvaccinated, it‘s premature to declare victory just yet. 

But we have hope, and perhaps a light at the end of our hunker-down bubble locally. So let’s get rid of gnawing rudeness and “me” first. Let’s start reducing the angst that understandably built up with two years of fear, uncertainty, whack-a-mole rules, starts and stops, dos and don’ts, Safe Travels, don’t travels, etc.? PTSD can be treated communally.

While we don’t hear many stories about COVIDiots locally, we do hear of people behaving badly on planes, in restaurants and stores, and just about any location where human interaction (a practice frowned upon not long ago) occurs. Let’s calmly get back to being the Aloha State after spending far too long in an alone state.

We can consciously appreciate what we’ve got here, now that the waters are receding, the winds have died down, and the storm appears to be dissipating. We used to think a huge natural disaster might get us- hurricane, tsunami, volcanic eruption or earthquake- yet this time ‘twas but a tiny bug, plus earthlings’ chutzpah and intransigence. 

Thomas Friedman of the New York Times said it well two weeks ago when he wrote “How is it that we have morphed into a country where people claim endless ‘rights’ while fewer and fewer believe they have any ‘responsibilities’”? But have we simply morphed? We’ve regressed and atrophied; our souls have surely sagged on many issues for many reasons. We live in an era where everyone (who are often no-ones) gets 15-minutes of digital fame, where we strive to be liked, clicked on, befriended, and must take incessant selfies to prove… well, I’m still not sure what.

As COVID fades (alas, it won’t disappear), let’s be different and be first in line as we display a heaping bowl of tolerance, empathy, and civil discourse. We won’t always agree- frankly, we never did on lots of things- but let’s reign in the useless ugliness that pervades far too many facets of far too many lives. Maybe local residents saying “lucky you live Hawai`i” will actually employ that sentiment going forward.

Think about it… 

HAMAU is an acronym, and so much more. The letters signify Health & welfare, Aid & awareness, Management with change, Aloha 100% always, and Unifying organizations. But this is not simply a new, nonprofit entity. This entity is laser-focused. For HAMAU’s purpose “…is to educate and inspire the next generation of performing artists”. HAMAU seeks to do this by ensuring that there are “…fair economic and working conditions in live venues, recording studios and in the digital domain”. 

Unlike many of us, working artists (musicians, producers, engineers, et al.) work on their own. They often seek their own insurance and handle their own medical costs, to name just a few areas of self-sustenance. HAMAU wants to help artists, and also to bring music back with local artists performing live for locals and visitors alike. 

We all benefit from and enjoy the great, unique sounds of Hawaiian music, however you define that term. Old skool kine, classic, Jawaiian, leo ki`eki`e, slack key, pedal steel, ‘Ūkēkē, … whatever form of mele you enjoy or whets your palette, it comes from the heart and soul of some of the kindest and most hard-working people we know. And HAMAU pledges to provide a safety net “…for the health, welfare and well-being of all Hawai`i’s musicians and artists in the entertainment industry”.

I first learned of HAMAU three weeks ago while being serenaded on Hawai`i Island by HAMAU advocates (Brother) Noland Conjugación, Kelly Boy DeLima, and Gaylord Holomalia. It’s not an easy life, and there’s a rite of passage and a passion as one moves up in the world of performing arts. HAMAU’s “simple” aim is to make sure that these beloved entertainers have a voice, are heard, and can look forward to retiring some day with the same, basic creature comforts that so many retirees look forward to as they continue to be productive into their golden years.

HAMAU and its board pledges to work to advocate and promote as it evolves in the coming years, including “…a space for collaboration” to be located downtown. It plans to work alongside business leaders of the Hawai`i Executive Collaborative and the tourism industry “…to build the ecosystem for performing arts in Waikiki and other resort areas in Hawai`i”. “Hamau” means to hush, be still, or silent. To help preserve this vital cultural resource of our islands, HAMAU cannot be silent. Stay tuned…

Think about it…

It’s Super Bowl week, so I thought it might be fun to draw analogies between the games of football and life. It all starts at the beginning with the kickoff, or birth, as the entire game is in front of you. 

Throughout life, as at the start of the game, be as prepared as can be. Educate yourself, constantly. Hopefully you’ll have coaches (football) or parent/mentors/friends (life) to teach you, motivate you, push you, exhort you and hug you… which makes it easier to succeed, however you define success, by providing you with life/game options. The more you learn about the world, the more options you’ll have, and the more prepared you’ll be for whatever’s out there.

Running game not working; you have to pass. Zone defense not slowing down the opposition; time to play man-to-man. In life you do what works, hopefully within the rules. Start by getting educated. One thing they say is guaranteed in football is that there’s a 100% chance of injury. Creepy, but true. But such is life- no one goes undefeated or uninjured- as we learn through resiliency, tenacity, willpower, and awareness as we overcome life’s owies; we get back in (or stay in) the game.

Life and football are played in series. A series of events, a drive to attain a goal… these football/life metaphors and similes never end should you choose to wax poetic. You gain a few yards, you lose a few yards. A first down = success! You complete an exhilarating bomb; you fumble. The key to football (life) is how you respond. You’re surrounded with teammates (family, co-workers) over whom you often have no control; you deal with obstacles, pleasures, small wins, and frustrations that make up football (life). You adapt or whither… every day, every play.

Play outside the rules and you pay a price. And when penalized (in life/football), often others suffer, too. Find what works best for you, go for it, but morph and adjust as the game (life) evolves. Don‘t make assumptions, steel yourself for life’s hard hits. If you get the wind knocked out of you, regroup, and get back in the game (concussions are different, of course).

However you define winning and losing in life, remember that unlike the finality of a completed football game, as long as the sun rises, you always have tomorrow. So get in there and play hard!

Think about it…

While there are innumerous issues to be addressed locally, some of which are gladly getting discussed in earnest at this year’s legislature, one of the items that stood out recently when it was reported was the lack of retention in our teacher ranks… still.

 The Star-Advertiser reported two weeks ago that the five year retention rate among public school teachers remains at just 50%. The goal was to get the retention rate to 60% by 2020, but that obviously never happened with COVID and other factors in play.

We should obviously be striving for quality along with quantity with the goal of keeping good teachers motivated as we hope to keep their students inspired. An enlightened student population can only help in the goal of a better future for all locally. And while the quest undoubtedly starts at home with involved, interested, pro-active parents, having to reinvent the wheel annually with new teachers makes for a cumbersome business model.

Whether it’s the convoluted education system or the high cost of living that butts up against salaries offered, the issue of retention must be re-addressed now and post-pandemic if we truly believe that “the keiki are our future”, which we hear year after year (and, of course, it’s true!).

While paying “shortage differentials” in certain areas (geographic and specialties) helps to mitigate even more shortfall in retention, work remains to be done, including seeking outside success stories in cities where retention has also been historically difficult. Hawai`i is not alone in its seemingly weak retention rate; the national public school teacher five-year retention rate average hovers around 50%.

One position proffered for years is that teacher salaries are so low to begin with that the entry rate, even with subsequent negotiated increases, is a non-starter for many who might look to the teaching profession while in college. The increasing demands, paperwork, expectations, morale issues, lack of materials, and enhanced accountability (i.e. meeting test score mandates) make teaching a true labor of love. Add to that the perceived babysitting/behavior factors and lack of motivation that is unfortunately seen in many students, and the picture becomes clear, though not pretty. 

Large companies losing 50% of staff within five years often struggle to survive, let alone thrive. We (locally and nationally) need to do better in keeping quality teachers to help ensure that students are encouraged in schools for their future success.

Think about it…