#midweek | Think About It Hawaii

Tripping Out – MidWeek July 8, 2020

admin MidWeek Column July 9, 2020June 30, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

With much at stake, some ponder if we should be assessing some of our fraying systems here. Education, tourism, traffic, housing, education, working from home- the list goes on. We should always seek to improve things via great forethought and action (plus accountability, often lacking locally… but that’s another story).

But right now, we need a reality check. People are suffering. We don’t have five years to revamp our major economic engine- tourism. Over 200,000 jobs statewide were supported by tourism last year, according to the annual Hawai`i Visitor Statistics report. By year end, an estimated 60% of Hawai`i households will be a single paycheck away from having trouble paying bills- rent, food, medical, transportation, et al. Over 700,000 residents could be in need of assistance, according to Aloha United Way’s 2020 ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are working households, added to those already in poverty and dire straits. And let’s not forget the mental stress this pandemic is causing. The tax on that silent threat is forthcoming.

Suggestions that hotels “simply” raise rates by 20% to help offset a 20% loss in visitors (or two million people annually) to keep our tax base strong through 2021 is naïve, illogical, and simplistic. As Waikiki and the Neighbor Island doors re-open, hotel beds will not be filled at 80% capacity any time soon. Room rates will be lowered as businesses try to entice tourists back. Economics 101. And if rules are followed, illegal B&Bs won’t bounce back. Some economists have projected a five-year path (whatever that path might look like) to get us back to the $17.75 billion that visitors spent here in 2019.

Yes, we need actionable, forward thinking. Call Elon Musk about a missile site; call the Mayo Clinic about an East/West medical consortium; convince Silicon Valley neophytes to set up an enterprise in paradise. Practical, alternative energy businesses might thrive here. There’s a lot of capital waiting for entrepreneurial opportunities today. Just don’t expect many new concepts to start impacting our economy for years. We need answers for locals in August and also in February of 2021. We need our statewide ‘ohana to ensure that Hawai`i stays vibrant, unique, and livable. Everyone will be tested. Not everything will get done (hello, potholes). Reality insists that we deal with today’s issues today as we search within and without for tomorrow’s opportunities.

Think about it…

Meandering… MidWeek July 1, 2020

admin MidWeek Column July 2, 2020June 30, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

A few unrelated items to ponder this week as we navigate new beginnings…

Kaiser High was acknowledged in April as the #1 public school in Hawaii and was also tied for #1 in the entire United States among public high schools in math and reading proficiency, according to U.S. News and World Report. “It’s Academic Hawai`i”, a weekly, academic game show featuring some of the brightest students from local high schools, ran from 2012-2018 on KFVE. The show had only one three-time champion in seven seasons- Kaiser High School. Kaiser’s principal commented on the local/national math ranking by saying “we challenge ourselves”, according to Pacific Business News. As it should be! Go Cougars! It’s always great to see our public schools earning deserved academic kudos both locally and nationally…

Moving on, comedian Dennis Miller once said that the toughest job in the world was being a bank security guard in Alaska: 20 people walk into a bank… they’re all wearing masks (insert laughter here). Well, reality nowadays is- 20 people walk into a bank, socially distanced of course, and they’re all wearing masks. Suddenly, a guy walks in without a mask. Everyone gets really scared… As Bob Dylan sang 20 years ago: “People are crazy and times are strange / I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range / I used to care, but things have changed.”

Finally… we simply can’t seem to do it. As a species. We’ve paid the price, darn it, and now we have a right to go out unencumbered as we frolic and play. Without masks, without physical distancing, without practicing safe sanitization. Well… someone forgot to tell Beelzebub, a/k/a/ COVID-19. Because it’s still here and it also wants to play, and (for now) it’s here to stay, thanks to human transmission and letting our guard down. COVID-19 appears to be mutating, morphing- and who knows what that portends. We’ve already seen death and long-term damage via more than eight million (confirmed) cases worldwide in just seven months. We need treatments, we need a vaccine, and yes, we want our freedom. But for today’s purpose, what we really need is to have a clue, sports fans. As stoics love to remind us, freedom is not free; well, neither is winning this biological war. So put on your equipment, give space, and keep fighting the good fight, brothers and sisters. No slackers allowed.

Think about it…

But Not Here… – MidWeek June 24, 2020

admin MidWeek Column June 25, 2020June 15, 2020#911, #midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

9/11 was stunning in so many awful ways, but one of the biggest takeaways was that things as we knew them and believed them were never going to be the same again. The invincibility we felt as a strong nation, where we seemingly just had to deal with our own internal issues, vanished forever. We are regularly reminded of that dark day whenever we venture through airports and trudge sheep-like, by necessity and for reassurance, through TSA screening lines. Before September, 2001, we occasionally witnessed terroristic attacks on military installations, malls, and innocent civilians around the world. Perhaps we took minor reassurance in believing that such incidents always occurred elsewhere, but not here…

We’ve watched for years as horrible, invisible, biological enemies sadly visited people around the world in microscopic attacks- Ebola, Zika, SARS, dengue, MERS. When polio and measles flare-ups appeared, we viewed them as distant relics of the past in America. Sure, we‘ve dipped our toes into turbulent viral waters in the United States over the past 60 years, but we no longer experienced viral tsunamis; those always festered in other places. We perhaps said to ourselves- yeh, those things happen over there, but not here…

We’ve watched in passive disbelief as countries were ripped apart by warring factions or tribal disputes disrupting lives, splitting families, and splintering nations into the haves and have nots, the elite and the ignored, the winners and the wanna-bes. But the underlying belief in our 245-year old system gave us the faith that we could withstand even disagreements that rose above the normal fray. We felt that compromise, morality, decency, common sense, and empathy would rule the day, so we wouldn’t have to rue the day. Sure, we’ve seen other countries fall apart, statues toppled, and fed-up people take to the streets. But not here…

Well, it’s 2020. And many believe that we have lost clarity, misplaced that 20/20 vision based on original principles upon which America was founded. And if you feel displeasure at reactions to what’s going on today, ignore it, or feel it’s simply an overreaction, then maybe you’ve never experienced being regularly mistreated as a minority, never been deemed an outcast, never had “the talk” with your innocent kids, never been chastised or bullied for merely existing, never been persecuted for being “different”. Terrorism, COVID-19, deep-seated social problems- American realities in the 21^st century.

Think about it…

Yield of Dreams – MidWeek June 17, 2020

admin MidWeek Column June 18, 2020June 7, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

Why are some people consciously choosing to not wear masks or practice social distancing? Yes, everyone’s been inconvenienced as “the man” made us stay home, but this medical safeguard has nothing to do with the shattering COVID-19 economic toll. If this is a so-called “war” we’re fighting vs. the coronavirus, and if you’re not doing you’re small part for our state and country in that war, does that make you a traitor or a snowflake? The novel coronavirus is not going away soon and is surely not a problem solved, yet.

Moving on… recent peaceful protests around the country have pointed out just how far we haven’t come as a nation where all people are supposedly created and treated equal. The cry for justice and change is as loud as it’s been in many years, which hopefully will be a cause for immediate action beyond the poignant words.

We’ve been here before, and not just on this one particular issue of racial inequality and mistreatment. Back to 1970, we saw apparent headway being made by Women’s Lib, Black Power, and Gay Liberation movements. Yes, a half century ago, some of the very problems we see today were being addressed. But as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and LGBTQ movements show us in 2020, we certainly have a long way to go.

Minneapolis just banned neck restraints and chokeholds as methods of police restraint, but that’s merely a rules change. What needs to change universally is mindsets. As daddy once told me, learn right from wrong when you’re young, because it’s hard(er) to change when you get older. Civics and ethics courses should be mandated in schools, if we truly believe in the words of our nation’s founders (who themselves were quite naïve and hypocritical in some humanitarian areas).

Judge people by their actions and souls, not by their skin color, shape, social proclivities, religious choices, physical challenges, mental conditions, accents, or even where they went to school. Civics should be taught alongside the ABCs, and taught early and often. Alter or adjust evolving mindsets before wayward or antiquated notions seep in and you’ll see change. Sunday schools should also play a big role in this moral mandate. Enough tribalism; enough us and them. While we all may be different, we’re all in this together. It’s 2020, not 1863, not 1607. Time to wake up, everybody.

Think about it…

Jack of all Tradewinds – MidWeek June 10, 2020

admin MidWeek Column June 11, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, midweek, think about it

You know how you come across people in life who always seem upbeat, involved, interested, and are fun to be around? The kind of people who rarely say a disparaging word about anyone? The kind of people who, when you walk away, you say: “we need more people like that!”?

Well, meet Jack Sullivan, an acknowledged godfather of soccer in Hawai`i, long-time friend to boys and girls in Hawaii’s youth correctional facilities, and a huge sports aficionado. Jack, who passed away on May 12, was one of those people who made a difference while on this earth. A Boston transplant, he never lost his accent, zest for life, or sense of humor.

I was fortunate to call Jack my friend for almost 45-years. He loved talking about soccer- my appearance on the Hawai`i All-Stars, playing at Aloha Stadium in 1976 before the Pele-led Cosmos played later that night, my work for Team Hawai`i of the North American Soccer league, my involvement with the short-lived, Hawai`i Semi-Pro Soccer League, AYSO, HYSA, WISA, MISO, high school tournaments, UH Wahine soccer- well, you get the picture. Jack was a walking encyclopedia of all things soccer locally. He also talked volumes about hockey (we shared Boston Bruins’ stories), and football, you name it.

Ferd Lewis’ Star-Advertiser recent article encapsulated Jack’s life here. Jack was a minister and a self-effacing, self-employed accountant. He played Santa Claus at youth homes for decades, sometimes rappelling down from the rooftop with a “ho ho ho” and plenty of padding to cover his rail-like body (I witnessed that feat at the Ko’olau Boys Home in 1977). Once when a youth home inmate scaled a “security” fence and escaped during a soccer game, Jack yelled that at least he could’ve left his soccer shirt behind…

He possessed a gregarious gift of gab, a sense of civility that knew no borders, and a humble, yet fervent, willingness to get involved, deeply if need be, to listen to, help and to heal those in need. He mattered. His 63 years in Hawai`i included Irish yarns and other numerous tales. Everyone smiled when interacting with Uncle Jack. The consummate mensch, he actually never played soccer, but loved watching it from the grass and from the grassroots level on up, and he never let anyone down. He was a beautiful man who loved “the beautiful game” and so much more.

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The New World – MidWeek May 20, 2020

admin MidWeek Column May 21, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

Some people have made it clear what they don’t want when quarantine ends- a return of seam-busting tourism and stultifying traffic. O`ahu’s major corridors have fewer commuters because schools are closed and people are unemployed or working from home- non-tourism-related issues. We often know what we don’t want, but too little time, effort, and ingenuity has been placed on addressing what we DO want (and need)- a community that respects our heritage and people, cherishes Hawai`i’s uniqueness, and provides ample jobs, wages, and housing to ensure that future generations can hopefully and happily call Hawai`i home.

Intriguing and higher paying jobs are easy to talk about, but how do we get there- internet technology, aerospace, astronomy, cyber-security, alternative energy, self-sustaining agriculture, aquaculture, an East-West medical consortium, a gerontology center? Diversifying our economy is a now-standard local plea and political rallying cry, much like improving education for our keiki.

The “what” and “why” are simple; what’s been missing for the past 25+ years is the “how”, “who”, and “when”. Many here were concerned about our lack of an economic bouillabaisse before COVID-19 came to town. Tourism’s growth has allowed us to ignore issues for far too long. An April International Air Transport Association survey said that 40% of travelers plan to wait six months after the virus is contained before possibly flying again. Yes, “business as normal” will be experiencing a facelift here.

Turning down the tourism spigot is not a simple or necessarily wise solution. We have no economic plan “B”. Ripple coronavirus effects ensure a slow, economic re-build. We need new partnerships, planning, and action to help Hawai`i morph into what we want it to look like and be in 2030 and beyond.

Bloomberg Businessweek said: “Almost half of U.S. households 55 and older have nothing saved for retirement.” In mid-2019, ABC News said: “Almost 40% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency with cash, savings or a credit-card charge that they could quickly pay off.” That represents over 83-million struggling Americans aged 18+, a staggering statistic pre-coronavirus. With layoffs, cutbacks, closures, uncertainty, and bills piling up, well… things are tough.

The federal government is handing out almost $3-trillion in business loans, taxpayer relief, and other monetary aid to momentarily stem the tidal wave of angst that is a real COVID- 19 by-product. Hawai’i’ leadership needs to provide hope.

Think about it…

“Think About It: Ideas And Inspiration For Today’s Hawai`i”, my new book, is now available to order online from Watermark Publishing locally (including FREE shipping) at: https://www.bookshawaii.net and is also available at many local bookstores

Haiku Snafu – MidWeek, May 13, 2020

admin MidWeek Column May 14, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, haiku stairs, midweek

Finally! After three decades, a resolution on the Haiku Stairway to Heaven… actually, what we got was a resolution that will possibly lead to a resolution. Yes, once again, the well-known “kick the can down the road” mentality prevailed, as the City’s Water Department (which never should have held jurisdiction over a scenic landmark on/adjacent to city and state property) turned over its operation (ha!) of the Stairway to Heaven to the City of Honolulu- who has carefully avoided dealing with these steps for 33 years- and who now has 18-months to decide what to do! Because three decades of uncertainty and trespassing is apparently not enough…

Yes, after poring over details, we get a poor non-decision… again. 18-months, enough time for the new mayor and new City Council to issue a call for a referendum, form a subcommittee, hire a research group, coordinate a team of ecological experts, ask for more community testimony… and then we’ll see the inevitable lawsuit(s). After that, we’re off to see the wizard! Or head to an appellate court case. It’ll be 2025… with nighttime ninjas still creeping up there in the wee hours for the cool view. The city was going to buy the stairs in 2002- never happened.

The only thing missing from this latest dereliction of duty was that no one’s (yet) suggested installing a telescope on top of the stairs to explore the universe. You cannot make this stuff up. The Board of Water Supply tosses the Stairway to Heaven over to the City of Honolulu- a 3,922 step hot potato. After decades of negotiations, neighborhood complaints, illegal trespassing by thousands, environmental studies, politician site visits, etc., does the City really need 18-months to decide what to do?!

Experiential gazers traipse up the pathway in pre-dawn hours to see a glorious sunrise. Got it. Security cops get there too late, or people figure out a way around them, and taxpayers pay $250,000 annually for private security. Would it be different if people were charged for such a spectacular view, as some are proposing? Frustrated neighbors, tired of their lawns and hoses being used, say scofflaws will avoid paying. “Ho-hum” say those enchanted by this surreal stairway to the stars… until someone falls off, or slips off the rope swing, when we’ll have a legal Haiku Stairway to Bedlam. Local decision-making- an oxymoron far too often.

Think About It…

Pondering In Solitude – MidWeek May 6, 2020

admin MidWeek Column May 7, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, midweek

On to May, as people now grapple with what month it is, let alone what day of the week. With much time on our hands, this allows for all kinds of pondering about what might be, and when…

As quarantine is lifted here in various increments, what will be the “new” reality? Suggesting things will “return to normal” seems far-fetched, or at least a far-reach. An April USA TODAY-cited Harris Poll showed that only 6% of fans would go to a sporting event as soon as they’re able; 36% said they’d wait at least four months to attend. A Seton Hall poll showed that 72% won’t go to games until a preventive vaccine comes out- maybe late in 2021. Will a quick-acting treatment be found sooner to provide some confidence for people to re-interact, safe in the belief that they can (probably) be saved if infected? Must most restaurants remove some tables in the new world to limit seating capacity, which thus limits revenue potential? Will locals smile, but now hand visitors a plastic bag with a lei inside, foregoing traditional lei-hugs?

As Hawai`i is the world’s most isolated, populated land mass, will freed masses dare sit in flying sardine cans for a minimum of five hours to visit here by autumn or winter? Will we quickly corona-test every person who arrives here? And if infected, will we mandate that they and the other 250 fliers quarantine here? At a hospital? Can people get tested at airport check-ins, so that asymptomatic, yet infected, travelers don’t fly in the first place? How will airlines adapt- people crammed in where the rows in front and behind you aren’t six feet apart? Empty seats equal lost revenue, like with restaurants, ships, buses, and stadiums.

With no guarantees yet that COVID-19 immunity (for those who’ve had the ailment) is long-lasting, will those who are “cured” be given carte blanche to resume normal activities? How will we identify them- with paperwork, ID cards, or rubber bracelets- which would most assuredly open up a black market for sleazy entrepreneurs?

The term “close friend” will take on a whole new meaning, as in “Um… I really don’t need you to get that close, friend.” Many questions and few answers about the “new normal” as we redefine our reality, inch ahead, and ponder uncharted territory in the weeks, months, and perhaps years ahead.

Think about it…

The Governmental “Hokey Pokey” – MidWeek, April 29, 2020

admin MidWeek Column April 30, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

Remember the childhood song and dance, the “Hokey Pokey”? It goes like this:

“You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.” Etc., etc.

We do our own redundant, profound dance here- kind of a “local government ‘Hokey Pokey’”. Happens all the time. We start, we stop; we’re in, we’re out. Decisions are made, action begins; decisions are rescinded, action stops. The recent one day of work at Waimanalo’s Sherwood Forest (they found bones! who knew? Everyone…) is just the latest confirmation that government here leads the league in start/stop, discuss/revisit, pledge/avoid, empathize/ignore. Is it arrogance or ignorance?

TMT? The “Stairway to Heaven”? The Falls of Clyde ship? The Waikiki Natatorium? An alternate road to leeward O`ahu? Affordable housing? More doctors? More teachers? The list is seemingly endless… items which we’re told have been resolved and are moving forward- only to come to that inevitable moment where leaders “…take your right foot out.” We can’t seem to get planned major projects vetted, cleared by the courts, and then acted upon- or shelved- except for that on-going rail thing. Intransigence by opposition forces is to be expected. Heck, entities question Roe v. Wade (1973) and the 2^nd Amendment (1791) every single year. Our local government just doesn’t finalize many of its big, ongoing issues, or take a permanent stand when apparently justified, if confronted.

Broken promises over time really do set people off. Elected officials failing to act on decisions and edicts should matter to us. When finalizing matters, there is never constituent unanimity or complete happiness at the end… someone’s still upset. If politicos are not prepared for adversarial response, then they shouldn’t promise action or perhaps even be in office.

That stasis leaves us far too often in limbo. And that’s not a quaint town outside of Wahiawa nor a desired destination, but rather a frustrating place to be. Leadership means being accountable and empathetic, but also decisive, explaining rationally when questioned, and ultimately moving forward.

Think about it…

Corona Considerations – MidWeek April 22, 2020

admin MidWeek Column April 23, 2020June 1, 2020#midweek, #thinkaboutit, midweek, think about it

Summertime- with the hopeful minimization of the most drastic COVID-19 safety measures and concerns- brings Hawai`i’s hurricane season (June – November). Remember when that ominous window was our biggest annual life/lifestyle/economic local concern? Near-misses from major Pacific storms have been near-miraculous over the past 20+years, but we must always remain vigilant and prepare well ahead of time (sound familiar?). A few thoughts:

A byproduct of watching daily coronavirus (national) news coverage is witnessing the numbing parade of drugs available for various ailments. And everyone’s smiling! The pharmacological alphabet soup (these names aren’t from the “Alice in Wonderland” poem, “Jabberwocky”) includes Humira, Ibrance, Xeljanz, Eliquis, Truvada, Ozempic, Xarelto, Dupixent, Farxiga, Otezla, Cosentyx, Chantix, and Trulicity. Possible drug side effect listings take up more ad time than the drug’s positive aspects (legal requirements). Big Pharma concoctions with lots of Xs, Zs, and Qs, plus other strangely aligned letters. Maybe these tongue-twisting names evolved from Superman’s home, Krypton, or from a mid-1960s “Star Trek” episode?

And you thought people’s usage of/addiction to digital devices was severe before we all went to our respective rooms? An April Atlantic magazine article by commentator Maya MacGuineas proffers: “The average person taps, types, swipes, and clicks on his smartphone 2,617 times a day. Ninety-three percent of people sleep with their devices within arm’s reach. Seventy-five percent use them in the bathroom”. Smartphone program engineers know- via likes, followers, friends, replies, positive reviews, thumbs up and all- how to tap into our brain’s areas for wanting and desiring, bypassing our judgment and reasoning brain areas. Reassuring, yeah? Let’s all play Parcheesi instead- mo’ bettah! Time to kick the digital dependence…

And finally, when the novel coronavirus’ major threat eases, the last thing we should all do is party. I’m not a killjoy, but physical distancing must remain top-of-mind (and body) even after this isolation mandate dissipates. The last thing we need is a COVID-19 rebound (now playing in Asia). Let’s continue to practice our newly-honed, sanitation habits and norms, as they might even help us stifle the 2020 flu infection rate a bit. Flu season starts in earnest in about six months.

Think about it…