midweek

Soothing Summer Sounds – MidWeek July 3, 2024

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In my teenage days as a fledgling singer in a garage band (because that’s where we deserved to be seen/heard), I penned a ditty called, “Summer Is A Bummer.” It basically expounded about how kids anticipate summertime to be free of the pressing burdens of school, responsibility, hormonal angst, peer pressure, and other things which seem quaint in the rearview mirror.

Summer can be a time of reflection, growth, and creating cherished memories. We get summer-like weather here year-round, but other enjoyable items associated with summer just seem to fit these months better. Like eggnog in winter and pumpkins in autumn, summer holds a special place for swimming, fishing, barbeques, picnics, vacations, Independence Day, watermelon, corn-on-the-cob, movie blockbusters, ice cream, and so much more, including memorable, summer-specific tunes. 

Below are a handful of songs to enhance already-sunny weekdays/starry nights. You know, because there’s nothing going on locally, nationally, or internationally to possibly cause a rain cloud now, is there? OK, I digress. It’s 2024, we’ve entered the twilight zone. Perhaps a brief respite while sipping lemonade can foment a sunnier disposition. Plop yourself down, play these summertime-sourced singles along with your own faves.

Some here you’ll probably know; some of these might be first-timers for you. And yes, they do lean old(er) skool…

“Hot Fun In The Summertime”  Sly & The Family Stone (#1 hit for the enigmatic Stone) 

“In The Summertime”  Mungo Jerry (amazing one-hit wonder sold 30-million copies)

“Long Hot Summer”  Keith Urban” (a #1 country hit in 2011) 

“One Summer Dream”  Electric Light Orchestra (an emotional dreamscape)

“Rain In The Summertime”  The Alarm (highly underrated Welsh band)

“Sausalito Summernight”  Diesel (a Dutch band’s one-hit wonder)

“Summer”  WAR (chill defined, and it’s even got cowbell!)

“The Boys Of Summer”  Don Henley (the Eagle crooner in Grammy-winning form) 

“Summer”  Calvin Harris (Spotify’s song of the summer in 2014)

“Summer Breeze”  Seals & Crofts (harmonies galore a la C & K or Kalapana)

“Summer In New York”  Sofi Tukker (a modern riff featuring a Suzanne Vega hook)

“Summer of ‘69”  Bryan Adams (nostalgia lives in this raspy rocker’s classic) 

“Summer Rain”  Johnny Rivers (conjures visions, with a shout out to “Sgt. Pepper”)

“Summertime Magic”  Childish Gambino (multi-talented Donald Glover shines)

“Summertime, Summertime”  The Jamies (an earworm if there ever was one)

I could go on all day and night, as I’m sure you could, too. Time to chill.

Think about it…

Running On Empty – MidWeek June 19, 2024

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And… they’re off and running! Or, maybe not. The deadline’s passed for interested candidates to fill out paperwork for our upcoming August primary election, and the big winner is “unopposed”.

The number of candidates (279) for all local offices is down 15% from the 2020 total of 330 wannabes. In 2022, 401 candidates ran (more seats were available due, in part, to the once-a-decade legislature redistricting tied to the census). In 2024, it looks like the “ainokea” platform will sweep through. There are some interesting primary races and perhaps a few battles in the general election, but the excitement based on civic-minded citizens running for office here seems to be disappearing.

So what does it mean in a democracy when fewer people want to participate? Surely it results in less competition and accountability, with potentially less focus or engagement from walkover victors. After all, if you have no competition, why take chances, be bold, or make possibly controversial decisions/suggestions? 

Being a politician nowadays is not easy, with rampant factionalism, trolls constantly seeking to cause angst, every word or move being videoed or dissected, and personal lives getting disrupted to the point where some have said- “enough already”. Long hours, lots of handshaking, everybody wants something, and everyone demands your attention. State legislators wade through 3,000+ bills annually. Too much humbug, perhaps?

Incumbents have face, name, and historical recognition working in their favor… unless they screw up. They also have funding coffers open 24/7/365; it’s not easy for a start-up campaign/candidate to quickly gain traction.

True competition keeps incumbents on their toes, attentive to the masses beyond rehashed promises to get things done, serve our keiki, keep younger residents from moving by creating jobs and housing, fix roads, develop new economic goldmines, greenify our state, etc. Lots of platforms to stand on with only so much government funding to spread around. Currently, there are thousands of unfilled, non-elected, City and State jobs; maybe the allure of government work has dissipated.

We need the next generation(s) to step up, with a “if it’s to be, it’s up to me!” attitude. It takes some ego, chutzpah, self-esteem, and a lot of support to run for office and succeed. Let’s hope this diminished candidate pool is just one more post-COVID hangover/aberration, and not a sign of local democracy unwinding. Like ‘em or not, we need leaders… not impervious administrators or complacent managers.

Think about it…

Pantry Power – MidWeek June 12, 2024

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There are plenty of choices locally to choose from when deciding where/when/how to give of your time or money. Some non-profits are large and well-known, while others fly under the radar while also providing invaluable services throughout our community.

One such unheralded entity is The Pantry on Rose Street in Kalihi. This free, food distribution location is a wonder to behold. On a May field trip with Aloha United Way (my employer), I had the pleasure of visiting during peak hours. The Pantry’s operation is phenomenal for numerous reasons. 

#1- The Pantry provides much needed food to thousands of local residents. Sadly (as you’ve been reminded recently) local food demands continue soaring. May was the largest distribution month in The Pantry’s history; it served 46% more families than in May, 2023!

#2- the Pantry has just three full-time employees. Three. On average, The Pantry welcomes 45 volunteers during its limited hours of food distribution; a well-oiled, service machine. Needy people anonymously (first-name only) order on-line (limit of 10 items per person in a household per visit) and then either walk in or drive-thru, as volunteers select boxes that were custom-packed the day prior and place them into fast-moving shopping carts for quick, parking lot delivery. 

Employees and volunteers recognize multiple clients- 19% of weekly clients are regulars; 20% are kupuna; 29% are under age 18 or keiki; 39% reside in Aloha United Way’s ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) households, with household income levels above the federal poverty line, but they’re barely getting by. 

#3- volunteers possess boundless energy, working happily and harmoniously within cramped, but coordinated, Pantry confines. Neighbors helping neighbors. CEOs, active and retired military, and community members volunteering alongside one another, for a cause, for the people.

A major issue (deserving more discussion) is how to provide more fresh and nutritious food while also growing the supply chain and providing quality food, when possible. More access and coordination with local farms; more awareness of The Pantry, religious sites that offer food, and other food distribution locations. Call AUW’s 211 for additional food-availability information. The Pantry has room to warehouse more food to serve more people more often, if provided with necessary funding. This is just one example of the great social work that often goes unnoticed locally. Volunteer, donate, provide expertise, help coordinate more food distribution opportunities. Fill your soul as you help fill people’s bellies. A win-win.

Think about it… 

Field Goals – MidWeek May 22, 2024

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It’s too nice here. Really. That’s why so many of our parks are in regular need of repair. Our weather is simply too good too often, so fields and park areas rarely get a chance to heal from overuse. When it comes to myriad soccer fields statewide, the first place the wear and tear shows is right in front of the goal area. And after it rains, teams immediately trod on the weary sod, causing vulnerable fields to wear down even more.

So, it’s nice to see the state’s largest soccer concern, the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), along with other leagues working in conjunction with the City & County of Honolulu to put a timeout on play at the expansive Waipio Soccer Complex for about two months. This should allow for much-needed aeration, weeding, and seeding to help the fields return to tip top shape in time for upcoming summertime tournaments.

With 23 fields, including an enclosed, 4,500+ seat stadium, Waipio has hosted numerous national and international events throughout its 25-year existence, including the National AYSO Games, with estimates each time it was held here of more than 10,000 youth soccer players and their families/fans in 2002, 2008, and 2019.

What’s also great about the timing of this down time is that Waipio will remain a soccer facility. A month ago, the City was being considering the site as a new, garbage dump as it looks to replace the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill by March, 2028… until that date is pushed back, again.

The early coordination with leagues made this shutdown decision a bit easier for all, though finding alternate fields in the interim is problematic. Leagues have kicked in huge amounts of sand to help the Department of Parks and Recreation kickstart the refurbishment; individual teams are weeding. Great coordination and a strong communal effort- the public sector meets the general public as it takes a village to make for a nicer soccer mecca.

No one likes to see fields close down, but close they must, or we’ll end up with more pockmarked parks and unhappy users. Kapi’olani, Wai’alae Iki, Kapāolono, Kānewae, Maunawili, Lanikai, Ala Wai- pick a park and you’ll often see an overused field in need of rest and restoration. 

It will be a treat to see “the beautiful game” (“o jogo bonito”, as Pelé called it) played on more beautiful fields in the months ahead.

Think about it…

Seal of Approval – MidWeek May 15, 2024

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Dorothy, the youthful protagonist in the 1939 classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, assured us repeatedly that “there’s no place like home”. Yet the very next year, vaunted author Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel that plainly stated, “You can’t go home again.” 

Well, leave it up to Kaiwi, the celebrated Hawaiian monk seal, to remind us that yes, indeed, you can (and should) go home again, as two weeks ago she gave birth to her third little one on O`ahu’s Kaimana Beach. As has become the norm, people are urged to provide ample room for mom and pup to do their thing. With monk seals an endangered species, all new births are reasons to celebrate, even from a distance.

The nursing and early training window for monk seal keiki runs up to about seven weeks, so curious onlookers may peek, but also should saunter else to sunbathe and swim for now. And as everyone knows, you never wanna get between an animal mom and her new offspring.

It is reassuring when humans take a back seat and let nature do its thing as we try (sometimes) to live in harmony with the unique creatures we’re blessed with here. Leave the nēnē geese alone, hang back from approaching sea turtles… the requests are simple and valid.

Beginning on May 1, O`ahu overnight camping sites (including Bellows Beach) were shut down for the summer to ensure/secure unobstructed sea turtle nesting sites. While sea turtles elsewhere are rarely seen during the day, things are cool (or warm) enough here so that we do see our fair share of these magnificent creatures during daylight hours, and wafting in the waves. This opportunity provides for learning, mindfulness, respect, and caring for honu adults and keiki. Hmmm… if only we could do that more often with humans…   

Add in spinner dolphins, humpback whales, Hawaiian hoary bats (ōpe‘ape‘a), crested honeycreepers (akohekohe), Hawaiian hawks (io), and even Hawaiian tree snails- and we have a good number of endangered species. Our fragile ecosystem, which most here love and helps to make Hawai`i so special, must be treated with reverence for preservation purposes. 

So, here’s to Kaiwi at Kaimana and the honu hovering along our shorelines. Here’s to flying rarities and gentle swimming giants. Here’s a quack out to the koloa maoli (Hawaiian duck). They’re all components of what makes our environs unique, special, and sacred.

Think about it…

Inter- esting – MidWeek May 8, 2024

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You gotta ask stuff to keep the mind growing and going, especially as you get older. We all know people who think they know it all. I checked… they don’t. I also checked on something that’s simply never made sense to me: why do we have “interstates” in Hawai`i, the most isolated, unconnected, populated spot on Earth? Pretty sure we’re not latched to any other state, though I’m sure I could find yet one more ludicrous “news” website that claims there’s a secret tunnel to California.

It’s a fair question to ask why our so-called interstates are not labeled as “intra-states”. I’ve wondered for years, never actually bothering to find the simple, yet logical explanation. So as the school year winds down this month, here’s a history lesson and semi-scintillating breakdown that should remove any future queries as to why Hawai`i is home to interstates.

Hawai`i was admitted as the union’s 50th state on March 18, 1959. Looking at Hawai`i (and #49 Alaska), the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) hierarchy identified possible in-state routes, utilizing “…the same criteria applied during a 1957 expansion of the Interstate System: national defense; system integration; service to industry, fishing, agriculture, mining, and forestry… and population” (U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration). So, on the basis of BPR’s 1960 report to Congress, the interstate network statute subsequently no longer required that qualifying roads be located just in the continental U.S.

Our interstates are labeled H-1, H-2, and H-3 in contrast to interstates throughout the continent that begin with the letter “I” (“Interstate”). Alaskan interstates begin with “A”, and in Puerto Rico, they start with “PR”. H-3, our latest addition, was designated in December, 1997. A 4.1-mile slab of Moanalua Freeway was upgraded in 1990 without using Interstate Construction funds, and was not called H4, but rather is known as H-201. Huh? All of our interstate roads are “built to interstate standards”, according to the Dept. of Transportation.

So, thanks to former President Eisenhower, the BPR, and Congress (back in the halcyon days when it actually tried- and succeeded- in getting stuff done…) for our paid-for road reality here with H-1, H-2, H-3 (hike), and outlier H-201. Hawaii has almost 55-miles of interstate; Alaska has 1,082 miles; Puerto Rico has 250 miles.

Getting federal funds throughout the decades probably helped us remain “the Aloha State” as opposed to the “I’ll Owe Ya State”.

Think about it…

Academy Awards – MidWeek May 1, 2024

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We often hear about our public high schools when things aren’t going well. Too many students being taught by too few teachers, chronic absenteeism, stifling heat (still…) in classrooms, test scores stagnating or going down, annual concerns raised by legislators, Board of Education members and paid staff leaving… you’ve seen the headlines.

But have you heard about the Hawai`i Academies (HA)? It’s a partnership among 27 local, public high schools on five islands that aims to “…improve educational outcomes by implementing smaller learning communities through career academies”? The HA/Dept. of Education program began with just six schools in 2008. Workshops occur regularly as schools share information to make individual programs even better.

According to the Hawai`i Academies’ 2023/24 booklet, these smaller, real-life programs help raise kids’ grades, test scores, attendance, and graduation rates. The HA programs provides focus and consistency, which helps foment personal success for energized participants. Course offerings are diverse and future-focused. For example: 

‘Aiea High offerings include Academies in Health Sciences, Business, Culinary, Education, and Hospitality. Baldwin offers Digital Design, Computer Programming, and Sustainable Hospitality. Campbell has an Academy of Energy, Natural Resources, and Business. Kapa’a provides Health, Natural Resources, and Industrial Engineering Technology. McKinley offers Building & Construction. Hilo and Waiākea have student-run credit unions- for students! In conjunction with the DOE and Hawaii Pacific Health, Waipahu just opened its Academic Health Center, the first school-based health clinic in America!

HA entity represents more than incremental progress; it’s a marketable, thriving, success story that should be regularly acknowledged and loudly celebrated. You wanna talk about “growing our own”? Well, it’s happening via HA. I’ve actually witnessed the excitement in action at Kalaheo High through its Academy of Media & Design, where kids learn, innovate, and compete successfully at annual national competitions.  

Perhaps someday we’ll see this exemplary program expand to all 65 Hawai`i public high schools through more available resources and grants, with innovators, and individual school champions leading the charge. Greater sharing of best practices will further enhance the program as it continues to evolve and flourish. Getting teens excited and engaged in developing their own successes will propel them to become tomorrow’s local innovators, change-masters, ambassadors, and leaders. 

Amid the very real issues our public high schools face, big props to the Hawai`i Academies/DOE partnership. “My Voice, My Choice, My Future” is the HA mantra. And that future’s looking bright, indeed!

Think about it…

Swimming Upstream – MidWeek April 24, 2024

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Perseverance, resiliency, persistency, adaptability. Emotions, traits, or learned skills? These concepts can represent powerful tools in one’s personal arsenal. ‘Twas Charles Darwin who said: “It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” In our lives we often come to crossroads, and while change can be quite difficult, change we must… sometimes. 

Change is good… as long as it’s good change. Simply suggesting change doesn’t make it good or correct in and of itself. Leaders or hopeful change masters need buy-in when advocating for change. They need impassioned rationale that can be embraced and/or believed in. Ah, but sometimes you gotta adapt and change on your own.

Like on March 29 in Northeast Oregon… A 40-ton trailer overturned while transporting 102,000 live salmon (who counted?!) to be released in the Imnaha River to invariably migrate to the ocean, thereby circumventing the many northern river dams in place. This man-made process has moved fish downstream for 40 years.

So here comes the amazing part of this semi-disaster. The crashed tanker slid down an embankment of Lookingglass Creek. More than 76,000 smolts (young salmon) slid or flopped down the creek embankment in desperation, making their way into the creek, and most are expected to make it down through the Grande Ronde River to the Pacific Ocean- the original goal. Incredible! Without a GPS. Members of the Nez Perce tribe, hatchery workers, and the local sheriff’s office worked together to guide those who couldn’t make it into the water on their own, and cleaned up those who perished.

A fine example of perseverance, true grit, adaptability, and instinctual survival tactics. A life-saving example that when things go haywire or don’t work out- live to fight another day. Longtime Washington Post advice columnist, Carolyn Hax, recently wrote back to a querying parent about whether or not to coddle troubled teenagers by suggesting that they need to experience adversity along the way. “They need this because every life has some element of frustration, loneliness, rejection, mistreatment, misunderstanding, raw deals, disappointment, disaster and dream-crushing. And after that comes Tuesday.” 

Philosopher Friedrich Nietsche said: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”. 77,000 salmon found strength amid disaster. Life’s road is not an easy, smooth ride; it sometimes feels like an overturned truck. Yet overcoming adversity is an integral part of growing up, right through adulthood.

Think about it…

The ABCs of CBOs – MidWeek March 13, 2024

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Organizations that deal with crises all the time locally are facing crises not of their own making. The Hawai`i True Cost Coalition is comprised of more than 50 community-based organizations (CBOs) that annually serve over a half-million residents in Hawai`i. 

The Coalition is attempting to rectify the decades-old problem of government underfunding for government-based projects so that agencies can continue to provide support for victims of domestic abuse, housing for foster/at-risk youth and other low-income individuals/families, food distribution for those in need, elderly services, homeless outreach, mental health counselling… the list goes on and on. Pick a social problem, and odds are an agency dealing with it that that has to come up with its own funding due to government underpayment (and slow payment) for government-initiated programs.

It’s beyond unfair that local nonprofits must continue to have this financial burden placed upon them by archaic pay scales; the last few years (with COVID and the Maui wildfires) have made things even more difficult for so many agencies that so many rely on.

Full disclosure- I work at Aloha United Way, am involved with the True Cost Coalition, and thus help as a partner agency with Coalition members who are simply trying to make ends meet so that they can deliver social services so badly needed. If non-profit agencies cannot cover administrative and personnel costs to run government projects and programs, something’s gotta give… like services provided, having enough social workers available to do the work, etc. CBO-sourced grants and donations help, but the irony is that if non-profits must cut back services or close their doors, the onus to deal with social ills will invariably fall back on local government. Problems will compound, which will cost even more.

A 2022 survey of Hawai`i non-profits indicated that, in working on government contracts, 79% “always or often had to cut administrative costs”, 56% “always or often had to undercut staff salaries”, and 40% “…felt they may not be able to continue to operate in Hawai`i if government contracting challenges are not addressed”. Not good, not right.

The state has a budget crisis; that’s understood. But we’ll see disastrous, ripple effects if we experience a disappearance of or program cutbacks at efficient CBOs that help over 500,000 people locally because they are not being sufficiently funded by the very entities they contract with and who depend on them- the government.

Think about it…   

Irksomes – MidWeek January 24, 2024

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Some things to keep in mind, both from a local and more global perspective, providing clarity in the chilling universe…

  1. When the toilet roll at home appears quite small, don’t hesitate… take out a new roll immediately. It’s socially responsible, and as we all know, the end is always closer than it appears. You need to get to the bottom of this one.
  2. Local restaurants never fail because they stink; they simply go away because people quietly don’t come back. We don’t often read horrible reviews of food places that don’t pass muster (or mustard), but some invariably die an unattended death. We’re too nice locally to rag on places that didn’t meet our culinary standards. We just never go back.
  3. Whilst driving locally in suburbia and the slowing driver in front of you indicates an upcoming left turn, quash that urge to pass by on the right. Far too many here believe they must lurch a little right before turning left. Not true. And thus, the three seconds you save making your bold move in passing might prove damaging.
  4. Everybody understands the leash law (or should) locally; except when it comes to “my dog”, because he/she would “never harm a soul”. Some people simply don’t trust four-legged, free-roaming animals; perhaps traumatic pasts account for those feelings. And dogs do sometimes snap; no matter what you’re your post-incident rationale might be (“she’s never done that”). Fifi may be a wonderful, loving pet and companion- but it’s not your right to allow her to roam freely in public just because you feel like it.
  5. AI (artificial intelligence) advancements are already upon and among us. AI is not COVID, but it may prove as insidious and harmful in some areas. Do your homework, question authority, probe internet “truths”, and understand that we’ve entered a new(er) world that will provide great advancements (medicine) and also chaotic, false moments. Forewarned is forearmed. When in doubt, flesh it out. Hmmm, gotta be tough(er) being a teacher as AI infiltrates…
  6. With the incredible amount of quality plate lunch locations, pot lucks, and casual office lunch extravaganzas, one local law that needs to be proposed/passed is a paper plate strength minimum. No more sagging, weak plates that enhance dripping kim chee liquid detritus to stain pants or carpets! Let’s get serious about this long-ignored state need! Weak plates are no picnic.

Think about it…