Reclaiming Aloha

[Daiika]

Fatdiver, I like your approach. I am from Hawaii (born) and now live in Tokyo. I have lived on the mainland too. I go back to Oahu about 3-4 times a year. Things have changed...but slowly. It is not the mainland and will never be or want to be. No billboards. That rail system has been going back and forth for 25 years. Build...build...good suggestions, some. many people are oppose to it. But where does the money come from? Parking meters...they are raising the rates at the Zoo. Airport...it's suppose to be with palm trees, a pacific island feeling- not L.A. (sorry). Well, let's just relax and all get back to diving....3 -day weekend for us....back to Izu.

 

[Thalassamania]

I will offer some solutions:

The diving and airports on the Big Island are better.

If you still have to smoke ... say home till your overcome that rather nasty addiction.

Walk or take the bus.

When driving, relax, slow down, don't get so worked up ... it makes you look like a tourist or a mainlander.

The conversion of mud flats into artificial beaches is one of the things that kills coral.

 

[Baracuda Smile]

Everyone thank you for your honest input. I am sorry if I offended some you. My goal, was to start a conversation, on how to improve, things not to simply criticize. Sometimes to generate a good debate you must offend people a little.

I agree there is no where in the world where you can judge a country just by going to its capital city. Usually the capital city of any country is the worst city in that county, and that is probably true for state capitals also. Unfortunately I did not have the time to go any where else, so I got to see Honolulu. Some of my observations have been confirmed by you, thank you. Some of my observations are unfounded like having smoking rooms at the airport. Hawaii is your state and you all remember when it was much nicer and there was a true Aloha Spirit.

My question is how do you get the Aloha Spirit back, or can you? Its not just the locals, but every one who lives in Hawaii.

It is now time for the citizens of Hawaii to take charge and fix these problems. If the Government is corrupt and know one knows where the money is going then the citizens should hold the elected officials accountable. I understand that Hawaii has a great bus system, but how many have you rode the bus recently? They are very dirty inside and just like the rest of the infrastructure they to are run down.

Maybe charge an airport tax, to fix the airport. This would have little impact on the locals, or the residents but the tourist/ main-landers pay the tax.

My hunch is that there is a lot of waste on the tax revenue.

I heard that the city government were trying to license dive shops, and only giving out so many permits.

If there is no one good in office then maybe you should consider running for office, then you could protect not only your dive shop but defend the diving/ tourist industry.

 

[Thalassamania]

Not everyone sees improvement the same way, wrecking wetlands that hold back silt and runoff that kills coral to make beaches for people who will complain that they can't smoke there (not permitted on county beaches) is not my idea of progress.

 

[socaldiver]

Are you kidding me? There is so much pork spending with all levels of government, not just here on the islands but across all states. I would even venture to say the world.

As far as the Aloha Spirit, for the most part it is alive and well here on Maui. We rely on tourism for most of our livelihoods so I have to disagree with your general statement. There are instances where you will have locals that might bemean or calous to tourists, IMO this generally happens when the tourist goes someplace maybe they shouldn't have, like someones private property (we were having an outing at a friends house when all of a sudden we are invaded by people wanting to do some sightseeing in his backyard - don't bother to ask, just come in and help yourself); or bringing their habits from wherever they came from. We don't live in the fast lane here and so when you come to the islands CHILL OUT, we may be a little more receptive.

As Tim said, smoking is becoming a thing of the past and I applaud the state for making it difficult/inconvenient for a smoker. Those that smoke here on the island know the do's and don't's. And a lot of the mainland states are the same with their restrictions. Oh, I do have the tendency to light one up myself once in awhile.

 

[Thalassamania]

Besides, while some aloha spills over to the tourists, it's mainly about how we live with out neighbors.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I just returned from getting my ship wreck diving certification on Maui. Thank you Gabe Scotti and Kaimana Divers About Us :: Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Gabe was fantastic meeting all of my diving needs.

I had limited time in Honolulu and I wanted to complete my ship wreck penetrations. I surveyed 8 different dive shops on Maui and I had ranges from nearly $300 for two dives to $100 plus lots of extra hidden expenses.

First I was shocked by the big range.

Secondly I was amazed that all dive shops had the same agenda. -- A early morning wreck dive then a shallow water reef dive. So no special service were offered for the dive agenda. The wreck dive was pretty neet, I need to work on my reel work some more. Although I saw some fish that I had not seen before the coral was pretty non exisistant. When I saw on google earth that the south coast of Maui was a dead zone, it explained a lot.

I am extremely disappointed in Hawaii.

1st the Airport is old and it is extremely difficult getting through security. I am in the military so I want our country to be safe as any one, but the security is inefficient and duplicitous. Build smoking rooms at the airport for the Japanese tourist. Smoking rooms are common through out Japan and have big scrubber fans that clean the air.

2nd Maui is run down and the infrastructure is failing. Streets are ill repair, and roads lead to no where and traffic is horrible especially for the tourist. Drivers are rude, and often instead of showing the tourist the Aloha spirit they flip them the bird.

3rd There is no parking and the parking that exist is metered and heavily fined, which is not conducive for attracting tourist.

4th There are many homeless people living right on Waikiki, again a sight that the tourist do not want to see. Does Hawaii have shelters like any other US city have? Can you have at least the homeless move during the day? Offer them some meals from all the food that the hotels through away.

I don't want to be all negative. So I will offer some solutions. Create ten fold more parking by making parking lots out out some of the parks. Decrease the amount of metered parking. Build city parking garages that are convenient and metered for over flow.

Fix infrastructure to include road networks. Build mass transit systems (trams subways) to move people. Guam has a free tourist trolley that services all the hotels and beaches. The hotels pay a small fee for this service. Pave and fix roads in the middle of the night to avoid impact to the city.

Fix the airport. The airport is not only the gate way to Hawaii but for Asian tourist coming to America. Federal funds may be in order since Obama used to go to school in Hawaii. Combine security together e.g. customs, agriculture, immigrations, and booking so passengers don't have to keep pulling out their documents at each point. Build the airport with the Aloha spirit welcoming tourist to Hawaii. Make the airport efficient currently it is difficult to get around and passengers tend to walk long distances to get to there gates. Look to Asia especially Japan for efficient airports.

Fix the H1. For Locals develop certain lanes that if they have a pass they are allowed into those lanes exclusively. Build toll roads to pay for road construction. Look to how Germany monitors the Automon via video for accidents and slow downs.

Build a solid EMS, Police and Fire response system Roads and services are products of you tax dollars hard at work.

Build ports and harbors, protect the reef and the beaches this is why tourist come to Hawaii. A good example of this is Okinawa, Japan where they have converted mud flats into artificial beaches that now attract thousands of main Japanese. Have the Coast Guard check boats to make sure they are not emitting oil and fuel into the ocean.

I am an American I have lived in Japan since 1997. Currently I would not even take a free trip back to Maui or Honolulu.

Good Luck

I grew up here in Hawaii, so I've seen changes (good and bad) over the years.

It is a difficult balance between development and preserving the enviroment.

Many of the things you complain about can be possibly corrected by additional construction (of roads, buildings, parking lots, etc.), but would result in further loss of what Hawaii cannot afford to lose.... open land.

The loss of open land not only impacts us surface dwellers, but the increased rain runoff into the ocean caused by additional "hard surfaces" (roads, parking lots, etc.) will further damage reefs.... get the picture?

I remember a public debate in the 1970's (I was a teenager) about legislating limits or quotas on how many people could move to Hawaii... the fear then was about the environmental and social impact increased numbers of people, cars, and construction would have on the Hawaiian islands. While I do not believe quotas would have been the right decision, I do believe that many of the fears expressed at that time have come to pass.

In many areas of Hawaii, the infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth. And in many areas, the amount of jobs available in the community has not kept pace with the population growth.

Areas that have greater population densities and the "stress" that goes along do seem to display more "mainland-like" behaviours, and sometimes less "Aloha", such as rude drivers.... but that is not the norm for all areas in Hawaii.

Good and bad experiences can be had in any location in Hawaii, and in any location in the world. But, all things being equal, I'd rather be having a bad day in Hawaii than a good day almost anywhere else in the world

Oh, and regarding building smoking lounges for Japanese tourists? I'd rather build an awareness in Japan that banning smoking in all public places is here to stay in Hawaii, and marketing "Quit Smoking in Hawaii Tours" could be the next big thing, right next to getting married in Hawaii

 

[Baracuda Smile]

Lead Turn SD,

I understand the balance between development and nature. As you can see over the years development has progressed but often conservation suffers. There has to be a balance and what that balance is for the residents of Hawaii to decide, however investing in decaying infrastructure will hurt the environment much less the developing new infrastructure. I agree that one of the biggest attractions to Hawaii is the sea, and any development should consider the effects of development on the sea.

Lead Turn SD,

I think you have a great idea with setting up wedding chapels in Hawaii for people to get married. Weddings are huge business here in Okinawa, Japan. The chapels are small structures usually near a 5 star hotel resort. Currently the rooms are all booked on up to twenty hotels Okinawa, (during the month of August) and the room rate for an economy room is going for over $800 a night. When I see reports on the news that top resorts are going through foreclosure, it seems to me that this might be a success story.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

....Lead Turn SD,

I think you have a great idea with setting up wedding chapels in Hawaii for people to get married. Weddings are huge business here in Okinawa, Japan. The chapels are small structures usually near a 5 star hotel resort. Currently the rooms are all booked on up to twenty hotels Okinawa, (during the month of August) and the room rate for an economy room is going for over $800 a night. When I see reports on the news that top resorts are going through foreclosure, it seems to me that this might be a success story.

Hi,

My comment was tongue-in-cheek. Huge numbers of Japanese currently come to Hawaii for weddings. On any given weekend, at almost every resort in Hawaii, you'll see Japanese brides and grooms.

The intended joke was that they could start coming in order to quit smoking too

Best Wishes.