State's Gas Cap to Fall by 3 Cents

Dec 22, 2005, 07:09 AM MST Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version

HONOLULU (AP) - The state's cap on wholesale gas prices will drop three cents on Oahu next week to one dollar 85 cents.
The new cap was released Wednesday by the state's Public Utilities Commission.
Starting next week, the cap on pre-tax wholesale gasoline will be set at one dollar 99 cents on both Maui and Kauai, and two dollars in Hilo.
Drivers will pay more than that at the pump because retail prices include a dealer markup and federal, state, and county taxes.
The statewide average price of a gallon of unleaded gas on Wednesday was two dollars 66-cents, according to Triple-A's Fuel Gauge Report.

Drought Monitor: Quiet Weather Continues Across South

Alaska and Hawaii: No changes were made for the week in Alaska. For Hawaii, a dry week has led to the expansion of D0 across the state, with D1 conditions developing across Kauai and Niihau. The Lihue Airport on Kauai is on pace for its driest December on record. So far, only 0.07 inches have fallen for the month, compared to the previous record of 0.51 inches. Mt. Waialeale, also on Kauai, has only received 1.32 inches of precipitation thus far for December. The previous record-low December total there was 3.07 inches. Meanwhile, the average December precipitation for Mt. Waialeale is more than 45 inches!

Tiny islands, massive reefs teeming with life get official visit

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) _ Governor Lingle and a group of 13 other state and federal officials are back from a two-day trip to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The excursion was part of Lingle's push to establish a sanctuary in the federal waters surrounding the islands and to keep Hawaii involved in the decision-making process.

In September, Lingle signed new rules banning fishing in the islands' state waters. They extend three miles out from the rocky, tiny isles dotting an isolated 12-hundred-mile stretch of ocean northwest of Kauai.

Lingle has been pushing for a similar ban for federal waters. They are currently protected as a coral reef ecosystem reserve and are in the process of becoming the nation's 14th marine sanctuary.

The islands themselves are already designated U-S wildlife refuges.

(Copyright 2005 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Toys for Tots distribution stops curious shoppers

By Dennis Fujimoto - The Garden Island
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005 - 03:34:52 am HST

LIHU'E — An unsuspecting shopper thought he had stumbled on a large bicycle and tricycle sale yesterday at the Ace Hardware/Ben Franklin Crafts store on Rice Street in Lihu'e.
"Are they going on sale?" a shopper wanted to know.

When he found out the toys being amassed in a tent outside the store were destined for needy Kaua'i children and to be distributed by officials with The Salvation Army through the Toys For Tots program, he scratched his head and said, "It's good. Never had things like this when I was young."

Over 130 bicycles and tricycles, an assortment of skateboards, helmets, a variety of radios and CD players and cameras, kept pouring out of the warehouse area to fill the tent as members of the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai hosted their annual distribution of merchandise collected during the Toys For Tots campaign.
"One lady wanted to donate," said a retired Marine as he wheeled out tricycles. "But she said she'll come back Saturday with bicycles instead."

Kaylah Santos couldn't resist the growing collection of bicycles as she plopped herself onto a lavender trike under the watchful eye of Che Weaver, another shopper who added, "I hope that's not on her Christmas list."
"This is more than last year," said U.S. Marine Corps League Kauai member Gene Redden. Captain Mitham Clement of The Salvation Army agreed.
"This will help about 15 agencies, and over 100 families," Clement said. "This has been an incredible year."

The first phase of their holiday distribution will start this Friday, Dec. 16, when agency representatives will gather at the Lihu'e Corps of The Salvation Army to fulfill their holiday lists. Individual families will have their distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Clement said that, each year, the amount of people needing help increases, but this year, he noted that the amount of help they received also increased.
In the spirit of giving, Jarett Chytka, the manager at the Kmart store, paused from his routine of wheeling bicycles and lugging cartons to announce that the Kmart store will be hosting their Shop With A Cop program on Thursday, Dec. 22.
The program involves over 50 needy Kaua'i keiki receiving $50 Kmart gift cards and, following a breakfast hosted by leaders at the Kmart store, will be accompanied by Kaua'i Police Department officers as they get to select something from their holiday wish list.
"This is part of a district program," Chytka said. "A lot of the credit should go to the police department who will be here. Our staff will help them with items and locations, but the police officers will be doing the shopping with the children."

Also on hand to help with yesterday's distribution at the Ace Hardware/Ben Franklin Craft store was Wal-Mart manager Janie Whitehead.
Frank Kleckner of the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai noted that, in previous years, the volunteers had to assemble the bikes in the Ace Hardware warehouse, but this year, Wal-Mart leaders stepped forward and offered to do all the assembly, saving volunteers consider able amounts of time.
"I get a lot out of this," said Kleckner, who spearheaded the effort. "I get to talk with all the kids, wish them a Merry Christmas, and meet all the people coming out to shop.
"On Christmas Eve, I sit by my tree and think about all the children who are enjoying all the things contributed by the people. I get a lot out of this," he reaffirmed.
And he's not done yet.

Today he'll be out at Pacific Missile Range Facility, helping members of the First Class Petty Officers Association load two more planeloads of toys onto a Salvation Army truck.
Members of the PMRF First Class Petty Officers Association have been helping members of the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai collect toys outside Kmart and Wal-Mart. The organzation used to coordinate the islandwide Toys For Tots drive until around five years ago, when the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai members took over.
Kleckner's version of the No Child Left Behind Act is also to make sure teenagers aren't forgotten about in the Toys For Tots drive, he continued.
In addition to coordinating the collection and distribution of the bikes and toys, members of the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai also get to go shopping for needy Kaua'i teenagers, said Kleckner.
"Everybody forgets the teenagers," he said of donors who give dolls, toys for infants, and other toys basically designed for the youngest of the needy Kauaians.
This year, Kleckner and crew have collected enough money to be able to purchase $25 gift cards for 80 teenagers, so they can buy whatever presents or items they feel they most need or want for themselves, he added.
Workers at the Hawaiian Telcom retail store at Kukui Grove Center are accepting new, unwrapped toys now through this Sunday, Dec. 18, for the Toys For Tots program.

They have joined forces with members of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and KHNL/KFVE to collect toys for the annual Toys For Tots drive that provides toys to needy children.
"Hawaiian Telcom is proud and very happy to be a sponsor of the Toys For Tots drive, and to work with good community partners like the U.S. Marines, who have made this drive so successful every year," said Joel Matsunaga, Hawaiian Telcom vice president of external affairs.
Toy-givers will receive special coupons good for $5 off the purchase of all Hawaiian Telcom merchandise, he explained.
The coupons expire Saturday, Dec. 31, and cannot be used to pay a Hawaiian Telcom bill, he noted.
On Monday, Dec. 19, members of the U.S. Marine Corps League-Kauai will pick up the toys from the Kukui Grove Center Hawaiian Telcom store, for distribution to needy Kaua'i children.



Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.

Lingle delegation heads to Northwestern Hawaii Islands

By Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) _ Governor Lingle heads to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands tomorrow to enlist federal support for the protection of the pristine island chain's environment.
The chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the deputy secretary of the interior will be accompanying the governor.
Lingle says they are key people who can help have the federal government create a marine sanctuary around the islands in a way that allows the state to remain a partner.
Lingle signed regulations earlier this year making a marine refuge out of the state waters surrounding the islands stretching 12-hundred miles northwest of Kauai.
The state's new refuge bans all fishing within the state waters extending three miles out from the isle shores.
Lingle is pushing for a similar ban in federal waters.
(Copyright 2005 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Kauai, Hawaii Native Preeta Shows the World the Joyful Energy of Living and Loving ``In This Moment''

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2005--
Spiritual-Minded Indie Artist is Already a Star on The Islands and in L.A., Where She's Performed at Many Hotspots as Well as VH1's Save The Music Jamfest

Singer/songwriter Preeta's name means "beloved" in Hindi, which fits in perfectly with her lofty musical and spiritual goals. "My mission through my music is to give love and uplift people from the trap of dwelling on the negativity of life," says the native of the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.
Her other chief goal, living truly and fully day to day "In This Moment," is such a driving force in her life that there was no other possible title for her first full-length recording -- a collection of feel-good pop music, reggae and funk produced and engineered by Brian Reeves, who has worked with Billy Idol, U2, and the currently red-hot band Rooney.

Growing up, Preeta was influenced by the reggae that was popular in Kauai (epitomized by Bob Marley), as well as pop/rock artists like Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, Alice in Chains, Ben Harper and Tori Amos. Although she became very popular in Kauai's small but thriving music community, her sense of destiny drew her to the mainland, where one of those musicians quickly hooked her up with a producer in L.A. for her first EP project.

Preeta has also been featured on a compilation put together by Campus Circle magazine and on the "MI Volume IV" and "Proud To Be Kauai" Compilations. To date, "In This Moment" has received five-star reviews from CDReview.com, Musesmuse.com, CoffeeHouseMusic.com and IndependentSongwriterMagazine.com.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2000, Preeta has become one of the city's most popular indie performers. She has played many of the city's hotspots, including El Rey and The Gig. She also performed at VH1's Save The Music Jamfest and the New Music Reporter Music Convention, as well as debuting herself on Fox's The Good Morning Show in Honolulu.
"People ask me what I see in my future, and I respond with the words of the album's title song. This moment is all there is. I think you get in this space, by going through certain ordeals of suffering which ultimately help you rise above conformity."

Surf's up in north, west shores

Surf on the north and a west shore is up again.

A surf contest scheduled for Monday had to be cancelled because of the big and unruly waves.

Warning signs were posted, keeping most surfers out of the water.

The northwest swell is supposed to peak on Monday and decrease Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory for the north and west facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui. Forecasters say wave heights along the north shore will be 18 to 22 feet, while wave heights along the west shores will be 10 to 15 feet.

Search crews look for Oregon man missing on Kauai

LIHUE, Hawaii - Professional trackers in Hawaii are searching for an Oregon man who has been missing for more than three weeks after setting out for a difficult hike in a remote canyon.
24-year-old Daniel Marks was last seen November 10th, when a driver took him to the bottom of the road that leads up to Waimea Canyon for a five-day hike on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
The ten-mile long canyon was nicknamed the "Grand Canyon" of the Pacific by author Mark Twain.
Marks was expected to leave the island November 16th and meet his sister in Minnesota to attend her wedding but never arrived.
Marks was to begin his graduate studies in social ecology at Portland State University next month.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

Deaf youth baseball player grabs attention of many

A deaf 10-year-old Kauai boy has grabbed the attention of a national organization, as well as many high-profile people.

It all stems from a youth baseball rule.
We shared Pono's story in October after he was denied access to his sign language interpreter during a baseball tournament. People were outraged, many with the power to make changes.
Pono Tokioka starts his school day at Wilcox Elementary earlier than most.
He's Sergeant Pono out here, a veteran JPO who knows all about his school's three rules.
"Be kind, be responsible, be safe," says Pono.
Being kind, responsible and safe - those are rules that make sense.
But it's another rule that baffles him.
"We haven't heard from anybody who doesn't feel that the stance that Pony has taken is unreasonable and unlawful," says Beth Tokioka, Pono's mother.

For five years, Pono relied on his father Jimmy to serve as an interpreter during baseball games. But that changed during a state tournament when his father was a fourth coach in the dugout -- only three are allowed. Jimmy was told to sign from outside the dugout. The family asked the Pony Organization to consider a rule change. The request was denied, which triggered many responses, including two from Washington.
"Both of our senators have contacted us. They want to supports us. We've been in contact with the National Association of the Deaf to get some legal advice. We are considering our legal options," says Beth.
"I expected more. I expected them to be a little bit aware at this national level," says Sara Ahn, educational interpreter.
Educational interpreter Sara Ahn is also outraged. She's Pono's interpreter at school and can barely keep up with him.
"You would think that they'd want to boost up a child who has so much potent ional and who is representing an entirely different people group -- the deaf community," says Ahn.
Pono even received a letter from future Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripke, Jr., who told Pono to never give up.
Pono isn't fazed much by all the attention he's receive lately. In fact, if he had it his way he'd be just another student at Wilcox Elementary.
"He's going to make a big impact for the deaf community," says Ahn.
Hawaii counties are considering requiring all organizations that use city parks to accommodate the disabled.

'I'm Finally Going to Hawaii. What Should I Do There?'

Thanks to a dear friend, Louise Zahorsky is off to Maui and Kauai. Here's what every first-timer should know

The Staff
October 2004 issue
In June 2003, Louise Zahorsky ran into Deleano Benjamin at their 45th high school reunion in Worthington, Minn. The old friends hadn't seen each other since the 40th reunion. They caught up, discussing news both good (Louise's husband, Gerald, was retiring in a year) and bad (after battling breast cancer in the early '90s, Louise recently found out she needed further treatment).

"If you could travel anywhere," Deleano asked Louise, "where would 'anywhere' be?"
He had barely finished speaking when Louise blurted out, "Hawaii!" But it would never happen. Gerald didn't want to be on a plane for the long trip, and besides, it would cost too much.

So Deleano told a story. His mother had wanted to go to Hawaii for her 50th wedding anniversary, but Deleano's father was reluctant to spend the money. "My mom finally told him that she was going," Deleano said. "She'd simply take someone else." Deleano's father relented, and wound up loving the islands -- before he died, he even requested that he be buried in his Hawaiian shirt. "Can you believe my surprise when I looked into his casket?"

Concerned about her family's retirement funds, Louise remained hesitant. But Deleano wouldn't drop the topic and offered up his time-share to bring their expenses down. Over the next few months, Louise and Deleano discussed the possibilities, settling on a week in Kauai and a week in Maui, beginning in November, after Gerald's retirement. The time-share program wasn't free for the Zahorskys, but it would cost less than $1,000 total. "This is one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever come across," says Deleano. "I just had to help."

Deleano had never been to Hawaii, so he didn't have any advice for the Zahorskys, who hadn't traveled much. "We mostly just visit friends and family," says Louise. Neither Gerald nor Louise use the Internet, so Deleano posted questions for them on the message board at our website, budgettravel.com. From the answers Deleano found there, he ordered them free brochures from the Hawaii Tourist Board (800/464-2924) and sent them a show about Hawaii that he had taped from the Travel Channel.

Mahalo, Deleano, but we can do better than that. We looked at options from several tour operators and airlines, and the best deal came from Worry-Free Vacations: $1,153 per person for charter flights between Minneapolis and Oahu, all flights within Hawaii, rental cars on Maui and Kauai, airport transfers on Oahu, and four nights at Oahu's Ohana Waikiki Surf.
Louise hoped to save money by skipping the rental cars, but we think they're essential on Maui and Kauai. Neither island has much in the way of public transportation. (Oahu has buses, shuttles, and taxis.)

The Zahorskys also asked for advice on what to do and where to eat affordably on Maui and Kauai. They'd be staying in Maui at the Sands of Kahana Vacation Club time-share, north of Lahaina. An old whaling town, Lahaina is popular these days for its galleries, T-shirt shops, and restaurants. Hawaiians love their "mixed plate" meals, with big portions of homey food, and we suggested the Zahorskys kick back in plastic chairs overlooking the coast at Aloha Mixed Plate, where the Hawaiian Plate, with Kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, poi, and rice, costs $7.95. Another favorite with tourists and locals is Cheeseburger in Paradise. The cheeseburger is overpriced ($7.95, and that doesn't include fries!), but in the morning, there are no tipsy tourists to ruin the serene sea views and the macadamia nut pancakes ($6.95) are delicious.

Driving on Maui is an activity in itself. Loads of tourists wake up before dawn and head up to Haleakala, a 10,023-foot dormant volcano, to watch the sunrise -- but we advised the Zahorskys to save their sleep and go for sunset.
The other famed drive on Maui is the Road to Hana, a cliff-lined stretch with waterfalls, incredible views, and more twists than a Hitchcock movie. Most tourists drive for hours, look at the black-sand beach at Hana Bay, and turn back. But there's an overlooked snorkeling spot at Red Sand Beach (Kaihalulu). The small beach is part of a caved-in cinder cone, turned red through oxidation. There's parking near the community center on Ua Kea Road, and a steep dirt trail to the beach starts near the back lawn. The beach is almost never crowded, and the water is always calm and clear.

Gerald was interested in golfing but wasn't up for forking over $200 a round (which is what some resorts charge). We told him about the Waiehu, an 18-hole public course right on the ocean, where greens fees start at $26 on weekdays.

Regarding Kauai, our first piece of advice is to buy the Kauai Underground Guide, now in its 17th edition (we purchased a copy for the Zahorskys). It has the lowdown on beaches, restaurants -- everything.
Gerald and Louise would be staying at the Makai Club in Princeville, on the north shore. Princeville itself doesn't have many cheap places to eat, so we directed them 10 minutes west, to the magnificent crescent beach at Hanalei Bay. The town of Hanalei has good energy -- it feels like people live there and love it. (At the Sunday church service, some of the songs are even sung in Hawaiian.) We suggested sitting in the back courtyard at Bamboo Bamboo, taking in the view of taro fields and waterfalls, and ordering a chicken, pesto, and artichoke brick-oven pizza ($15.95). Another affordable spot on Kauai is Eggbert's, a landmark in the town of Kapaa that specializes in huge omelets.

Also near Kapaa: the oceanfront Wailua Municipal Golf Course, where weekday greens fees start at $32. Kukuiolono Golf Course has ocean views, too, and greens fees are an unbelievable $8. The course, near Kalaheo on the southern shore, is a three-hour drive from Princeville -- too far just to play golf -- so we told the Zahorskys to pair a morning on the links with an afternoon at nearby Waimea Canyon. Mark Twain called it "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific." There's an easy hike along the ridge trail, from the Puu O Kila Lookout.

Before they head back to Princeville, we insisted that they make a detour to the southwestern corner of the island, along highway 50. At the end of a dirt road is one of Hawaii's best beaches, at Polihale State Park. The currents are too strong for swimming, but the beach is usually empty, and picnic-perfect.