Blogger In Paradise… I Wish!

Well once again Community Connect has featured me as a “Blogger In Paradise”.

I feel strange to be honored in such a way… considering I’ve only been blogging for a short time compared to many folks that have blogged.

Is this a reflection of the turning attitude towards bloggers and information received here in Hawaii?

I mean folks on the mainland have been giving up newspapers for a long time now.

Do blogs provide the online archive systems that newspapers have been trying to profit off for a long time?

I understand that paying for a good well written article every once in a while might be worth it… but please newspapers… realize the profit model you are trying to attack, makes it difficult for the general readership of all and  spoils it for most of us when we can’t access “archived”  links that you need to pay a few bucks to get access to.

I won’t pay for old news… when I can find it other places.

Besides, there are very easy ways to bypass and see what you folks are trying to make us pay for.

Another Wreck Off Highway 130

I was actually heading to check out the sign waving event that was going to be taking across the street and when I arrived it turns out I just missed a big wreck.

The officers at the scene told me that the driver would be ok.

I’m not gonna speculate on the accident and what was told to me by an officer about the accident was off the record.

I was amazed at how far off the main Highway the car cruised before crashing into the tree.

I would say the car traveled at least 200 – 300 feet off the Highway before coming to rest.

It truly is amazing that no one got seriously injured.

And fortunately it happened just about a mile away from the new Fire Station so they could respond fast.

Like I said before, I’m glad the driver is OK and that no one was seriously hurt.

This all happened at the intersection of Highway 130 and Pahoa Kapoho Rd (Right across from Pahoa High School) around 3:00 this afternoon.

“Your Opinon” On State of Our State Survey Results

Lt. Governor Duke Aiona ran a survey recently and here are the results that were released today:

Is Hawai‘i headed in the right direction or are things off on the wrong track?

Right direction		(23%)
Wrong track		(63%)
Undecided		(14%)

Taxes in our state are __________?

Too high		(70%)
Too low		(10%)
Just right		(14%)
Undecided		(6%)

Is Hawai‘i a business-friendly state?

Yes		(4%)
No		(88%)
Undecided		(8%)

Do you support using tax credits to diversify the economy?

Yes		(72%)
No		(15%)
Undecided		(13%)

*Update: Hawaii County “Traffic Safety Council”

A few weeks ago I asked Who, Where or What is the Hawaii County “Traffic Safety Council as Mandated.

I got a response from the Mayor’s office yesterday and they identified the following people as being on the Hawaii County Traffic Safety Council:

Lilian Beaufrere – Kona Traffic Safety Committee/Solutions
Winifred Cabral – Hawaii County Police Dept.-Traffic Svcs.
Bobby Command – Hawaii County Mayor’s Office-Exec. Assistant
Kelly Kaaumoana-Matsumoto – Hawaii County Police Dept.-Traffic Svcs.
Gunner Mench – South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee
Ken Obenski – Kona Traffic Safety Committee
Jon Olson – Puna Traffic Safety Committee
Mike Price – South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee
Mitchell Roth- Office of the Prosecuting Attorney
David Stowe – Individual
Gerald Takase – Corporation Counsel
Julie Mecklenburg – Corporation Counsel
Ronald Thiel – Public Works-Traffic Division
Stanley Tamura – Dept. of Transportation-Highways Division
Phyllis Tarail – Individual
Bob Ward – Hawaii County Bicycle/Pedestrian Comm.
Neil Yoshioka – Hawaii County Fire Dept.-Paramedic

So I suggest to folks who have problems with Traffic Safety on this Island to contact these folks and make sure they are made aware of the dangers and problems of some of our roads we have here on the Big Island.

I have asked to be notified of their meetings when they have them.

2008 County of Hawai`i Data Book Available Online

Media Release:

The Department of Research & Development has released the 25^th edition of the County of Hawai‘i Data Book. Available only on the internet, the Data Book is the most comprehensive source of statistics on the social, economic, government and business activity for Hawai‘i County. The 2008 edition can be found on the County internet site at: http://co.hawaii.hi.us/databook_2008/dbooktoc.htm

The Data Book is an essential resource for businesses and government in conducting research and identifying markets and trends. The publication is useful for both local residents and for people out-of-state-or-county looking for opportunities to do business here.

Produced by the Department’s Information Resources Program, the 2008 edition of the County of Hawai‘i Data Book contains interesting 2008 facts and figures such as: resident population of 175,784 (Table 1.1) with a median age of 37.2 years, and 26.7% over the age of 55 (Table 1.11c); 1,026,048 domestic visitor arrivals (Table 7.1) with an average length of stay of 7.64 days (Table 7.5); 295,229 international visitor arrivals (Table 7.2) with an average length of stay of 4.25 days (Table 7.6); 4,566 building permits issued with a valuation of $803,001,000 (Table 16.1); 175,166 motor vehicle registrations (Table 14.5); 408 persons per police officer (Table 4.2); $42,817,000 floriculture and nursery product sales (Table 15.15); commercial fish landings of 3,073,342 pounds caught (Table 15.24); 127.51 inches of rainfall in Hilo; 43.98 inches of rainfall in Kealakekua (Table 5.16) and 41,089 waterworks consumers with a consumption of 9,530 million gallons (Table 13.8).

Many federal, state, county and private organizations cooperated with the Department of Research & Development in the preparation of this data book. They are credited in the source references that accompany the tables to which they contributed.

The 2008 County of Hawai‘i Data Book is available only via the internet at: http://co.hawaii.hi.us/databook_2008/dbooktoc.htm (where tables may be viewed or downloaded). For more information, please call Colette Rapozo-Yamamoto, Information Resource Specialist at 961-8500 or the Department of Research & Development at 961-8366.

Wordless Wednesday – Making Awa for Mainland Writers

Photo Courtesy of Deston Nokes