The Maui Goodness

Though Governor Linda Lingle never expressly mentioned “Furlough Fridays” in her speech on Friday, she did address the issue of education.  Lingle made it clear that she understands that our system of education is broken and suggested that we concentrate more on the time children are IN classrooms rather than OUT of classrooms.

(QUICK NOTE: Furlough Fridays are days where education is taken away from children in order cut staffing expenses to help the State budget deficit.)

Though we agree that Hawaii education has MAJOR problems, Lingle’s statement, “We need to get more worked up about what happens when they are in school rather than when … they are not in school,” is like saying, “When you have cancer, don’t worry about the fact that your doctor will be around even less to cure you, worry about the cancer!” How exactly does one fix a problem when those closest to it are given less time to fix it?

With a culture that obviously struggles to develop its children to be competitive in our world, wouldn’t you think that keeping teachers employed full-time should remain a priority?  Yes, our deficit is a big problem, but cutting education is the shortest sighted solution one can propose.  In her speech on Friday, Lingle reiterated her proposals to fix our economic woes.  She discussed:

• Programs putting unemployed welfare recipients to work. This sounds great, but in our personal experience, a sizable portion of people on welfare in Hawaii aren’t interested in working.  The idea of compensating employers for hiring welfare recipients is also a good idea in theory, but if an employer NEEDS an employee wouldn’t they have to hire them anyway?  This also seems short-sighted considering that when the program stops, many will go back on welfare because their employer won’t be able to afford keeping them on.

• Tax Credits for construction and Renovation. Island growth is really not a long-term solution either.  We have enormously high occupancy rates and big problems with distribution of scarce resources like water, as well as devastating environmental issues to try and fix before we encourage more construction.

So what is the solution to our economic problems in Hawaii? We feel high-tech industrial growth, long term educational growth, and preparation of  economic down turns will do us better than any other solutions.  Lingle did mention a proposal to set aside 5% of funds when tax revenues are growing.  This is a good idea, but government track records in this area have shown that money set aside often becomes reallocated with time.

The implementation of Furlough Fridays is indicative of Hawaii’s prioritizing education below most other things.  Lingle insinuates that the problem lies IN the classroom and that the problem is quality.  We disagree.  The blame falls everywhere between the parents all the way to the top administrators in the school system, as well as on the heads of legislators.  If administration would let teachers spend more time teaching than testing, if parents took more of an interest in their children’s education and genuinely wanted their kids to be brighter than they are, if government could find better ways to cut from the budget and possibly take federal aid we might see a brighter future in Hawaii.

Are teachers to blame? Surely some teachers in Hawaii shouldn’t be teaching, but for the most part teachers are NOT the reason for our lagging behind most of the country (and the world) in educating our children properly.  The problem is that education is not a priority in Hawaii when it should be #1.  Our spiraling cycle of education continues to build on an already poorly educated culture.  Much of this is due to our citizens already being poorly educated and not seeing the value in it.

Not only would an emphasis in education be helpful to us economically in the long term, but socially we believe the islands would become healthier.  In that, we mean with more understanding of other cultures, higher levels of confidence and income, and a broader more developed economic share of the world’s production and innovation could alleviate some of the ignorance and racial tension that is so prevalent in Hawaii today.

This editorial is just one view point from one of our writers.  Quotation and information was found through the Maui News.  Mahalo for your reporting!

The island of Lanai is likely moving into a new phase of housing development.  The county has proposed a project for over 400 new homes in a $23 million affordable housing development to be completed over the next 17 years.

The housing development would be built over 73 acres behind Lanai High School and the Elementary.  Along with the housing, area would be set aside for more empty lots as well as 2 parks and a full community center.

The county will be looking to process the project on a fast track set up to allow exemptions from community plan amendments and change-of-zoning processes.  Being affordable housing will allow it to move faster through the system for approval.

But with anything in Maui County, even if everything goes perfectly, we won’t see construction of new homes anytime in the near future.  Everything takes 100 times as long to process and complete in the state of Hawaii.  That’s probably why most of Hawaii is still beautiful.

You may also be interested in rading about the Lanai Wind Farm.  If you want to learn more about new projects in Maui, Check out Maui Real Estate Development.

Maui Pineapple Company, operated by Maui Land & Pineapple Company, will end all pineapple production in Maui, Hawaii. Warren Haruki, the Chairman and Interim CEO of ML&P, said that since 2002, Maui Pineapple Company (MPC) has lost $115 million in the businesses as well as $20 million they’d invested in a new fresh packing facility. They’ve been working for a year at making it profitable again but to no avail.

100’s of employees will be laid off as a century old business is shut down. Many are worried about what will happen with the 2,000 acres used in the ceased pineapple operations. Though ML&P has expressed that it will be used for other agricultural products, only time will tell whether it’s really sold for commercial and residential property.

This marks the end of an iconic industry that runs deep in many local families’ roots. With sugarcane also suffering, it’s not difficult to imagine what might happen to all of Maui eventually. Let’s hope we can keep the central valley green a little longer.

We’ve traveled on Island Air many times, which is our fault.  They often have the lower prices, and that’s what sucks us in.  Never again will any of us fly between any Hawaiian Islands with Island Air.

HISTORY

In the past, we’ve flown with Island Air and incurred long delays lasting up to 6 hours!  If you’re deciding between another carrier and Island Air, you will probably get there faster with a stop over and 1 hour layover than with a direct flight on Island Air.

RECENT EXPERIENCE

Our flight to Kauai was delayed by 2 hours without notice.  I mean, no one told us anything and instead had us sit and wait with no idea of what was going on.  Then, on our flight back to Maui, we arrived at the ticket check in counter to find a sign saying our flight was cancelled and that no one could check us in for an hour and 20 minutes.  We sat and waited and couldn’t go into the airport till we had a boarding pass.  Finally, we got checked in and got to our gate with no one there.  25 minutes after our flight was supposed to leave, a message over the intercom explained that our flight was delayed by over 4 HOURS!  Meanwhile, other flights with Island Air to Maui continued to board in front of us throughout the day.

We spoke with a supervisor (a major ordeal to obtain an audience with, but we had the time.)  The only solution he came up with was to buy a ticket with a rival airline!  Yes, it’s true!  The supervisor of Island Air told us if we really need to get to Maui in a timely manner, we should consider buying a ticket with another airline.

We also overheard a TSA employee mention that most locals know to use Hawaiian Airlines because of their punctuality.  He said, “It’s worth the extra few bucks to make sure you get there.”  So our day concluded with over 6 hours of delays and cancellations.

THE FUTURE

It pains us to watch Hawaii businesses go out of business in these harsh economic times, but if Island Air dies, (with a smile) I’ll chalk it up as Economic Darwinism.

Billionaire David Murdock has plans to build over 200 wind turbines near Polihua Beach on the island of Lanai, Hawaii.  The power generated by the windfarm would be sent by underwater cables to the island of Oahu, our most populated island.  In this move, Murdock would recoup some of his losses from his struggling Lanai resorts as well as provide Oahu with a large amount of much needed renewable energy.

As with any change to the islands, residents and visitors are complaining about Castle & Cooke’s building of these windmills.  It seems that with any change, for good or bad, people become restless and upset.  But when you look at the project rationally and objectively,  it benefits everyone affected.

• Lanai Residents – Jobs will be made and the island will prosper with additional revenues.
• Maui County – Maui and Hawaii’s goal of using 70 percent green energy by 2030 will come closer to completion.
• Honolulu, Oahu – Honolulu will become less dependent on foreign oil and coal for their power needs.
• David Murdock and the Castle & Cooke Company – The new profits will make up for their disastrous losses over the years.
• Hawaii Visitors – The resorts of Lanai will remain open and Lanai will continue to have ferry services.

With time, our islands need to change.  It’s a sad thing that the Lanai is no longer accurately called the Pineapple Isle.  But as the world becomes smaller and the economies of each nation become further intertwined, the only way to survive is to acclimate and grow with the changes.  In light of all the bad decisions effecting Hawaii (overdevelopment, pollution, loss of Aloha), we believe that this is one of the better moves by a large corporation.

Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Cafe in Wailea, South Maui, threw one of the best parties of the year to start off the Maui Film Festival. On Wednesday the 17th of June, 2009, this notoriously fun party attracted all kinds of celebrities, vacationers, and local Maui residents.

Some of the celebrities that enjoyed the warm night were Eddie Murphy, Justin Chambers of Grey’s Anatomy, and the director of Cash Crop, Adam Ross.

With a full bar (including an Ice Bar) and some delicious Pupus (appetizers) all at the low price of $50 for admission, it’s easy to see why this event was so popular.  Some of the delicious Pupus included crab claws, jumbo shrimp, mussels, chili orange chicken, Thai peanut beef, rosemary lamb chops, and caviar on toast.

Plenty of specialty cocktails were made with Tommy Bahama’s signature rums being poured through the ice sculpture. Stella Artois sponsored the event with tasty beer flowing from multiple taps around the restaurant.  Along with great drinks, we enjoyed some incredible live music on the patio.

Adding to the romance and excitement we’re a couple of Cirque du Soleil style performers on stilts walking around with masks and wings.Overall this was the best value and the most fun of the many parties surrounding the events at the Maui Film Festival in 2009.  We’ll be here again next year to share more pictures and news.

Thank you Natalie Brown for allowing us to use your photos.  See more of these photos at Tommy Bahama Maui. Mahalo!

After many difficulties, the Hawaii Superferry has finally been put to rest… for now.

The Hawaii Supreme Court struck down a new law that allowed the Alakai to run operations in Hawaii waters without an official Environmental Impact Report (EIS.)

The Hawaii Superferry ran its last voyage between Maui and Oahu on Thursday March 19th, 2009.  236 employees were laid off, and no future Hawaii service can be expected without an EIS. The Alakai, which ran for over a year and booked over 250,000 round-trip voyages in that time, will be leased for commercial use outside of Hawaiian Waters or by the US military. Hawaii Superferry President and Chief Executive Tom Fargo has hopes that his vision of an interisland ferry system can be met in the future by his organization, though the possibility of this happening is doubtful at best.

Concerns for the environment as well as danger to our visiting Humpback Whales has raised concerns particularly with both Kauai and Maui residents.  Protests and legal action have ensued from environmental groups after the state exempted the Hawaii Superferry from having any type of environmental review in 2005.  Controversy has grown seeing that the State had dealing with the Hawaii Superferry as far as investments.

From the beginning, the Hawaii Superferry has been a Maui Lawyers dream situation.  This will continue to be litigated over for years if the owners feel like putting the time into it.  Though it looks like they’re going to pursue other ways of making money.  The way things have been going, we can’t blame them.

Nowadays, it seems everyone in the world is suffering at least a little bit.  Maui and Hawaii are no exceptions.  After dealing with companies on Maui for many years now, we’ve identified some common traits that are keeping regular Maui business owners down, especially right now.  Here are a few things that you can do for your Hawaii Business that will keep you from going under.

1. Take Responsibility. When you have bills to pay, pay them on time.  If you don’t have the money, you shouldn’t have spent it.  If you need more money, see our next point.
2. Stop Complaining and start Maximizing your Business Potential! It’s possible that you’re business has run very well for the last 10-20 years while still operating in the stone age.  Keep in mind, it’s easy to keep things running smoothly when the economy is growing and visitors continue to come.  You need to realize that successful businesses don’t just GROW.  The true meaning of a successful business is an adaptable business that becomes more efficient with time, offering a more superior product year after year. Having 100 shops  that are all poorly run does not make you a success. You need to begin finding ways not only to save where you’re wasting, but also to maximize areas that work the best.  Cut needless costs, promote the most positive points of your business, and take advantage of opportunities that are new to this day and age (which brings me to my next point.)
3. Don’t be left behind because of Ignorance. If you’re business has yet to figure out that the web is the driving force for huge amounts of sales and inexpensive marketing, you can bet your competition has!  Just having a website is not enough.  Make sure people are getting to your site, through Sponsored listings, Referring websites, and our favorite, Search Engine Organic listings (FREE!)  Find some one to begin getting quality traffic to your website, and make sure your site doesn’t waste it once it gets it.  See Hawaii Web Group for quality Web Design, SEO, SEM, and PPC.  If you don’t know what these are, you should.  Have them explain it and find out how they can save you money and increase your profits ASAP.
4. Leave the Drama at home and Play Ethically. This is pretty standard for any community, but is especially important on Maui.  It has become all too clear how much Maui is like one big High School when it comes to business.  Everyone knows everyone, and they all have an opinion.  This island is small, and it astonishes me to see how many companies burn bridges, and more disturbingly screw other companies over.  Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated and stay out of the drama.  If you aren’t spreading gossip, rumors, or talking down the competition, you may be left out of the same conversations on the other side.
5. Show Up!  And on Time! I know this sounds crazy.  But in these times, we need every competitive edge we can get over our Hawaii competition.  Doing this will give you a foot in the door (because you know your competition will show up late!)
6. Reinvent your business!  Go Green! Ok, you’ve heard this before.  I’m not writing this on Hemp paper with incense burning.  I’m not suggesting you follow the trendy thing to do.  Rather, It’s become an obvious fact that companies whom take an interest in it’s own negative environmental contribution are appreciated and preferred over the more callous competition.  It’s not impossible, and can save your company a lot of money.  Once you’ve thoroughly looked at your company for needless waste, you’ll find many ways to save money.  Invest that money in more environmental and community friendly resources, and you’ll find a new angle at which to promote yourself.  It’ll pay off largely in a very short time.
7. Go Local! Take advantage of the local community resources.  This goes for personnel, commodities, and anything else that you can do to contribute to the island.  Yah, you may be able to get it cheaper from the mainland or another country, but the positive contribution will be recognized by those that receive it and will most likely be reciprocated in some way (which most always makes up for the cost.)  Plus, you’re feeding another Maui business which helps everyone.  The more we keep our money on Maui, the more we benefit directly and indirectly from it.
8. Continue to live life free from fear! I’m not saying,”spend! Spend! Spend!  Don’t worry about anything!”  What I mean is to be frugal, but don’t cut off your spending on Maui entirely.  Don’t let the media scare you into buying Euro dollars and living on Top Raman.  Continue to live life as you would, but with less extravagance and a more cautious eye.  The world is in a crazy place, but living in fear will only make things worse.
9. Find synergy with other businesses and opportunities! Find other local businesses that look as though they could benefit from working with you and vice versa.  Even your competitors can be used to help you make money if you use the right angle.  Just because you’re selling the same thing doesn’t mean you can’t help each other.  look into a relaxed partnership with a competitor to bulk up on things that make your product cheaper, better, and more desirable.
10. Preach and Spread Aloha! I know it’s a bit cliche, but that’s what people want.  Many people on the islands have forgotten how to live with aloha.  More importantly, many have stopped preaching its importance.  When you live with goodwill and a positive demeanor, it becomes infectious.  The happier we all are, the more valuable our home becomes, and the higher our quality of life becomes.

This was written by Chris Norberg, project manager of Hawaii Web Group LLC.  Their company has increased profits while building on new and continuing clients even with a down economy.  Much of their success is said to derive from their continual evolution as a business by staying one step ahead of popular trends and taking new technologies and using them for everyone’s benefit.  Learn how they can help you turn things around and become successful in these difficult times.