• Resorts tend to charge for things that vacation rentals don’t.  A good example is using certain areas of the pool.
• With a kitchen, you save a bundle!  Doing even just 1 meal a day at the house will save you considerably.
• Cocktails!  Resort bars and pool bars will crush your wallet.

With that extra money you save, why not put a few extra bucks into your accommodations?  With Hawaii Bound, agents will help you find the perfect spot for you and your family.  Call today and ask about inexpensive, beautiful homes.  You won’t believe the kind of places that are available on Maui.  Give them a call at (808) 443-0221 or toll free at 1-800-711-6284.

To see listings available on all islands, go to Hawaii Vacation Rentals.

We thought, considering Pepper’s recent success with their Volcanic Rock Tour, we’d revisit the past with some photos we took when the boys played at our little rat-hole pad at the beach on 42nd Street in Newport Beach, CA.  We think the show was in 1999, but that has yet to be confirmed (college dates and times are always a little blurry.)  They played an incredible show to the delight of us poor surf bums and the neighborhood rejoiced.

Our cancerous, toxic little pad on the corner of 42nd was barely big enough to fit the band (let alone any audience.)  We moved all of our furniture into the garage and a select few of us packed into the kitchen to watch the show.  The rest of us squeezed on the patio outside to listen.

It began raining, but no one seemed to care.  All of our neighbors on the street began migrating towards the good tunes.  Next thing you know, we had a load of people creating a block party in the rain.  EPIC ALL TIME EVENT.

We were a little worried that the boys would be bummed on the tiny venue and the crazy rainy conditions.  But, luck would have it that they we’re pumped on everything.  They said that the acoustics were incredible, and they’d consider recording at our pad (must have been the asbestos and cardboard walls.)

We were lucky that our little double-wide didn’t crumble under the weight and powerful sounds.  A cop came after a few hours and told us we needed to turn down the music.  I replied, “No worries, Officer Schaumburg.” (Unfortunately we knew all the cops very well.)  “They’d just finished their set anyways.”  Astonished on how we managed to fit them in there, he replied, “You mean you’ve got a band in there, Chris?”

All in all, it was an incredible experience, and we’re glad we got them early on enough to enjoy them before they became huge.  Thanks, Baldy, for arranging everything.  We’re sorry for treating you like crap for so many years, but you kind of deserved it (and still do, daddy.  Haha!)

Pepper Today

Today, Kona’s little rock-trio is one of the biggest bands around.  Guitarist and vocalist, Kaleo Wassman, leads the charge with his unique style and outgoing stage performances.  Bassist and vocalist, Bret Bollinger, is a multi-talented artist that not only sings and jams with just as much stage presence as Kalea and Yesod, he also writes music for some of the biggest names in the music industry.  Yesod Williams, drummer, is rocking as hard as ever and turns out to be a damned good pilot.  Though after having watched many performances with him nearly destroying the drums, I’d be a little fearful of being his passenger.

Looking forward to your next show in Maui.  The last one we went to ROCKED!  If you ever feel like doing another tiny venue, we’ll get Baldy and Ethan out here and have a reunion on Maui.

by Chris Norberg

We recommend going through Aloha Rents.

You can find competitive rates along with many options for makes and models. Their service was created to simplify the rental process while saving you money. Let them help you secure your discount rental car for the Hawaiian Islands.

Call 1-800-440-7029

Maui Driving Tips

1. Slow Down!! This ain’t the mainland.  It’s very easy to do, since a lot of our roads have lower limits than you’d expect. Keep in mind that if you go 30 miles over the limit, you’ll be getting mandatory jail time!  They’re serious in Hawaii about slowing things down.

2. Honk only in an emergency. Honking in Hawaii is considered very rude and is hardly ever done.  It’s not an easy thing to do, but t steady your hand and let go of the road rage.  You’re in Maui now.

3. Don’t trespass! A lot of places you’ll find in the guidebooks make it look like you’ll be on public land, but it’s not always true. The last thing you want is to piss off some locals or violate your car rental agreement.

4. Don’t leave valuables in your car. We don’t have much crime, but the little crime we have is usually nonviolent. Maui theives know what a rental car looks like.  Please keep your valuables in your hotel or on your person when you travel.

Maui Visitors

We’ve seen a lot of people get hurt on Maui while doing activities.  If you think that you were put in a dangerous position without warning, call Jan.  He can help you get compensation you may deserve.

Local Residents

Be protected! If you’ve experienced any kind of personal injury or have a family member that has died wrongfully, you should have a lawyer.  Jan K. Apo is your man.

Jan K. Apo
Hawaii Attorney at Law
24 North Church Street Suite 302
Wailuku, HI 96793
Ph: 1-808-244-6073

If you hear the Tsunami sirens going off, make sure to check the time and date.  Every month, Hawaii Tsunami sirens are tested at 11:45am on the first weekday of the month for around 1 minute.  They do this to test them and make sure they’re working.  If you hear them at this time, don’t worry!

If you hear them at any other time, it would be wise to move safely up from sea level.  The photo below shows the coastal sirens on Maui.

If you’d like to learn more, read about Hawaii Tsunami History.

NEW UPDATE: OCTOBER 4th, 2010

Furlough Fridays have been cut down to less days and are now called “Non-Instructional Days”.  This should make our uneducated masses happy.

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!

COMMENT:

A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN US EDUCATION:

It’s been reported in the LA TIMES via NEWSER that the State of Utah is considering completely getting rid of the 12th grade in order to save $60 million per year to help battle its $700 million budget deficit.

While we’re at it, why don’t we get rid of education all together? It would save money and we could become a country of manuel laborers. Let’s let the rest of the world use us as labor while they concentrate on management, innovation and all major decisions. Maybe a different country could handle our budgets better too. Yep, we’ll make great pets.

You can see it live here: Makena Web Camera

The camera switches views from multiple locations on an automatic basis.  The camera is located in a prime location, high up on the Makena Beach & Golf Resort, which gives it a great number of potential views.  These are the views that it is set on right now:

• Mooring of the Kai Kanani II
• Molokini Crater (Close Up)
• Molokini Crater from the Beach
• Beach Check in area for the Kai Kanani
• Lanai Island
• South Maui area (includes Puu Olai and Kahoolawe)
• The Beach in front of the Makena Resort
• Surf Conditions for Beach Loading (2 views of this)
• Maalaea Harbor and West Maui Mountains

Below is an animation showing sceenshots from each view.  We know you must think we’re a little crazy about this, but we don’t have that many webcams on the island, and it’s nice to have one that has so many views.  it’s like having 10 cameras in 1.

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.

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.

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.  Learn more about Maui county energy.

COMMENT:

And why do you believe this Mainland real estate developer? And why do you believe that he has had “disastrous losses over the years?” How will the “…island prosper with additional revenues?” Has Mr. Murdock assured this community that any of the enormous revenue he (remember that Castle and Cooke is privately owned) accrues will benefit Lanai? For sure we need to get off our dependence on foreign oil, but should one quarter of this rural island be turned into an industrial park for Oahu, with 200 turbines, each 410 feet tall (as tall as the tallest building in Hawaii, the First Hawaiian Bank building in Honolulu). And jobs — the construction jobs will call for high-tech, project-specific highly skilled employees, and the long term jobs will total 10-15 at most.

Friends of Lanai

Maui has seen 36 unprovoked shark attacks in the last 125 years, of which only 3 were fatal. Of the billions of people to visit our islands in the last century, the number of attacks becomes dwarfed leaving your chances of being attacked by a shark near to nothing.

Still, if you’re eager to not be the one in a million attacked by a shark, here are a few things to remember when in the ocean.

Sharks are more likely to attack:

• At night or when the sun is setting or coming up. (Sharks feed primarily at night.)

• Snorkelers and Surfers (Sharks like to attack objects at the surface.)

• Near stream and river outlets. (The murky water attracts smaller fish that they like.)

• Near a shoreline after or during heavy rains.

• Around heavy fishing areas. (Stay out of the water when fisherman are chumming.)

• People with open-wounds. (If you’re bleeding, don’t go swimming.)

• Further out in the ocean in deeper waters.

• People with little respect for the ocean.

Even if you do everything possible to attract sharks, you’re still not likely to be bit. Sharks don’t like to eat humans, and they usually only attack by mistake.

For more statistical information on shark attacks in Hawaii, visit the Hawaii Shark Map.

The remaining airlines operating are not without blame themselves. Having to pick up the slack from ATA and Aloha’s lost flights has been done in an under-handed way. Stranded travelers have been forced to purchase tickets costing anywhere from double to 5 times the original price as well as eat the original amount payed. The way all of this has been handled has soured travel for many and given the airline industry in general an ugly image.

The reasons given for the end of these airlines stem from a military contract having been canceled as well as the inflated prices for fuel. These are valid reasons and don’t need to be disputed. What does need to be disputed is whether these companies should be left accountable for their lack of responsibility to its customers, and how this disaster can be prevented in the future.

The State of Hawaii and America has taken a large blow due to the lack of foresight and responsibility by Aloha Airlines and ATA airlines.

Why do celebrities come to Hawaii? Hawaii is the closest tropical vacation getaway to LA. Also, paparazzi are not quite as prevalent on the islands. Don’t get me wrong, paparazzi are still here, but islanders are not fond of their invasive tactics. Most islanders are hard on these parasitic people. Another reason comes from the many film locations available here.

Britney Spears is a regular to Maui, Hawaii. She and her crew of bodyguards jaunt around South Maui with her family on a regular basis. This editor watched Britney change her shirt at a table at Tommy Bahama’s Maui restaurant as well as fall a sleep at the table during her meal. Her mother was taking care of the kids, while their bodyguards frantically patrolled the restaurant and it’s complex for the 3-4 paparazzi that had been following her.

Not only do high-profile celebs regularly visit Hawaii, many have second homes here. To name a few, Helen Hunt, Carlos Santana, Randy Travis, Willy Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Roseanne Barr, and Kelsey Grammar have Maui homes. Oprah happens to own many parcels of land, much of it in Hana. Willy Nelson spends a large amount of time here and also owns a restaurant in Pa’ia called Charlie’s. On occasion, you’ll find Willy playing a couple sets there. Many celebrities were born here. Presidential candidate, Barack Obama was born on Oahu as well as musician and surfer Jack Johnson who owns a home in front of Pipeline on the North Shore. Bette Midler was born in Hawaii and has a home on Kauai.

Mike Myers spends a good amount of time each year on the South Shores of Maui as well as Alice Cooper. Cooper is a big golfer, which makes for a strong attraction to the many world-class Maui golf courses. Many athletes come to Hawaii. Kareem Abdul Jabar visits as well as Horace Grant. Horace is one of the most low-key and nicest of all the celebrities to visit Hawaii. Not only is he extremely generous, but also Horace is polite and a pleasure to be around. Another surprisingly low-key celebrity, when in Hawaii, Paris Hilton spends a good amount of time in the Wailea area of Maui. Cameron Diaz also enjoys Hawaii. She is a regular on Oahu and is a decent surfer.

On Kauai, Ben Stiller, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Crichton, Drew Barrymore, and Natalie Merchant own second homes. Many cast members of the hit NBC TV show “Lost” have homes on both Oahu and Kauai. Most of the filming is done on Oahu. Since the State of Hawaii has issued large tax breaks and incentives to the film industry, movie and television filming has become increasingly attractive on the islands. The fact that the Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the most beautiful spots on the planet also make our islands popular with filmmakers. Recently both the last addition to Indiana Jones and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have been filmed here, particularly on the neighboring island of Molokai.

Most of the information has been confirmed by reliable sources. Some of the above information is word of mouth and may not be accurate.

Island Fever is the phenomena of feeling claustrophobic from the close proximity of each shoreline, and feeling disconnected from the outside world. This is a pretty common thing on the islands, seeing that we’re out in the middle of the biggest ocean in the world. Most people move away after a few months to a few years because of a lack of family and the necessity of having all the amenities of the mainland at their disposal.

Who Generally Gets Island Fever?

Typically, someone who doesn’t use the resources available on the island gets island fever. This means that they don’t appreciate and use the ocean for leisure activities, or take park in the many island communities. People from big cities find it most difficult to adjust to island living because of the lack of resources. There are fewer choices in restaurants, bars, shows, and large events. This coupled with the loss of getting anything you want at the local store can be discouraging for those that aren’t used to driving across the island. City-folk also have trouble because of the slow pace of life here. The heat brings with it a lack of desire to work. It hits everyone. Your own laziness is easier to handle than when you need to deal with someone else’s laziness. When you really need something NOW, you’re probably going to have to wait for it. When on the mainland, you can make it happen NOW. There’s also the expense of everything. From homes to groceries, everything costs more. Well, almost everything.

How Do I Keep From Getting Island Fever?

Those that last on the islands take advantage of all the wonderful free things to do. For example, when you might spend $100 at a bar or club on the mainland, you go to the beach or park with some store bought beers. To last on Maui and on any of the Hawaiian Islands, one must build relationships with those that are living there and you must learn to appreciate all the amazing things that these islands provide. One of the things that turn people off from living here full-time is the clickiness of island residents. In that, I mean that people are less likely to pursue a friendship with someone who’s only been on the island for a short period of time. Most people would think that their being standoffish is a form of snobbery. This is not the case. In fact, the reason people shy away from new arrivals is because most people here have made that mistake before. It’s hard losing a friend after investing a lot of time with them. And because most people that move to the islands move away shortly, this is a regular occurrence until you toughen up and only let certain people in. This is also the case with finding a job here. Why invest a bunch of time training someone to do a job when they’re only going to be there for less than a year? In most industries on the islands, finding someone that’s in need of a job is easy, and at the same time it’s risky to hire someone new to the island. This is one of the few instances where both supply and demand for jobs remains high.

In order to live happily on the Hawaiian Islands and stave off Island Fever, one must put in an effort to meet longer lasting residents, enjoy the many free activities that the islands provide, slow down and anticipate the laziness that EVERYONE has, learn to deal with not having all the regular amenities of the mainland, and it helps to make bi-yearly trips off island.