The Maui Goodness

This is in response to an enlightening post by Candy Aluli.

She explained that many of the euthanized cats at the Maui Humane Society are put down because of their health, not because they’re homeless. The Maui Humane Society is responsible for countless free spay and nuetered cats.

Here at THE MAUI GOODNESS we’re glad to see people like Candy give us more information on the topic. Please read about how the Maui Humane Society is helping to remedy the Kitty Crisis on Maui and also how you can help.

See Candy’s Kitty Comment.

This coming Halloween, 2008, will be the first in decades to not enjoy the cheerful costume contests and local booths in Banyan Tree Park. The Maui County Cultural Resources Commission denied permits for costume contests, live outdoor stages, and food and craft booths. Their reasoning behind this is to curb indecent and lewd behavior and to preserve the historical significance of the town. They maintain that the events surrounding Halloween do nothing to promote Lahaina’s cultural history.

There are 2, among many, reasons why the Cultural Commission has failed in their thinking.

- They feel that the Halloween event takes away from the cultural identity of the town. Please keep in mind that Lahaina is as well known for its whaling than the Ali’i that used to congregate here. Does every event have to reflect ancient Hawaiian history? It’s important to continue promoting the cultural significance of an area, but shutting down a successful event just because it doesn’t directly have historical references is rediculous.

When we say “successful event” we mean to state that it is one of the more peaceful and positive celebrations in Hawaii. Opponents will refer to the 24 arrests made last year for disorderly conduct. We ask them to name any event with anywhere from 25,000-35,000 attendees where there haven’t been some bad apples. When you do the math, the fraction of disruptive individuals compared to orderly attendees is miniscual.

- The one event being granted a permit for this Halloween in Lahaina will be the Keiki Costume parade. In their thinking, Keiki’s dressed as ghosts and cowboys are far less culturally destructive than an adult wearing a similar costume. What the Commission seems to be ignoring is that with less outdoor activities, adults will be forced to spend more time in the various bars that will be holding costume contests. This will lead to more alcohol consumption and more arrests due to drunk driving and disorderly conduct. If they would continue to allow outdoor activities (where alcohol is forbidden), Lahaina is more likely to see order and cheerful behavior.

The nighttime excitement of Halloween is always positive. This atmosphere is conducive to family fun and the Aloha Spirit. Lahaina Town is famous for its gatherings through the centuries. Promoting Ohana and Aloha is the real historical significance that should be respected and upheld.

Even though the events will be trimmed down, Halloween in Lahaina, Maui will again thrive this year with vehicular traffic being traded for costumed foot traffic. Hopefully after the commission sees how their ill attempts and closing the event are ineffective, maybe they will bring back permits for the many fun activities that we’ve enjoyed for almost 2 decades.

One of our editors just stumbled upon a great article in Maui Weekly about the problems with cat overpopulation on Maui.

Some of the statistics claimed are:

• There are anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 homeless cats on Maui.
• As many as 250 cats are euthanized EVERY MONTH at the Maui Humane Society.
• The organization of 9th Life Hawaii is expected to have reduced kitten births over the next 5 years by as much as 50,000!

Our previous stance was that people should be giving money to Maui Humane Society to help. We now realize that donations would be better put towards organizations like 9th Life Hawaii that are actively working towards “No-Kill” solutions to the kitty overpopulation. If you’re in favor of non-lethal neuter/spay programs, please contribute a few bucks to 9th Life Hawaii by calling (808) 572-3499. Phyllis Tavares is the executive director and can be easily reached if you’d like to donate, volunteer or just learn more.

Mahalo Phyllis and everyone else involved for putting so much time, energy, and love into reaching out to our troubled feline friends.

Donations can also be mailed to: 9th Life Hawaii P.O. Box 476 Makawao, HI 96768

Please read the comment from Candy Aluli.  She has some very insightful information on the Maui Humane Society.

Beginning this Month, August 2008, The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has made it mandatory for Beach Weddings on Maui to require a permit. And after much initial confusion and frustration within the wedding industry, permitting has begun with surprising ease.

Those getting married on Maui will have no worries concerning permits for beach weddings. The permits are easy to get and very inexpensive. The initial confusion over the process spawned from the DLNR’s inability to explain how it would work. Since then, the wedding industry has been given adequate information to make the process simple. For those getting married on a Maui beach without a wedding coordinator, your chosen officiant should be able to take care of everything for you.

The recent crack down on illegal transient vacation rentals has become a reality for many Maui landlords and especially for one in particular. California resident and Maui homeowner Stephanie Rager is having legal action brought against her by Maui County. If she is convicted, she will have to pay up to $200,000 for repeatedly renting her home after having been warned. The case against her is strong, and it seems that the County will be making an example of her. Though the maximum penalty is not anticipated, Maui Lawyers are licking their chops.

Meanwhile, condominium communities zoned for vacation rentals will continue to prosper as well as hotels and resorts.

Like most of the nation, our economy in Hawaii is taking a hit. Hawaii Real estate prices have steadied, but not fallen like those on the mainland. Thanks to the bankruptcies of both ATA and Aloha, the cost of flying to Hawaii has dramatically risen. This, combined with the rest of the nation’s belt-tightening, has had a major effect on our level of tourism. Hotel and resort capacity is down and projected to stay down through the summer. Concerning Hawaii and Maui in particular, there are definite good and bad factors involved in our present economy.

THE BAD
Hawaii is the most oil dependant State in the most oil dependant Country in the World. The rising fuel costs affect everything in our lives. With everything being shipped from overseas, Hawaii’s economy is a slave to the oil industry. Signs of this changing are slim to none. With the rising costs, Hawaii is becoming ever more expensive to live and visit.

THE GOOD
Hawaii seems to get hit by a slumping economy a little later than the rest of our Country. Real estate is still highly valued because the people that can afford to buy here are of a different breed. Wealthy people tend to weather storms better than the masses, and the wealthy are the ones buying second homes in Hawaii, especially when the economy is struggling. Decreasing value in the dollar can only help Hawaii tourism and industry. A huge portion of visitors to Hawaii come from Canada and Japan. With the dollar becoming worth less, tourism will rise with international visitors. These visitors will help us grow and stay afloat through the rough times.

WHAT WE CAN DO
American visitors and residents of Hawaii both need to concentrate on buying American, and traveling in America. Keeping money in this country will ensure our prosperity. As the dollar falls, local production is more attractive and will help our economy. Signs of this are already present. The film industry rushed to Canada to save money in the last 5 years. Just in the last year, we’re seeing filming move back to the USA. With major tax incentives, the state of Hawaii has enjoyed industry revenue with recent filming on Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai.

With concentration on continued spending within Hawaii, this rough spot in our economy will be lessened, and we’ll be better prepared for the next wave of prosperity.

The island of Maui, and all of the Hawaiian Islands, have a major cat problem. With no natural predators, and near-ideal conditions to live, feral cats are breeding rampantly all over. Without control over breeding, these kitty populations are growing exponentially. With rapid growth comes more collisions with vehicles, starvation, and disease.  The problem is becoming increasingly evident with regular feline casualties littering our roads.  (Driving in paradise can quickly become depressing.)  Though it’s a difficult task, the only possible solution is to spay and neuter all Maui feral cats. The bulk of the cats live primarily in inaccessible areas making any action by the Maui Humane Society extremely difficult.

The Axis deer population is also exploding on Maui. Originally, a handful of deer were brought to the island over 20 years ago. Now Herd populations are estimated at around 10,000 on Maui. Deer predators consist of hunters, cars, and feral dogs. Hunters are given the right to kill as many deer as they’d like, everyday of the year, except for Christmas. Though Axis deer are naturally resistant to most disease and parasites, they do carry risk of contaminating Maui’s watershed area by possibly passing livestock and human diseases. Crop damage has become a more regular problem as well as substantial damage to golf courses used as grazing areas at night. Endangered plants are also becoming more rare with the abundance of deer foraging.

Efforts are being made on many levels to control the deer population, but the kitty problem is being widely ignored. Contact the Maui Humane Society to see how you can help.  Call to volunteer at (808) 877-3680 Ext. 37 or Make a Donation.

Your chances are near to none. You’re more likely to win the lottery than be attacked by a shark. The following statistics come from over 125 years of reports. Over this long period of time, there have only been 15 unprovoked shark attacks resulting in fatalities in the Hawaiian Islands. 113 attacks total occured in this time frame, of which 98 were not fatal. The last fatal attack occured on Maui in 2004.

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.