Archive for October, 2009

Unlike yesterday, Honolulu Habor and the rest of central Oahu is looking clear. Even wihout the strong e pected tradewinds for the weekend the vog is on it’s way out! Just in time for a Halloween weekend.

Vog is closing in on Honolulu Harbor and central Oahu as you can see here. We can’t wait for those tradewinds to come back tonight.

Great weather, a young population, vacationers, and a lot of enthusiasm make Halloween in Honolulu and Waikiki a great spectacle to behold. So what are you going for Halloween this year, its only two days away! And, it falls on a Saturday, so you now have 2 weekend days to dress up, and have fun.

We’ve been posting as much as we can about the fun activities that we think you may be interested in attending, block parties, after parties, costume contests, and more. When know there’s others, but below is our list of things you must drop by to see.

First up, is the 80s Fright Night at Pipeline Cafe with special guest Tiffany. That’s right, the 80s pop legend will be there in full force to keep the evening rocking into Halloween morning.

For Halloween Day, just prepare yourself. All of the south shore will be one large block party and we have your route. Start downtown in Chinatown for the Honolulu Hallowbaloo Music Arts Festival. 7 Blocks of Nuuanu will be closed down and the costumes will be out in full affect. Will music stages, drinks, and food everywhere. After you’re done here you can head to any bar downtown as they will all have after parties once the block party shuts down at 10pm. Or….

You can head into Waikiki where the fun will be littering the streets. The stretches of Kuhio and Kalakaua will be covered with people in the Halloween best. And we don’t think you’ll want to miss it. People are usually everywhere late into the night and the costume parties will abound at bars around Waikiki. Or, for a little alternative fun, you can head to Black and Bling Halloween at Fushions.

Stay safe, and have fun out there!

Waimea Valley, located at 59-864 Kamehameha Highway(across from Waimea Bay) is proud to present its 2nd Annual “ARBOR DAY” Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

The plant sale and tree give-away will take place in front of Parking Lot 2 (before security guard shack). Participants are encouraged to bring an extra bucket or two to take free mulch home for their yards.

HECO will once again participate by providing the trees for plant give away. Each household will be allowed one free tree and will be asked to complete a short survey before leaving. The survey will help HECO to determine what kind of plants to prepare for the next year.

Waimea Valley will have native and non-native plants for sale and several vendors from across O`ahu will also be selling a wide variety of plants:

• Olomana Tropicals –heliconias, gingers and bromeliads
• Jill Coryell, the Hibiscus Lady – original cultivated varieties of hibiscus
• Alvin Tsuruda of Waihale Products – a very wide variety of exotics, good named Anthuriums
• Ed Miyashita of Growing Creations – herbs, orchids and vegetable starters
• Kay Lynch of La`au Hawai`i– native Ferns

Admission to the Arbor Day Event is free, but be aware that there will be a parking fee of $5.00 per car.

On October 25, 2009 President Obama declared swine flu a national emergency.  So far there has been over 1,000 laboratory confirmed deaths in the United States from the flu known as H1N1.  46 states are experiencing widespread flu activity.

Federal health officials say that the swine flu is more widespread now than it has ever been.  The only states without widespread flu are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey and South Carolina, the agency said.  But today October 27, 2009 Dr. Sarah Park, head of the Department of Health’s Disease Outbreak and Control Division announced an expected spike in H1N1 cases in Hawaii in the coming weeks.  The Health Department said Hawaii only has 104,000 doses of the vaccine allocated to the state so far.

The government had predicted 120 million vaccines will be made available mid October, but as of now only 11 million doses have been administered across the country.  The government now hopes to have 50 million doses out by mid November and 150 million in December.

The good news is we are not currently one of the states with an influx of H1N1 cases, but the bad news is our state does not have many doses of the vaccine available to the public.  First priority for the vaccines are children, pregnant women, chronically ill individuals, and healthcare providers.  History of flu pandemics suggest that viral strains tend to spread more in falls and winter seasons.

Here in Hawaii on October 16, 2009 Walgreens announced they will have H1N1 vaccines available on a first come first serve basis.  Vaccines will be $18 and some health insurances might cover some costs.  Ala Moana, Kaneohe, Kalihi, Lahaina and Wailuku (on Maui) branches will be offering the vaccines.  Walgreens recommends calling ahead of time for more information and to see if a pharmacist will be available to administer the dose.  Others interested in the vaccine should see their primary care physician for more information.

Just providing a quick link for your Furlough Friday woes. Find out when the government is keeping students and teachers from coming into school with their own website. They even have calculators to see how much cash you’ll be losing.

What about all that education you’ll be missing out on, is there a calculator for that? Anyway, check it out at DOE Calendars.

That’s right folks, Hawaii’s in the world news again. Not because our president was born and mostly raised in Hawaii. That same president who is pushing policy to bolster American schools. No this isn’t to promote that policy.

Instead, yup, you guessed it, Hawaii is in the news for Furlough Fridays cutting 17 days from the Hawaii public schools teaching days. That’s right, Hawaii, ranked 47 in the nation in certain academic measure of public schools, is cutting days and making news worldwide. Here is a taste of what the world is say.

Although written by Ed Pilkington based out of New York, The Guardian UK is wondering why a state with one of the shortest academic school years in the nation is going even shorter with the Furlough Fridays.

Education Secretary Arne Ducan is qutoed all over the globe in statements given last Friday on the furloughs, most notably, picked up by the Wall Street Journal.

Time.com is running and article, written by a local writer, but that’s bound to gain world wide exposure. Yikes.

Maybe with all this exposure we’ll be able to boost tourism to help the economy and get our kids back in school… could it be a master plan by the government of Hawaii?

One of the liveliest clubs in Waikiki is Fusion-Waikiki (2260 Kuhio Avenue – 2^nd Floor), keeping with their tradition of truly awesome alternative entertainment they are hosting ‘Black and Bling Halloween” on Saturday October 31 2009, 8PM.

A Gothic Gala  hosted by Cocoa Chandelier with the ‘Gender Bender Lip Gloss Revue’ and ‘The Paper Doll Revue,’ Fusion-Waikiki promises ‘Boo-Tilicious Moonlight Mayhem’ and offers Hawai’i’s only ‘Anything Goes’ Costume Contest with cash and other fantastic prizes.  There will be drink specials all night long.  Scope out Doug the Balloon Guy’s “two story Haunted Sculpture” and simply be prepared to be amazed by the loud & proud crowd inside Fusion-Waikiki.

There is an extremely modest $10 General Admission and pre-sale tickets are highly encouraged!  For tickets go to Fushion or CALL Pat Miller at 808.224.2701 or email fusion808@live.com .

Thrilling fun & excitement is not limited to Halloween 2009.  Fusion-Waikiki hosts a special ‘Tiffany After Party’ on Friday October 30 2009 for the Fright Night at Pipeline featuring Tiffany show.

Fusion-Waikiki pumps up the volume seven nights a week, Sunday thru Thursday 10PM to 4 AM, Fridays & Saturdays 8PM to 4AM, offering two venues and three bars.  Strictly for the 21 and older crowd, Fusion is a Waikiki treasure, one of Waikiki’s best clubs, well worth checking out anytime of the year, your best bet for a memorable Black & Bling Halloween.