Oahu News

Hawai’i most likely has more talented unarguably great musician/singers than anyplace on Earth – - – some magical confluence of the Planets, the water, the power of the  ancient Gods who brought these Islands forth from the Sea – - – any number of theories can be advanced, any number of scientific dissertations discussed the final result remains the same this is one Heck of a place for music.

There is a true tower of talented singers/musicians and when they combine their talents the voltage goes off the scale.  There are many Hawai’i’an artists scaling the heights of greatness and then there are those that are simply stratospheric such a pairing is known by two letters: C & K.

Way back in February 1973 friends introduced Native-American-Hispanic Cecilio Rodriguez to truly local Hawai’i’an Harry Kapono and the result has been decades of incredible music.  Each has had a stellar solo career, both men are among the hardest working musician/singers on Earth, neither of them content to kick back and coast on their past laurels, each eagerly embracing the future continuing to generate vital music well into the end of the decade of the double zeros of a new century.  When they get back together it is a time to rejoice.  Now into its third year the C & K Back in the Day Concert on the Great Lawn of the Hilton Hawai’i’an Village has become a Labor Day Weekend treat, a tradition one hopes will continue for decades to be.

This is a two day event and truly an event not merely a concert, a perfect Pau Hanna Friday event repeated on Saturday: September 3^rd, 4^th 2010.  Here is the complete schedule courtesy of the C & K website: “Doors & VIP Pre-Party 6:00PM.  Opening Music 6:30PM.  Show Starts 7:00PM.  Fans doing C&K 7:30p.  Cecilio & Kapono 8:00p.

Fantastic Fire Works Show each night!” And ticket Info “$35 Reserved Seating. $45 Preferred Seating.  VIP & Super VIP Packages Available while they last!  Honolulu Box Office Log on: www.HonoluluBoxOffice.com ; Call: 808 550-8457 (11AM-6PM Tues thru Sat) In Person: 680 Iwilei Road Suite 100 Dole Cannery * Service Fees may apply”

Get Labor Day Weekend off to a terrific start with what will be one of the best concerts on O’ahu – - – soar to the heights with C & K.

After some excitement about the second Wild Bean Espresso truck opening in Kaka’ako, there was some disappointed coffee drinkers when in that same week the truck was being towed for repairs. Just when I was getting used to the idea of having Nikki serve me coffee every other morning.

But… We’re happy to let you know that the second truck WBE2, will be re-opening and still in the Kaka’ako/Ward area. Although it won’t be at the same place. Instead the truck is moving just up the road closer to some of the Ward action, and we’re guessing a lot better spot.

The truck will open on Ward and Halekauwila Streets we’re guessing somewhere near Kanpai Bar and Grill at 11 am (thanks for the heads up Halle). We’ve also been told that after Monday the truck will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM. Great news!

No no no, it’s not because the lingerie clad coffee girls are causing controversy that the Wild Bean Espresso truck on Keawe and Pohukaina Street is being towed in this picture, although that’s what I thought immediately. Especially after someone texted me and said “where is the 2nd Wild Bean Espresso truck, it’s not there anymore?”

So, I checked in with the crew over there who quickly responded that the truck just needs to go in for service and should be back up and running soon. Although they posted yesterday on their facebook page that they would be able to still serve coffee today while the truck was being worked on, it turns out that they were incorrect. Today, a new announcement states they’ll be just working on the truck in the hopes that it will be up and running soon.

I’m hoping that it gets back to the Keawe location soon because, as much as I like Starbucks at Ward, having a coffee or a smoothie served by a Wild Bean girl like Nikki just makes my day a little more cheerful. We’ll keep you posted on it’s return and if in fact it is located in the same place. There’s rumors it will be moving.

Please stay

Francine Gamil – who was given an ultimatum (miss her young son play baseball for the winning Ewa Beach Broncos team, or lose her job), has been given her job back after all. In a story that was first aired by KGMB Hawaii News Now, it seems that Bank of Hawaii has had quite a quick turn-around in their stance towards the issue.

“She gave me two options – Gamil’s Bank of Hawaii supervisor, she told me either we’ll see you back for work or you need to resign,” said Francine Gamil. Gamil says she just couldn’t leave her son and miss out on the experience.

“Once in a lifetime our boys did this. We’re never going to get it back again and it’s well worth it, but I still need a job, but I’m glad I made that decision, I do not regret it,” said Gamil, as she wiped away the tears. Gamil currently works two jobs to make it out here in Hawaii. The fact that Bank of Hawaii even had the nerve to pull something like this is a total disgrace.

Bank of Hawaii was recently named the #1 bank in America, I guess they forgot about how to treat their employees for a while there. After hearing the story, it left an even dirtier taste in my mouth, as Gamil’s Bank of Hawaii supervisor was adamant about Gamil resigning her post. Instead of just firing her – which they knew they had no grounds to do, they tried to force her to quit so they would not have to provide her any type of severance package.

At least it looks like it is going to turn out the right way though. Bank of Hawaii Vice Chairman Shelley Thompson issued a statement saying, “We want to apologize to Francine. This was our mistake and should not have happened. It is completely understandable that as a mother, she would do whatever it takes to be with her son. This should have been a time of celebration for the family and if she is willing to return to her job at the bank, we would love to have her. Congratulations to the entire team on a job well done.”

Gamil doesn’t know if she will return now because of the embarrassing and unprofessional way the entire matter was handled, though she does plan to go in and sit down with her boss and discuss how it should have been handled.

You never keep parents from experiencing an event with their children. To threaten job security against a mother who works two jobs is pathetic. Bank of Hawaii owes her a raise along with the public apology they already issued!

We talked about the original Hawaii Lingerie Lunch Wagon opening in Honolulu. Then we gave hints to another store opening in Kaka’ako. And now we think we know where it will exactly be.

While taking a walk after work it looks like the truck is parked at the corner of Keawe Street and Phukaina Street in Kaka’ako. We’re not sure if that is going to be the final spot for the latest Wild Bean Espresso to open up, but from what we’ve read it will be open on August 18th, or this Wednesday, so we should know soon. Correction, Wild Bean Espresso in Kaka’ako is open!!!

For those of you wanting more information, you should check out their Facebook page. We should have pictures and more information on Wednesday when it opens. This wagon is right on my drive into work, man this is going to be tough not to stop every day.

Wild Bean Espresso, that lingerie lunch wagon that cause quite a stir when it opened shop on the corner Puuhale Road and Dillingham Boulevard looks like it’s opening another wagon in Kaka’ako on the south shore of Oahu.

I just so happen to be driving down my normal route when I snapped this shot at the corner of Halekauwila St. and Keawe St. I saw this sign announcing that Wild Bean Espresso would be opening soon, August 18th to be exact, or so says the sign.

Now what I’m not sure about is whether or not the lunch wagon will be right at this intersection or if it will be just in Kaka’ako. There’s plenty of space around the area with many many parking lots that several lunch wagons of the non-lingerie type have moved into.

The only two coffee shops that I now of in the immediate vacinity are Insomnia Cafe on Auahi Street and This is It Deli on Cooke Street. I’ll keep you posted if I hear any more on the exact location. Looks like for the sake of good reporting I’ll have to continue down my same route daily.

Target has opened two stores on Oahu already and is set to open their 3rd store on the most populated Hawaiian Island. This store is set to take over the spot in Kailua Town that is currently occupied by the Don Quijote right next to the Safeway.

This Target store has come under much scrutiny by some Kailua residents as petitions were passed around, town hall meetings were held, and disgruntled facebook postings littered the walls of a few. But, it pretty much was a sealed deal once they got it in their minds, so all the voicing was for naught.

From a news story on It looks like the store will be opening in July of 2012 (as reported by several local news sources quoting Kaneohe Ranch and Target officials), just after the Whole Foods gets going in Kailua, which is set for Fall of 2011.  The controversy was mainly geared towards the potential traffic problem and the potential closing of local Kailua businesses. While the traffic issue I can see, especially early on, the business closing I can’t totally follow (and no, Don Quijote doesn’t count because that’s a big box store from Japan, like for like).

Maybe hungry ear music, but who knows how they stay open anyway.  I mean, more traffic should mean more customers for non-competing business.   And once Don Quijote is out I can’t find too many comparable business in Kailua (unless they start selling good surfboards to surf clothing, hint it’s national, so not too much of that will happen).

Whole Foods on the other hand, which I didn’t hear any grumbling about, has the potential to force out one of the three supermarkets in town, Safeway, Foodland, or Times, with Times a more likely candidate, although Foodland is right behind it.

But that’s just one opinion, most likely the craze will die down, people won’t travel over the Pali to go to Target, and traffic will resume to normal. I mean, at least in ain’t a Costco.

If you’d like to voice you’re opinion leave us a comment and let us know what you think, or head over to the neighborhood board meeting which will start at 7:00 PM at Kailua District Park.

Gregory House Programs provide housing and support services for those persons living with HIV/AIDS and though their compassion & understanding has earned them respect & admiration neither will pay the daily expenses thus they hold several fundraisers throughout the year each of them offering fun & fellowship for a wonderfully diverse group of people.

Gather at Pipeline Café Sunday August 8^th 2010 from 5PM to 11;30 PM for an evening of live entertainment, a Polynesian revue, a silent auction, light raffles and heavy pupu.  A truly stellar array of entertainers will be part of the fun: the always electrifying Amy Hanaiali’i, Kimie A Mner, Halau Na Momo O Pu’Uanahulu, Tiare Ura O Tahiti, and other surprises throughout the event.

Glamsquad Hawai’i and The Imperial Court of Hawai’i present Grateful Hearts Give Hope for a modest $20 in advance or $25 at the door: tickets available via their facebook page or call Marc via 486-GLAM, or Savannah 375-5098, or Kaleo 937- 4009.

Do not pass up this opportunity for a night of art, fashion, dance, music & fun while helping to raise funds for Gregory House Programs on Sunday August 8^th 2010.

The Kaena Point Advisory Group is planning to present possible recommendations for managing the Mokuleia side of the state park. It plans to go in front of the North Shore Neighborhood Board this week. The meeting is aimed for Tuesday, and the group is asking local residents to come by and comment on the proposals.

All of this is happening due to the extreme increase in off-roading the unpaved portion of the park. While this is definitely a good place to off-road in Hawaii, the fact is that since it has become so popular, it has resulted in severe erosion in the area of the park.

Besides severely damaging the park’s sand dunes, the off-roading has endangered plants and other important park resources. There are numerous sites in the state that offer excellent off-roading – or 4-wheeling, opportunity. Many of these sites are better built for what people are trying to do. Kaena State Park was never intended to be an off-roading destination, but like anything else, word got out about the area and has since turned to the place into one of the most used off-roading areas on the island.

It’s Bieber Fever time here in Hawaii and I’m pretty sure if you listen to the radio, you’re hearing about Justin Bieber coming to Hawaii. But how can you get tickets? The Blaisdell only holds about 10,000 people. And with only two shows, that’s not a lot of tickets to be sold for this teen heart throb.

Mainlanders will no doubt make vacations of this concert making it even more difficult for people to get tickets. So how do you win them? Well below are all the radio stations, times, and websites for how to get your hands on some Hawaii Bieber Fever. Think about a way to tune in online to all stations and you could win lots of tickets.

All this week Maleko and Flash will be giving away tickets on their morning show on Hot 93.9 FM. Constest announcements start every morning at 6:20 am with the contest being a question that the 94th caller has to answer correctly. So far it looks like 2 tickets per morning, but keep listening for more info.

Also on 93.9 FM and from BIG Koa’s Twitter account it looks like he’ll be giving away Bieber tickets every day on his show from noon to 6 PM this week. Check back here for more info on approximately what time in the show.

It looks like 102.7 da Bomb is also giving away tickets in the morning and the afternoon shows to Justin Bieber, but there’s not much info out there on their twitter account or facebook page. We’ll keep you posted on approximate times, but tune in to them if you want.

KC & Taka of Justin Bieber in Hawaii section.