Pololu and Beyond

A friend and former law partner, Steve Jacobson, is visiting this weekend, so we spent most of the day hiking into Pololu. Couldn't have had a nicer day.

Pololu Beach

From the ridge beyond Pololu.

Steve taking a break.

The trail down into Honokane Nui was damaged by the earthquake, so a new trail was cut almost straight down with ropes to hang onto.  Made going down very easy and coming up wasn't as bad as I expected.



Stream bed at bottom

Bring back any memories?

Bamboo forest

Heading back up

Looking back over Pololu

I've never seen the valley floor so green.

Looking back on our way out of Pololu

Beautiful day, great hike, delightful company.  And some serious exercise.  Hope I can get up in the morning!

Historical Tidbits

Just getting started, but have found a few interesting tidbits.  According to the NY Times, of the thirty-three professors at Amherst in 1890, twenty-three supported Cleveland (Democrat), and seven supported Harrison (Republican).  Some things don't change.  On the other hand, Harrison had been the big spender and supported tarriffs.  Cleveland had been the master of the pocket veto, blocking many bills including special favors for interest groups, and he favored free trade.  Some things do change.  Young Coolidge blamed the surprise election of Cleveland in part on "the vague idea of the working and farming classes that somebody is getting all the money while they get all the work."  I guess class envy has been part of the political scene for some time.

The economics of higher education have certainly changed.  Professors were "giants on campus" and their "salaries were $2,500, more than twenty times tuition."  The average wage earner made $425 per year.  So extrapolating to today, if average income is about $45,000, then professors at Amhurst today would be making almost $250,000 -- and tuition would be $12,500.  Instead, the average full professor there is now making $140,000, and tuition is $37,600. Amherst's website says that the cost of educating each student exceeds the fee by 50%.  Makes you wonder where all the money is going!

The Conversation

  I enjoy reading the opinion pages in the local paper.  I write many letters to the editor in my head and a few actually get written and printed.  Generally, however, they're ignored.  Usually because some more exciting issue is being discussed.  (Once, it was the county's dealing with donkeys in Waikoloa.)

  The county passed a plastic bag ban last year.  They've been something of a litter problem.  Beginning this year, grocery stores and others can't give away plastic bags, although they may sell them for a nickle.  Next year they'll be completely banned.  So when I ran into a couple of articles about a study by a couple of law professors suggesting that a spike in food-borne illnesses and deaths in the San Francisco area might be attributed to their plastic bag ban, I thought it would be fun to write a piece.  I wrote the following:

Dear Editor:

I noted with interest a couple of recent articles referring to a recent study by a couple of law professors for the Wharton School Institute for Law and Economics. They found a huge (46 percent) increase in food-borne-illness deaths in San Francisco after its plastic bag ban went into effect (a San Francisco Chronicle article can be found here: http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/saunders/article/S-F-s-plastic-bag-ban-may-be-unhealthy-4264075.php).

Once again, we see the unintended consequences of government regulation.

Perhaps the Legislature should think twice before passing a statewide ban. And maybe the County Council should consider lifting the ban on our island.

As many would-be regulators often say: “If even one life is saved, it will be worth it.”

Alternatively, maybe we need a new law requiring us to wash or otherwise sterilize our reusable bags after each use.

  I probably should have commented that some folks disagreed with the findings, but I just kept it short.  This time, my letter provoked a response:

 Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. 

 There is no causal link to the ban on plastic bags in San Francisco County, food-borne illnesses and deaths resulting from them in San Francisco County.
 
The gentleman cites a preliminary study that has no scientific basis, was not published nor submitted for peer review and was thoroughly discredited by the San Francisco Public Health Department, the Washington Post and numerous other sources.

A casual reading of this preliminary study shows that there is no scientific basis whatsoever for this claim.

You just can't take a political prejudice and combine it with unproven theories and toss it out in the public square as a valid argument for your position.

It is obvious the gentleman is opposed to the ban on plastic bags.  That's his right.  But, he has an obligation to check his facts more thoroughly.

He has no right to discredit our local politicians by the use of such ludicrous evidence.  The study he cited wouldn't get him a passing grade in seventh grade science.

Gary Hattenburg, Kailua-Kona

  I thought about doing a followup:  Something along the lines that the failure to prove a hypothesis does not prove that the hypothesis is wrong.  (The Chronicle article says the city health director found the hypothesis plausible, but thought the research sloppy.)  And since my letter, J. Lynn picked up a couple of reports from workers at the grocery stores about the awful, filthy bags that some customers have used since the bag ban went into effect.  Anyway, it was fun to see that someone read my letter.

  So if people start dropping like flies on the Big Island, check to see if there's a link to the ban on plastic bags!  (Ha-ha.)

T & A's Visit

Terry and Angela came for a short visit after their week on Oahu with Nicole & family. So fun to have them here. Last visit was almost ten years ago. Weather wasn't as great as the previous week, but we made the most of it. Monday we went over to Pololu and hiked down part way. Love this coastline!

Better picture of T & A

Tuesday, we headed for Volcano, stopping en route at Akaka.  Timing was great -- it started to rain after we got back in the car.

Angela in deep thought

Took the scenic route around by Onomea Bay.  Some tourists were taking pictures from a bridge, so we stopped and took some, too.

We could see daylight at the end of the tunnel.  (Didn't show up well here.)

First stop at the Park (after visiting with a ranger at the Visitors' Center) was at Volcano House (under renovation) for a look into Kilauea Crater and across to Halemaumau.

Next stop Kilauea-iki, then the Thurston lava tube.  Had almost forgotten what fun it was.

After a drive down Chain of Craters Road, we came back to Kilauea.  View from the steam vents overlook.  As it had gotten darker, we could see the glow from Halemaumau.

Last stop was the Jaggar Museum -- the closest view point to Halemaumau.  First picture was with flash, so got a reflection from the fog.  It was actually dark.

This time, without flash.  Immediately after, fog started rolling in and the view was significantly dimmed.  Again, our timing was perfect!

We finished our tour with a trip around KMC (just in case T & A want to stay there in the future),  shared a Subway sandwich and pint of BR ice cream in Hilo, then home over the Saddle Road.  All in all, a great day!  Sadly, I needed to work a little and missed out on the Wednesday activities.  We closed out the day with dinner at Sansei's, then to the airport.  Next time, Terry and Angela, you must stay longer; it was so nice to have you here.

Raw Banana's Visit

I flew back to Hawaii on Friday morning, January 11, and Rob and Anna arrived on Saturday. Rob had MCE meetings at the Orchid for the week, so they took the opportunity for a visit. Rob and Anna hadn't been back to Hawaii for five years! Hard to believe it had been so long. Consequently, there was much to squeeze in.   They were staying at the Orchid for the first four days, so we met them at Cafe Pesto Saturday eve for dinner.  Sunday afternoon after Rob's meetings, they came up, and we walked up to the top of Anna Ranch.  Almost no water in the stream, but the hike was beautiful.

Monday, I worked.  Tuesday afternoon, we went to Hapuna.  The evening was lovely.  Followed by dinner at Sansei's.  First time there -- won't be the last!  Food was great, and desserts were fantastic!

 

This picture was taken just after the one above.  It looks lighter when you're not looking into the sun.

Wednesday, Rob was off all day, so they moved up to the house, and we took off mid-morning for Pololu.  It was a bit overcast but still very nice.  Headed into the valley.

 

Love this view of the coast.

 

 The beach was nice, and we stopped for lunch. 

 

We decided to hike on up to the ridge between Pololu and Honokanenui.

 

The sky cleared while we were on the ridge.  It was really beautiful!

 

Notice Haleakala in the background.

 

We finished off the afternoon at Hapuna Beach, then came home for dinner at Solimene's.  Tried their desserts for the first time -- fantastic!  Thursday, I mostly worked.  Dinner that night at Pau's.  Friday, I worked a bit more.  Mom went to the beach with Anna.  Dinner at Merriman's.  Saturday morning was beautiful again, so we hiked up to the back of Waipio.  Lovely little community we have!

 

Rob near the lookout.

 

The view down the valley.

 

Rob, Mom and Anna perched near the edge.

 

Heading back.

 

The reservoir above home.

We ended the day with an early dinner at Pau's, then Rob and Anna took off for the airport.  All in all, it was a great week, so fun to have Rob and Anna here, so many dinners out -- clearly a record!  Now we hope to have their whole family back for a visit this summer.



Christmas & Utah

We had a wonderful Christmas visit. Court's plane was about 5 hours late, so we picked her up at 2 am Christmas morn. We were a little sleepy for the grand opening. I only had one picture turn out well.  (The camera must have been sleepy, too!) 

It was so nice to have everyone home (except Rob and Anna and family).  Unfortunately, someone was sick almost every day, so our activity was dampened a bit.  Also, what with the uncertainty about the tax law, I had clients pressing for meetings, etc. right up to the end of the year.  I didn't get to play as much as I'd have liked.  Christian, Shandra & company left on January 2.  Whit, Jim, Ever & Court stayed until Monday, January 7.  We managed to squeeze in a few nice things -- like a walk out on Mana Road.  We also had three great evenings of "vicious gin."

  My mom checked in with the doc in Provo on New Year's Eve and ended up in the hospital with the flu.  As she wasn't doing very well, and there was much to do to facilitate her move to the Seville, I decided at the last minute to fly to Utah, and left Monday night with everyone else.  Had three good days with Liz and Terry and Mom -- got a few things accomplished and had some good visits with Terry and Liz.  We need to get together more often.  Sorry no pix to share.