Huge
waves force record rescues
WAIKIKI, June 19 -- City lifeguards performed 350 rescues at Waikiki
and Ala Moana beaches as the biggest south swell of several years
closed the entrance to Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, tossed boats and enthralled
wave riders.
Rob Miller, Honolulu Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services dispatcher,
said he is not sure if that is a record but noted, "It was
definitely a busy, busy day." Others had never seen so many
rescues.
Waves with 10- to 14-foot faces started rolling in overnight. The
big waves are the result of a storm that hit the South Pacific about
a week earlier.
The Honolulu Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard handled the first
rescues of the day.
HFD's Air One helicopter lifted a bodysurfer out of the water after
he got into trouble at Point Panic about 7 a.m. The surfer told
his rescuers his legs cramped and he could not make it to shore
through the big waves.
The helicopter then dropped two HFD rescue specialists into the
Ala Wai channel where a 16-foot boat with four men on board capsized
about 7:30 a.m.
A 25-foot Coast Guard rescue boat pulled the four passengers out
of the water and took them to shore at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor.
One man had a cut to the back of his ear. The other passengers were
not injured.
HFD's Fireboat Mokuahi towed the vessel to the Keehi Boat Harbor.
Before the morning was over, firefighters were sent to San Souci
Beach and Diamond Head Beach on reports of swimmers in distress.
The swimmers were able to make it to shore on their own.
The state Land Department's Ala Wai harbor master closed the channel
at 2 p.m. The entrance to Kewalo Harbor, which is operated by the
state Department of Transportation, was kept open.
Wave riders, meanwhile, raved about the big surf.
"I surfed Pops in the morning and Old Man's in the afternoon,"
said Duke's Canoe Club bartender Chris Zimmerman. "There were
some bombs going off, biggest South Shore swell in recent history.
... The last big one came about five to seven years ago. http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/19/news/index1.html
State
Schools Deny Surfing
HONOLULU, June 5 -- The state of Hawaii’s Department of Education
doesn’t recognize surfing as a sport, according to a November
4 memo that recently came to light. The memo was written by public
schools superintendent Patricia Hamamoto.
That’s why King Kekaulike High School senior Helena Suehiro,
who is a national high school surfing champion in shortboarding
and Maui champion in longboarding, can’t officially surf for
her school.
A fear of lawsuits has led the department to declare that student
surfers cannot represent their schools in competitions or use the
name of the school or the "Surfing is like a clandestine sport,"
said surf contest organizer Kim Ball. "It's underground in
the land where it was started."
"Students would be out in nature where there is no control
over the environment -- conditions of the site, surf height, the
unpredictability of waves, sharks, etc. Surfing is a recreational
activity that does not have to be done in school," the memo
said.
Because of the restrictions, the King Kekaulike students compete
as the Upcountry Surf Team.
"It (Hawaii) is the birthplace of surfing. California has surfing
as a sport, and how come not Hawaii? I don't get it," Suehiro
said.
School officials say events in the ocean are especially difficult
to manage and that the liability is too great to allow students
to surf for their schools.
"With any kind of water-related activities, we've taken a cautious
approach," said Lana Mito, the department's education specialist
for student activities. "It happens infrequently, but you do
have people who break their neck and drown."
But Linda Robb, the former Hawaii director for the National Scholastic
Surfing Association, noted that "the NSSA has been nationwide
and coast to coast for the last 25 years and never had a single
injury, never had an insurance claim." The association sponsors
a high school competition in Hawaii and a national high school surfing
contest on the mainland.
"If liability were a legitimate issue, then I think football
would have been canceled in this state years ago," Robb said.
http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/05/news/index2.html
New
tourism liason named
HONOLULU, June 5 -- Gov. Linda Lingle has named the Maui Visitors
Bureau's executive director as the state's first tourism liaison,
a job that will have a wide swath of responsibilities in boosting
the state's $9.8 billion visitor industry. Lingle was formerly mayor
of Maui.
Marsha Wienert, 54, will take part in deciding how to award the
tourism industry's largest state contract, one that is held by her
current employer, the nonprofit Hawaii Visitors & Convention
Bureau.
Wienert plans to step down from the Maui Visitors Bureau and start
her new position July 1.
In a press conference, Wienert said she hopes to take an active
role in the contract process. Addressing the issue of a conflict
of interest, Wienert said she can keep an open mind and make the
best decisions.
State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, often a critic of the state's visitor
industry leadership, had positive comments about Wienert.
"I've dealt with Marsha for the last three years, and she's
always been very straightforward," said Kim, who is chairwoman
of the Senate Tourism Committee. "She said that she can be
objective, and I believe her." http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/05/news/index2.html
Ala
Wai watershed wins grants
HONOLULU, June 21 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
awarded a $767,965 grant to the Hawaii Nature Center to improve
the Ala Wai watershed through public education and community involvement
projects.
The Hawaii Nature Center in Makiki Valley will provide environmental
education to 4,800 elementary school children, support service learning
projects for 20 after-school programs, create an adult environmental
education curriculum and restore and enhance portions of the Makiki
Loop Trail.
The Nature Center also will be providing grants to the Ala Wai Watershed
Association to support its efforts in caring for the watershed from
the mountains to the sea between Punchbowl and Kaimuki.
The grant also includes $200,000 to fund community projects. The
Hawaii Nature Center will be issuing a request for community project
proposals and will consider proposals previously selected by the
association.
The Ala Wai watershed drains into the Ala Wai Canal, which was built
in the 1920s to provide flood control and convert marshland in the
Waikiki area to other productive uses. Excessive sedimentation and
urban runoff from surrounding neighborhoods have combined over the
years to pollute the waterway.
The recent dredging of the canal removed much of the sediment that
limited the canal's ability to provide flood control.
For more information about the Ala Wai watershed improvement project
or the community project grants, contact Greg Dunn, of the Hawaii
Nature Center, at 955-0100 or Karen Ah Mai, of the Ala Wai Watershed
Association, at 955-7882. http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/21/news/index3.html
Waikiki
Livability Plan advances
WAIKIKI, June 22 -- The Waikiki Livability Project, a vision of
the late George Kanahele, is moving ahead to preserve Waikiki's
Hawaiian sense of place, while seeking solutions or compromises
in planning, landscaping and transportation.
The city recently completed another round of meetings for Waikiki
residents and businesses to hear their concerns and suggestions.
After a 2 1/2-year, $600,000 federally funded study, the city will
unveil the project's plan this summer.
Kanahele said that if you make Waikiki attractive to locals, the
tourists will come, recalled city Transportation Director Cheryl
Soon.
The city hopes to make Waikiki pedestrian-friendly, find solutions
to parking, improve residential areas, and create recreational opportunities
for those who live, work and play there.
Many proposals have not been finalized and details need to be worked
out, but the project could include:
>> Kuhio Avenue would become Waikiki's "Main Street,"
where residents and visitors will gather. One idea suggests removing
a traffic lane to allow widening the sidewalks on both sides of
the street by 6 feet.
>> Kalakaua Avenue would serve as an event plaza where Waikiki's
main attractions will be held. The concept follows the example of
Santana Row in San Jose, Calif. One option would be to convert a
traffic lane into a pedestrian walkway at night.
>> Ala Wai Boulevard would focus on recreation and culture
by building a bicycle path by replacing the mauka lane of traffic
and parking.
Some Waikiki residents are opposed to some parts of the project,
the most controversial being the Ala Wai bike path. With only about
700 street parking spaces up for grabs, parking is scarce for workers,
residents and visitors.
Rick Egged of the Waikiki Improvement Association, whose members
include landowners, hotels, property managers, businesses and professionals
in Waikiki, said the group is generally pleased with the overall
project, but has some concerns about specific pieces, including
the location of pedestrian pathways. http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/22/news/index13.html
Hawaii
was popular in film
HONOLULU, June 22 -- Hawaii's film and television production revenues
for 2002 were an unexpected blockbuster, hitting $146 million, 7.4
percent more than the previous record of $136 million in 2000.
Remarkably, the $146 million record came in a year when Hawaii had
no television series. In 2000, the series "Baywatch Hawaii"
filmed its final season here, spending more than $22 million.
Estimates earlier this year of 2002's production revenues were $133
million, but that didn't account for about $10 million spending
for Hawaii sporting events like the Pro Bowl, Hula Bowl and Ironman
Triathlon, Hawaii Film Office officials said.
The $146 million figure is a 76 percent increase over 2001's $83
million in production revenues, which was the lowest total since
1997's $71 million.
Hawaii's production revenues since 1996 have more than doubled despite
Hawaii's higher business costs, the need to ship equipment thousands
of miles, and other logistical problems of filming in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.
"Hollywood has always appreciated Hawaii's versatility in being
able to double for other exotic locations and being just five hours
away," said Donne Dawson, Hawaii Film Office manager. "But
there's also much more awareness of global events, which highlights
Hawaii as a very safe haven."
http://starbulletin.com/2003/06/22/news/index13.html |
