May 2009

Dr. Leroy O. Laney, Economic Advisor to First Hawaiian Bank and Professor of Economics and Finance, Hawaii Pacific University recently wrote an informative article about Guam and CNMI’s economic forecast. He did an indepth analysis of the current challenges and what lies ahead as the military makes its way to Guam and CNMI’s bleak future. Pay attention to the charts provided in the article. Read here (8-pager pdf file).

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After more than 20 years of an experience I still remember vividly, H-2 workers from China are still enduring the same hardship living in a compound that boils down to a complete filth. Remember Harmon?

Buildings are made of plywood, tin and concrete blocks. No doors separate the inside from the outside. Extension cords run through weeds from another building to provide electricity.

At night, the man sleeps under a mosquito net because his window has no screen. He showers in cold water that comes from a bare spout emerging from the wall. He has worn the same clothes for three days because he has to wash clothes by hand.

(Via Pacific Daily News)

It’s quite sad to see them in this livelihood of uncertainty and the fact of fear to their family members.

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On the last week of April, Emiko’s parents visited us to see her pregnant condition. It was almost a year since we last met them in Yokohama, and fortunately Emiko’s nausea was improving and we were able to eat and spend time together. Surprisingly, her parents brought 1 full suitcase of food products which Emiko insisted. My thought was where we were going to store all of this? Emiko had a big smile and a grin of happiness.

On their first day of visit, we took them to Honolulu Academy of Arts and had lunch at the Pavilion Cafe.

Pasta of the Day – Bacon, shiitake mushroom and spinach pasta.

Grill ahi (tuna) salad.

I really wanted to take them for a Sunday Brunch at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, but they were under renovation so we took them to Mariposa at the Ala Moana Center instead.

Happy times!

CHILLED KING CRAB SALAD – Hearts of palm, Maui butter lettuce, avocado, baby radish, and Green Goddess dressing.

APPLEWOOD SALMON SALAD – Lightly smoked, nalo greens, shaved Maui onion, surfing goat cheese, spiced pecans, and champagne papaya vinaigrette.

SMOKED SALMON SPAGHETTINI – Seasonal mushrooms, fennel, spinach, tarragon-mascarpone, salmon caviar. (Highly Recommended)

AHI TUNA MELT – Grilled tuna, caper aïoli, grilled red onions, fontina cheese, mauna kea sourdough, and housemade kabocha chips. (Highly Recommended)

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April was a turn around month for Hawaii as its unemployment rate rebounded since the increase that lasted for 15 months. Is this a signal of the recession to turn around?

Hawaii in April experienced its first unemployment rate decline in 15 months, but officials said it doesn’t signal an end to the state’s economic travails.The April rate was 6.9 percent, or down slightly from March’s seasonally adjusted 7.1 percent, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported yesterday. Hawai’i's unemployment rate continued to be lower than the national average, which was 8.9 percent last month. State Labor Department director Darwin L.D. Ching noted people shouldn’t assume that tough times are over.

(Via Honolulu Advertiser)

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Hawaii’s largest shipping company, Matson, has announced the increase of fuel charge effective June 21st.

The state’s largest shipping company said it will raise the surcharge to 20 percent from 16.5 percent for its Hawai’i service effective June 21. That follows Matson’s announcement last month that it would raise the fuel surcharge to 16.5 percent from 15 percent effective Sunday.In addition to the increase for its Hawai’i service, Matson is also raising the rate on its Guam/CNMI and Micronesia service to 21.5 percent from 18 percent effective June 21.

(Via Honolulu Advertiser)

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As the swine flu cases continue to grow, here’s a video tip from the Wall Street Journal to properly wash your hands. Pay particular section about turning off the water faucet.

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One of the major industries in the South Pacific, particularly American Samoa, is the tuna industry. The U.S. is imposing a law to increase the minimum wage as it is one of the U.S. territories. The minimum wage increase is affecting tuna canneries which employ thousands of workers. The tuna can brands like StarKist and Chicken of the Sea are all produced in American Samoa and both of them are struggling to stay in business. The governor of American Samoa is asking to delay the minimum wage hike as this might affect their economy. Read more about it here.

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It has been a while since my last post. Sorry… Life has been good although many of you wondered on the status of the blog. Pregnant wife is doing much better as her 1st trimester was a painful experience – throwing up everyday and loosing weight. But now it’s a lot more stable and she has been gaining weight. I’ve been quite busy at work with the preparation of the marketing materials for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) event in Las Vegas. As usual, I’ve been surfing dawn patrol before work and let me tell you how good the surf is. Photo below is from Toru of Surf Garage who captured an epic session at Diamond Head yesterday morning. See his Japanese blog entry here.

The lighter winds these days are allowing clean condition, and the waves have been great for the last few weeks. Met new surfers like Richard, Russ, Wade and couple of other daily surfers. I am stoked to get in the water everyday. It’s summertime!

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Quiksilver is offering a 30% off coupon* for this Memorial Day weekend.

Click here for a pdf version to print.

*Discount does not apply to gift cards and hardgoods and may not be combined with any other offers or promotions.

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