A daily mode of blended passion
From the monthly archives:
Tropical Storm Lana was upgraded this morning from a tropical depression status. As of late this morning, Tropical Storm Lana was more than 1,000 miles east- southeast of the Big Island and moving west at about 18 mph. The forecast track at the moment shows the storm passing south of the Hawaiian islands. Residents should monitor the situation as the storm gets closer to the islands.
For more information and its progression, check out this site.
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Jamba Juice is offering a “Buy 1 get 1 FREE!” coupon* for any smoothie.
Click here for a pdf version to print.
*Offer valid until 8/9/09 at participating locations for one menu item of equal or lesser value as the purchased menu item.
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Generation Y, Generation X, or Generation R (Recession)? Click on the image above to see what the new generation is facing today.
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That pretty much shows today’s auto industry in Hawaii. It’s quite sad to see the statistic, but it’s definitely what’s happening out there. Read more here.
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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are expected to arrive after 3pm this afternoon, and the public appearance will be at the Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.
Those looking to attend the event, during which the emperor will visit a shower tree at Kapi’olani that he planted in 1960 when he was the crown prince, are advised to come early and be prepared for lots of waiting. Traffic and parking are expected to be difficult — with lanes and many parking stalls closed off — and security will be tight for those going into certain areas.
The emperor’s visit, following an 11-day trip to Canada, has spurred excitement among Japanese-Americans in the Islands, especially older ones who feel a stronger connection to Japan.
(Via Honolulu Advertiser)
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Photos from the Giant Insect Safari at the Pearlridge Center. The insect display will last till August 2nd. Go take your kids out for this fun event.
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El Nino, a global weather phenomenon, is expected to return this year allowing the warmer ocean temperature to drift from Western Pacific to Eastern Pacific. Basically, the ocean temperature is cooler in the Eastern Pacific due to the winds blowing off-shore that allows the upwelling of the cool ocean. In an El Nino period, the winds slow down so the upwelling of the cool ocean does not take place and clusters of convective activity becomes more prevalent across the Eastern Pacific. Light winds and warm waters are ripe for thunderstorms to form and in a greater scale, hurricanes form. The chances for hurricanes to not dissipate become higher for the Eastern Pacific.
Hawai’i could be in for a busier-than-normal hurricane season thanks to a return of El Nino, which spurs warmer sea surface temperatures in the Pacific and was seen during four of the five most active tropical cyclone seasons in the Central Pacific on record.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials announced yesterday that El Nino weather patterns were back, and Hawai’i forecasters and civil defense planners said that though the news isn’t reason to panic, it should move people to be more prepared.
(Via Honolulu Advertiser)
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Despite the earlier news about Ilikai’s hotel operation shutting down, most of the workers will be able to keep their jobs after the hotel management and labor officials decided with a new agreement. That’s great news for the workers.
“Yesterday (Thursday), we were so sad, we were in tears all day,” said Joli Tokusato, a service center clerk who has been at the hotel 18 1/2 years. “Today (Friday) we are so relieved that we’re going to have our jobs back eventually.”
Tokusato said one of the first things employees will do will be to put up the farewell photos they had taken of each other the previous day.
(Via Honolulu Advertiser)
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Mark Bratton (retail real estate specialist), Joe Toy (hospitality specialist), Paul Brewbaker (chief economist) and Harvey Shapiro (research economist) each spoke about their sector in the annual mid-year real estate forecast conference and what they are seeing in this current recession. A great read about Hawaii’s current market condition!
Shrinking inventory and growing affordability are among the most visible green shoots emerging in Hawaii real estate, the panelists said. But full recovery will not be possible until consumer confidence returns, the credit market eases and the health of Hawaii’s tourism industry improves, nourishing these tender shoots, they said.
(Via Star Bulletin)
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Only the hotel side to close for indefinite time. Condos and time shares not affected. Hawaii’s tourism has been dwindling, and it’s not a surprise to learn about this shutdown.
New York-based iStar Financial confirmed that the 203-unit hotel portion of the property will be closed for an indefinite period due to operating losses of several hundred thousands of dollars a month.
The closure will not directly affect the remaining 806 condominium and time-share units and the property’s common areas, which include the hotel’s pool.
“The company has explored all available options to avoid the shutdown of the hotel operations and recognizes the impact such a decision will have on the community, condominium owners and residents, hotel employees and guests,” iStar said in a news release.
(Via Honolulu Advertiser)
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