PHOTO: TIM TADDER
Meet ‘Bugsy’ who was recently named one of “6 Amazing Pets” by Reader’s Digest!
Don’t be surprised if on your romantic walk along the shores of Waikiki you hear the yap-yap of 8 year old Bugsy as he hangs 10, er, 20 from his owner’s, David Yew, surfboard.
You can read more about Bugsy here: http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/6-amazing-pets/article183193.html
Prompted by the deaths of 3 Hawaiian monk seals last year, the state of Hawaii has made it a 3rd degree felony to intentionally harm or kill the endangered species.
Last year’s killings included a pregnant monk seal that was shot by an elderly man on Kauai who wanted to scare the seal off the beach so he could go fishing.
Upon signing the bill at the state capitol, Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona said, “This is a strong statement in regards to our value and our treasure of the monk seal,”.
Under the new law, violators face five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
Just an FYI to our Surfrider foundation friends on Oahu. 
This Wednesday, March 3rd @ 7pm, is the next general meeting. All are welcome, (even non-members).
Come join in the discussion to help Hawaii’s beaches, ocean and enjoy this potluck gathering.
When: Wed March 3rd, 7pm – 9pm Hawaii Time
Where: Tim & Ye’s home, 731 10th Ave., Kaimuki
It’s been 30 years since there was Shakey’s pizza and banjo music in Hawaii and now it looks like it’s about to return, (well, the pizza anyway – the jusy is still out on the banjo music)!
Shakey’s got its name from Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson, who while serving in the Pacific during World War II caught malaria that gave him the shakes. In 1954 Johnson converted a closed grocery store located in Sacrament, California, into a pub that also served pizza, naming it Shakey’s Pizza Parlor & Ye Public House.
The first of 3 restaurants is scheduled to open by the end of this month over in the Waipahu Town Center.
We here at Buy Hawaiian Seat Covers know our customers spent their Christmas days in many ways, but our Hawaiian customers take the cake:
An Iowa based company called Renewable Energy Group, (REG), is partnering with Hawaiian Electric Company to supply the state’s utility with 400,000 gallons of biodiesel for their new Campbell Industrial Park Generating Unit.
REG will produce biodiesel from used cooking oil and waste animal fat for testing on the 110‐megawatt combustion turbine generator.
“Being able to use liquid renewable fuels in our generating units is one of many steps ‐‐ including more electricity from other renewable sources such as solar, wind, biomass and the ocean ‐‐ to meet our goal of providing reliable electric service while reducing Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels”, said Hawaiian Electric executive vice president Robbie Alm.
We here at Buy Hawaiian Seat Covers salute Hawaii’s efforts at going green.
‘Mighty Mo’ was pushed and pulled by 4 tugboats just before sunrise this morning for 2 miles until it reached it’s destination at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s Drydock 4, the largest of the shipyard’s four drydocks, where it will remain until January 2010 while getting needed repairs and maintenance.
Many veterans were on hand to witness the historical event, some of whom even served on the mighty ship.
The 887-foot battleship, the last one ever built for the U.S. fleet, is famous for its “surrender deck,” marked with the brass plaque that will undergo polishing. The Missouri is barred by its agreement with the Navy from firing up its engines inside Pearl Harbor so it proceeded without any power or running water during its move.
You can read more and see photos of the event here at the Honolulu Advertiser website…
Have you felt it? Have you seen it?
The last few days on Oahu have been on the uncomfortable side as the lack of trade winds have left Islanders with increased humidity and vog, (’smog’ from volcanoes on the Big Island). The blame for the conditions lies partly with the season and partly the southeasterly winds which brought up some moisture from the tropics.
Forecasters are saying relief is in sight as they’re expecting the trades to pick up over the weekend. While most tourists probably haven’t really noticed, relief can’t come soon enough for most locals!
While we know that our Hawaiian seat covers can make you feel like you’re on a Hawaiian vacation there’s good news for anyone hankering for a real Hawaiian vacation: Hawaiian Airlines is adding some new planes and new flights from California to Hawaii!
Starting June 17th, 2010, the airline will be adding 3 new flights: 2 new routes from Oakland and San Diego into Maui and 1 new flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles.
Hawaiian will unveil one of its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft on its Los Angeles to Honolulu route in June too.
If you’re one of the lucky few who can still afford to take a vacation in this struggling economy then Hawaii is the place for you.
Facing the 4th straight month of record low occupancy they dropped rates an average of 13% in May and the outlook doesn’t look good so more rate drops may be in store as the summer drags on.
At 62%, the average hotel occupancy rate for the entire state of Hawaii is the lowest it’s been since it began being surveyed back in 1987. If you want to find the best deals checkout room rates on the Big Island where the occupancy rate has fallen below 50%, to 49.3%.
Bad news for hotels means good news for travelers looking for a Hawaiian vacation – aloha!