Posted on 03/31/2006 12:15:55 AM PST by GrandmaPatriot
The Hawaii Visitor Industry spends millions of taxpayer dollars promoting the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands all around the world, but any visitor who gives up a life savings to come to Hawaii, especially over these last few weeks, could definitely have a case against the state for false advertising.
A more honest, realistic visitor campaign would go something like this:
Aloha and welcome to Hawaii where we have the highest property crime in the nation, the highest overall taxes and one of the worst illegal drug problems.
Don’t worry, our criminals rarely violently attack visitors -- they just steal your wallet, your video cameras and your suitcases any time you pull over to look at the view or go for a quick swim. No, it is not part of the visitor industry’s plan to get visitors to spend more per trip -- it is the criminals who need your stuff more than you do so they can subsidize Hawaii’s worst in the nation crystal meth habit. Don’t worry -- the state will make sure when you buy replacements for your stolen goods that you are taxed -- and taxed really thoroughly. Hawaii has the highest overall tax burden in the nation and the tax is even higher if you are a visitor who stays in a hotel or rents a car.
But no doubt, especially this Spring, you will have a memorable trip in Hawaii and see things you won’t see anywhere else in the world, (unless you are in a third world country).
There is the six straight weeks of rain, the flooding throughout the state that is sending mudslides and up to three feet of water through people’s homes and even into Kauai’s hotels, and signs throughout the windward side of Oahu and Kauai closing parks and beaches. There is the recent tornado, albeit rare, that hit Lanai, and the hail that smashed into the Big Island last week, but these weather conditions should only help mainlanders feel at home.
Spring isn’t in the air here -- it is more like a combination of the stench of raw sewage and ocean water. That is because there are the millions upon millions of gallons of sewage pouring every day over the last several days right into the Ala Wai Canal with city crews expecting this to continue for at least the next four days. The aging sewer system finally blew up, thanks to a combination of all the rain and rusted pipes, sending the raw untreated sewage into the canal and subsequently into Waikiki’s once stunning sapphire ocean. (The last mayor, Jeremy Harris, didn’t believe in basic maintenance and enjoyed raiding the sewer fund, so you, like the residents of the state, can reap the benefits.) The Ala Wai Canal, which stretches through the heart of Waikiki, is not normally clean enough to swim in, but it doesn’t reek like sewage or have millions of pieces of human feces floating in it either. But there is an upside -- visitors can go home knowing what it is like to live on the windward side of Oahu where sewage spilling from the canals into the ocean by the hundreds of thousands of gallons every time it floods, and subsequent beach closures, are common occurrences.
Want to protest the conditions here and file a complaint with the government? March down to City Hall and get in line behind around a dozen homeless people who up until Sunday when they were forced to leave, camped illegally and defecated openly in one of Oahu’s most beautiful parks. Or you can walk across the street to the state Capitol where lawmakers are deciding which taxes to increase for 2007 and get a preview for your next trip.
Yes, we live in paradise, where the Aloha Spirit is prevalent. You too can enjoy this tropical experience if you just hand over a large chunk of your life savings, plug your nose, travel light with insurance for your personal effects or with pepper spray -- since Hawaii doesn't have a conceal carry law -- and dress appropriately for muddy, flooding conditions. And if a shark doesn't take a bite out of your hide while swimming amidst the garbage and sewage, the government will certainly take a bite out of your wallet.
Aloooha!
I said I saw toilet paper (not a piece of toilet paper) and the other things, which I thought you could surmise, was millions of gallons of raw sewerage with feces and the smell along the canal was reported as horrendous. Hopefully there are not too many municipalities that intentionally send millions of gallons for raw sewerage into the ocean. The sewer spread all the way from Ala Moana Beach Park to Waikiki and tourists could not go into the water because of it. Not a good time for them.
Wow!!!! That is a first. People actually vacationing in Utah? LOL.
I loved Utah.
White water rafting.
Horseback riding.
Hiking through Arches and Canyonland national parks.
Route 128 near Moab is probably THE most beautiful road in the country.
Great food, nice resort, very friendly people.
And its a conservative's paradise.
I live 50 miles from NYC and avoid it like the plague, even though I spent the first 15 years of my life there. I live in a blue state and would move in a "New York Minute" if it werent for family (inlaw) ties. I only drive through NYC, now, on my way to one of the Red counties here in NY that still has some wild places. I have a hunting camp there.
I don't know, I've got a big imagination.
I love Utah, too, but their taxes are really high. Higher than Massachusetts. It's because they have so many children to educate, in part.
and wives too.
Not to worry. I suspect the author of the piece is suffering a bit of seasonal affective disorder after all the rain. This is the most wonderful place I've ever lived (and with an Army husband, I've been in several). Yes, it was a really bad rainy season. We get those every 10 years or so. Our "tornado" damaged a couple of structures if I recall. How many did that one in Tennessee knock over yesterday? Yes, the infrastructure is aging thanks to years of corruption. @#$% happens. But to try describe Hawaii based on the two or three bad weeks we had is like the 6 blind men describing the elephant by which part they could touch.
We've been to Oahu and Maui before.
Which island do you live on?
And just make sure not to go on "Kill Haole Day."
Oahu - about 12 miles west of the airport. The dry side, and we made certain to purchase in an area well away from the flood plains, LOL.
OK, thanks for the info. Might have to look further about going to Kauai.
I think that's pretty much a thing of the past, thank goodness. Our kids have gone to an excellent Christian school here and really haven't experienced much racism at all. Our son went to the public high school for driver ed in one of the more heavily local schools on the island - no problems being haole there either. Sure, racism still exists here but I feel a lot less of it here than I might in downtown Detroit or DC.
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