… This Saturday is the day — help build a new stadium at LAHAINALUNA HIGH SCHOOL. “Tailgate ’09” is set for Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., before the Lunas’ game against Kauai High School. ESPN’s NEIL EVERETT will be the guest announcer at Lahainaluna’s “Imu” football field. Admission is free with the purchase of MIL (that’s MAUI INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE football, thank you) tickets…

… FRONT STREET is full of Luna pride with flags flying — unfortunately, LAHAINATOWN ACTION COMMITTEE only had red flags, so they had to forego the white (red and white are Lahainaluna’s colors for you uninitiated). So see you at the game!…

… I watched the PBS program on Gov. JACK BURNS the other night and was shocked when his son, Jim Burns, came on — it was Jack standing there in looks, voice, demeanor. I worked on Jack Burns’ campaign for governor and knew him well. The look alike is astounding…

… and the Lahaina-Honolua Senior Citizens Club’s annual bake and craft sale was a resounding success — they were sold out in no time, and Aunty Anita’s fried soup was the big hit. ONO!…

… and it’s just a rumor, folks, but word is JOE BERTRAM is not running for reelection for the South Maui House seat, but will run for COUNTY COUNCIL. Also, KIMO APANA is reportedly throwing his hat in the ring to run for mayor. Next thing you know, Gov. Linda Lingle will move back to Maui and run for mayor. Could be the battle of the former mayors — but these are just rumors, folks…

… and President Obama is having a tough time getting his healthcare bill across. It works in those countries where it is in place — what’s the big beef? I was in England in the 1950s when the same battle raged, but it is still in place today and in the Baltic Countries and Europe…

… and different ideas are being floated to stem the flooding at Lake Lahaina, or Lake Denghi to old-timers, behind the pool. One is to dig deeper, and then we’ll have a real Denghi — a big empty pit in the dry season…

… and from the halls of academia, the weather folks tell us that the water temperatures in our neck of the woods are approaching an all-time high since they’ve been taking temperatures, which means there could be hurricanes bouncing around our neighborhood. And a powerful El Nino is forming, and that means one heck of a wet winter…

… well, as a weather forecaster, I couldn’t be any worse than the forecasters on Felecia — ho hum…

… and congratulations to MAUI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD on their star-studded event honoring the recipients of  2009 Scholarships for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Word is the event raised tens of thousands for future recipients of scholarships. U.S. SEN. DAN INOUYE, one of the founders of MEDB, was on hand with wife Irene. Again, congratulations to MEDB…

Up Front Lahaina is a twice monthly feature. To protect his innocence, the writer chooses to remain anonymous. The views expressed in this column belong to the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Lahaina News staff and owners.