… Understand that HALLOWEEN came up at the past meeting of the CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION, which concluded that the SOROPTIMISTS and LAHAINA ROTARY could have their keiki parade, but that’s it. Some attendees hoped the CRC would make sure that Front Street remained closed until the evening in the interest of pedestrian safety — that’s why it was closed in the first place — but so far no word…

… one of the commissioners, however, gave a lecture on Hawaiian sense of place, which apparently only affects the adults. So the kids can have fun, but for the adults it’s a no-no. What irks me is that the nay sayers keep harking back and dragging out incidents that happened years ago. Forget it already and move on!…

… it’s almost like we’re back in the early days of the missionaries — no drinking in the park, no weddings on the beach, if you’re one day late with your boat slip fee, you lose your slip, and no Halloween. And the poor teachers are forced to take furloughs, and the kids lose that much school time. And all that money spent on harbor improvements for an illegal ferry that goes belly-up (although I wish we still had it)…

… and we have a jail that’s being closed on the Big Island, only to announce plans to build a $235 million jail on Maui. How about using that money for the schools to educate the kids, so they don’t end up in jail? AUWE!!…

… but some good news: KAREE CARLUCCI has been appointed director of marketing at the MAUI ARTS & CULTURAL CENTER. Congratulations, Karee!!…

… an interesting item I read is that only about half of the victims of the BERNARD MADOFF scam lost money because they withdrew more money than they invested, so after all that crying and gnashing of teeth, there were plenty of investors who did well…

… and on the international front, the AFGHANISTAN question still looms large — is it to be or not to be, as the death toll and injuries mount each day. If we could just speed up the training of the Afghan Army itself, and conquer the greed and graft that exists. Getting the kids in school and the infrastructure under way would be a start. I, for one, am coming to the conclusion that we can’t leave the country in the hands of the Taliban and through them, Osama Bin Laden. But we ARE between a rock and a hard place…

… but back to Lahaina, the WHARF CINEMA CENTER to be exact, where the Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” will be shown. Pre-showing will take place Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. This time connects the world showing simultaneously, and tickets are now available. The movie will be shown for two weeks only. So, Michael Jackson fans, get your tickets early — call 667-7865…

… and sadness prevails with the huge death tolls and injuries from the earthquake in PADANG-SUMATRA and the tsunamis in SAMOA, AMERICAN SAMOA AND TONGA — 8.5 on the richter scale is huge, and puts us all on alert that they can happen anywhere…

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.