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Up Front Lahaina

By Staff | Dec 9, 2010

… As the old saying goes: LAHAINA — WHAT A GREAT TOWN! The lighting of the Banyan Tree was a huge success — the old tree festooned with Christmas lights strung again by CLIFFORD CORNIEL. The huge snowman was created by LAHAINA ICE COMPANY’S RICHARD MURRAY. All the volunteers, from HAROLD HARDCASTLE of Lahaina’s Bakery (cookies) to TODDY LILIKOI to JOAN McKELVEY (founder and three-time president of LAHAINATOWN ACTION COMMITTEE) turning on the lights to all the musicians and performers. As someone said, other towns can have a Christmas tree to dress with lights, but NOBODY has a huge Banyan Tree like ours. Well done LAC!…

… and special thanks to LYNN DONOVAN, who worked tirelessly to keep it all together…

… and across the street, the PIONEER INN lit up with lights at the same time, as did the WHARF CINEMA CENTER…

… The Wharf has a great holiday display called “SANTA LAND” with a sleigh and Santa seated there, so the keiki can sit on his knee and whisper in his ear, and the families can take their pictures. “Santa Land” is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and located across from DA KITCHEN restaurant on the ground floor…

… and over on Oahu, the new governor is being sworn in with all the pomp and ceremony of the old days — NEIL ABERCROMBIE will visit each of the Neighbor Islands, starting with Maui this coming Saturday at LAHAINALUNA HIGH SCHOOL (see page 5)…

… the new Senate and House members will be on hand. Speaking of which, as there is only one Republican member, SAM SLOM, he can go down to the caucus room, point his finger at the mirror and shout, “You better vote the way I want you to — no arguments!!”

… a number of years ago, we had for a short time a central event office where organizations could call in their event times and dates to avoid conflicts and alert the public. Perhaps this could be repeated with a section each week in the local papers. A case in point: I had no idea of the FARDEN FAMILY event at the MACC. Perhaps it was announced, but I didn’t see it. I would have loved to have been there for that. During election time, there is an “Election Notice” column — why not local events?…

… and across the Big Pond, the WIKI LEAKS appears to be more about the alleged leaker, JULIAN ASSENGE, who has gone underground, it seems, somewhere in England. The only person who looks shook up over the contents of the leaks is Secretary of State HILLARY CLINTON, but she even said, “Hey, you should read what these heads of state say about us!”

… Meanwhile, Assenge is trying to justify his appalling actions and leaving a private first class to take all the heat. One thing this whole mess will do is take a good hard look at what should be labeled “SECRET” and what should be public knowledge…

… on Front Street, businesses and locals are up in arms about the increase in homelessness and bad behavior in the town. The police aren’t aware of it because they’re riding in their cars and don’t stop to see them using Campbell Park as a urinal, which incidentally is against state law. So go ahead, folks, and make a citizen’s arrest — that might be a wake-up call to get some law enforcement on the streets where we need them!!…

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.