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Up Front Lahaina

By Staff | Oct 27, 2011

… Well, I’m back – like it or not! Took a break to see how it felt after 17 years of writing this column, but it felt somewhat lonely. So here I am on the warpath again…

… of course the biggest news in my absence is that HALLOWEEN will be back on Front Street with all the fanfare and trimmings – mahalos and kudos to Mayor ALAN ARAKAWA for making it happen. It sort of left the CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION with a look of “wot hoppen?” But then there are many who say it should have never been up to them in the first place…

… understand the CRC meeting three weeks ago was a doozy, with the anti-Halloween group sounding with a warning of “genocide” and threats – and not just idle threats and warnings of something we know not what…

… Hey, come on, folks – we are a peace-loving community. We all used to get along. The rest of the world looks at Hawaii as something special when it comes to its melting pot of people and cultures. Why get your knickers in a knot over an annual community event lasting six hours, where everybody who participates enjoys – or they wouldn’t be there. It’s always a happy time for those few hours with rarely any incidents – certainly no more than any Friday night considering the thousands who attend. And how do a dozen or so objectors get to jeopardize a whole event because they don’t like it. Many of them don’t even come from here – AUWE!!!…

… and FRONT STREET hasn’t changed much during my three-month hiatus – street could use a little TLC and then BOOM!! We get awarded one of the “Ten Great Streets” in the Unites States. What an honor! Take a bow, Front Street…

… we’ve seen a few changes – another great addition is the opening of MARK & JUDY ELLMAN’S restaurant, HONU, joining their MALA next door and nearby our local favorites ALOHA MIXED PLATE and FU LIN CHINESE RESTAURANT. A regular little Restaurant Row down there! The menu at Honu is great and the view and ambiance spectacular – or vice versa. Congratulations, Mark and Judy…

… and LAHAINA RESTORATION FOUNDATION’s Plantation Days was again a big success – a lot of work for the volunteers but worth it!…

… and speaking of great community events, this year’s MAUI COUNTY FAIR was a winner. Notice I said Maui COUNTY Fair – it just came naturally. Why do these organizations feel they have to change everything? Maui Fair is flat with no feeling to it. Why not leave the “County” where it is – it’s been there for darn near 100 years. Some people have no soul…

… and we lost some familiar faces – dear POKI left us. A big loss – aloha ‘oe, Poki. And more recently, we lost old-time businessman HOWARD KONRAD. Howard was also a good friend to the community. I’ve never known him to say “no,” but he always stayed in the background. Aloha ‘oe, Howard. The community will miss you, and you, too, Poki…

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.