Up Front Lahaina
… Well, with the very successful Halloween pau, LAHAINATOWN ACTION COMMITTEE is gearing up for the annual LIGHTING OF THE BANYAN TREE. This year will be the 14th annual, and the Christmas decorations will go up in the town. The date is Saturday, Dec. 3, and keiki will meet “Frosty” the snowman. Santa will arrive at 2 p.m., and the lights will go up at 6:30 p.m. MAYOR ALAN ARAKAWA will have the honor of pulling the switch…
… as in past years, the LAHAINALUNA HIGH SCHOOL Band will entertain the crowd during the lighting ceremony, and other entertainers will be on hand Saturday and Sunday…
… AND THEN, LAC will produce the premier Lahaina “Second Friday” with a Christmas Tree event to be held on Front Street and in Campbell Park with merchant-sponsored trees. At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, all the trees will be lit in Campbell Park, and at the same time, all the surrounding churches will ring their bells. Gives me chicken skin already! The trees will then be donated to local families…
… so APEC is over – would hardly know it has come and gone from where we sit. But the biggest boo boo for the event, in my opinion, was the official photo of the Heads of State dressed in business suits, coats and ties – in HAWAII?? Where were the aloha shirts? Where were the lei? I understand that decision came from the White House – well, so what? How come the Governor’s Office didn’t show some spunk, insist on our “national dress” and show the world that the 2011 APEC Conference was held in Hawaii?!…
… and time for a kudo: this past week I had occasion for a medical procedure at MAUI MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER. If you can say that a hospital stay was a real pleasure, I can say it. I couldn’t fault the visit from check-in to check-out. The staff and nurses couldn’t be faulted; pleasant, courteous, helpful, professional – all the good adjectives apply. Yes, although I dreaded the procedure, it was a pleasure…
… back to our town: LAC has reappointed LYNN DONOVAN as managing director, but this time the board is giving her an assistant. Smart move! This lady is the most efficient I’ve seen in a long time – can do ten things at once, and each of them with a smile…
… and I failed to thank two volunteers on Halloween night – LAC Treasurer MAC LOWSON and his wife, LAURIE, headed up the security at the old fort ruins next to the OLD LAHAINA COURTHOUSE from 6 to 11 p.m. “Nobody got to shi shi there on our watch,” said Mac…
… sad to read that former resident BAIRD (BART) MILLER passed away on the Mainland. Bart was manager of the PIONEER INN when Spencecliff operated it. He was a community volunteer par excellence – aloha ‘oe,. Bart…
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.