Max Angel displays his new CD while playing at the monthly Sunday music series at Hula Grill.

LAHAINA – Max Angel (Voices of Maui 9/4/14), the 17-year-old budding ukulele star and Lahainaluna High School junior, is celebrating good news. His first CD, released under his stage name, has been selling well at the Lahaina Music store across the road from First Hawaiian Bank, and he has signed on for a one-year gig playing at the Westin Kaanapali twice a week

There is more. Interested in agriculture, Angel is president of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) in Hawaii and will soon go to Washington, D.C., for meetings and a visit to Hawaii native son and President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Way to go, Angel!

LRF ON A ROLL, TOO – No annual event here gives one more of a sense of how wonderful a community this is than the fun-filled, informative annual meeting of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

In contrast to years ago, Lahaina young people have come to appreciate more and more the town as a historic place. Writing a required essay, LRF scholarship winner Richard Griffin, a student at Colorado State, summed up his attitude beautifully, writing, “we have a profound duty to (support) preservation. The culture is akin to a family. We never want to lose our cultural wisdom.”

This magnificent organization – led by a highly effective, involved board made up of a very representative group of key Lahaina leaders – continues to make Lahaina a better place, soaring to new heights.

In a humor-filled report, David Allaire, entering his eighth year as president, said LRF’s first budget 32 years ago was $10,000. At more than $15 million, it is “150 times more” today.

One of its most impactful projects is yet to come. LRF, with input from many people, has a $2 million modernization of the harbor area in the works, with funds likely to be provided by the county. LRF even consulted with Homeland Security, which is responsible for monitoring cruise ship passengers.

Allaire noted that the harbor today can best be described as “unkempt.” The goal is to make it a showplace where traffic around the Pioneer Inn can flow freely, boats can be attractively accommodated, and visitors from cruise ships will land in a pleasant spot as they are greeted by senior citizens dancing hula.

Folded into the project is the Maui Friends of the Library’s plan to restore the library’s front lawn and add more than a dozen varieties of native plants to complement the modernization of the library interior that it recently spearheaded.

Both the well-run MFOL group and LRF secured input from Native Hawaiians, including Ke’eaumoku Kapu, and reached an agreement to have him supervise building a permanent taro patch (not the one there now) and restore an ancient stone wall. The MFOL/LRF team even secured support from the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission.

Five key people who have had a lot to do with Lahaina Restoration Foundation’s success over the years will appear in my new book. Their achievements were showcased in five columns that have appeared in this space.

The five will be re-introduced in my new book as “The History Buff” (Jim Luckey), “The Mill Manager” (Keoki Freeland), “The Visionary” (Executive Director Theo Morrison), “The Architect” (the late Uwe Schulz, who restored the Seaman’s Hospital), and “The Kupuna” (Ke’eaumoku Kapu), who will install the taro patch where King Kamehameha once toiled to demonstrate he was a man of the people.

FUTURE OF RECYCLING – Residents and Rotarians will have a chance to hear and question two experts on the topic of recycling at a 5:30 p.m. Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19, at the Royal Lahaina Resort as part of its “Go Green, Keep the Island Clean” initiative.

Speaking on the future of recycling in the county will be Karl Bossert, representing a company that has a contract to build a Maui Resource Recovery Facility, and Kyle Ginoza of Maui County.

Mayor Alan Arakawa announced that the county has inked an agreement to build the facility to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.

The club is one of many groups working on eco-related issues.