Mikie Likes It!

I guess the vermin posing a human beings on the Big Island who like to start fires could not be outdone by their brethern in Southern California. Most of the big, bad fires in Southern California were sparked by dry conditions and aided by the infamous Santa Ana winds, but at least 2 of as many as eight of the fires were deliberately set. I am in Orange County right now visiting my mother, and when we flew into John Wayne Airport a week ago we could see at least three fires from the air upon approach.

And these fires are not just burning brush and weeds like most have done on the Big Island; they have been responsible for burning over 1,500 homes and businesses to the ground! So you can imagine the press and publicity generated regarding the fires. This of course, brought out the whack-jobs who get a perverse thrill in setting fires.

Well, sadly the Big Island has some FIRE-STARTERS too if you remember my posts earlier regarding all the fires around Waikoloa Village. I guess having seen the national news several nights running with all the stories of the fires and their destruction, the local, home-grown whack-jobs couldn’t be outdone by California’s and started several more on the Big Island. This time closer to the coast near and around Puako I am told from some emails I received a blurb in the Orange County Register.

I guess it’s very hard to catch arsonists, but I propose arson be made a capital offense punishable by flogging in the public square or how about burning them at the stake? No, even that is too good for them.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

Every profession has them, you know that irritating string of letters behind someone’s name. Most people don’t really know what they mean unless they are in the same profession, and then it’s just a game of one upmanship – “Ha! I got more than you!”

But really, what the heck does “ESQ” behind an attorney’s name mean? Okay, I had an idea, but wasn’t really sure, so I went to the giant dictionary in the sky (aka, the internet) and learned that in English law it is a title of dignity somewhat above a gentleman and below knight. It is also a title of office given to sheriffs, sergeants, and barristers at law, justices of the peace, and others. Somewhere along the way in the United States it became a title commonly appended after the names of attorneys.

Gleaned from the “Esquire v. Attorney v. Lawyer” string on SOLOsez (the email discussion list of solo and small firm attorneys), one contributor opined that:

“It generally means the person is a pompous ass who insists on using any and every title they can grab in the hope of sounding important.”

Be that as it may, my goal today is to enlighten you specifically as to the more common designations you may find attached to a Realtor’s name and what they mean. But before I do, I plead guilty to using several myself! It’s not that I am ashamed of them, after all, they don’t come easy. They are only bestowed upon the recipients after arduous courses of study in particular fields of expertise. It’s actually good information as it tells you this person may be more qualified than that person. But like anything else, book learning goes only so far and then there’s nothing like experience!

These are by no means all of the professional designations associated with Real Estate, but some of those you are most likely to encounter. In no particular order:

• Realtor® (abbreviated R) is always capitalized when referring to a member of the National Association of Realtors. REALTOR is a registered TRADE NAME. In fact, we are one of the largest trade groups in the nation. Anyone who is licensed to sell real estate can call themselves a broker, but to be a REALTOR you must also complete training in and commit to a strict Code of Ethics.
• Realtor Associate (abbreviated RA) refers to a salesperson as opposed to a broker, but still subscribing to that same Code of Ethics. A Realtor Associate by law must work under the direction of a licensed Realtor. This can also be shown as Realtor (S) and means the same thing, a salesperson.
• CCIM (Certified Investment Institute Member) these are the guys or gals you might want to have if you were buying commercial buildings, for example
• IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) would be someone who could manage that commercial building once you acquired it
• ARB (Accredited Buyer Representative) members receive this coveted designation from the Real Estate BUYER’S AGENT Council (REBAC)
• CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) whose advanced training in listing, selling, pricing, technology and marketing to name a few, makes them more effective to their clients
• GRI (graduate of the Realtor’s Institute) where you learn the real nuts and bolts of the profession -you know all the stuff they didn’t teach you in Real Estate licensing classes
• e-PRO (electronic Professional) this certification course, sponsored by the National Association of Realtors is interactive and was the first totally online course taught. It prepares its members to thrive in the competitive world of online real estate.

Hopefully you are now better informed when choosing a real estate professional to work with!

*Note* this post was written by Mike and previously printed in West Hawaii Today.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

Where oh where has the time gone??

It’s already time again to look at the Big Island market data for Waimea, Kohala and Waikoloa. Check out where we are today and then refer to “The Least Expen$ive & Most Expen$ive” category from the drop-down menu above to get an historical view of where the market has been or where it is going.

TODAY IN WAIMEA:

• 98 homes on the market
• 35 are less than or equal to $500,000
• The least expensive = $330,000
• The most expensive = $7,000,000
• The highest days on market (DOM)= 605

IN WAIKOLOA:

• 97 homes on the market
• 27 are less than or equal to $500,000
• The least expensive = $385,000
• The most expensive = $895,000
• The highest days on market (DOM)= 580

IN KOHALA:

• 57 homes on the market
• 7 are less than or equal to $500,000
• The least expensive = $334,000
• The most expensive = $5,099,000
• The highest days on market (DOM)= 737

For more information on any of these areas or to fill in the blanks between the least expensive and the most expensive, just call or email me!

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

If global warming really keeps you up at night and you are genuinely concerned about it beyond the hype and the political correctness of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (good headlines and sentiment, but direct human causation may be lacking hard science), you might consider becoming a vegetarian as you would have far more impact on the world than not driving your SUVs (or flying less in private jets, Mr. G-O-R-E!) or converting to CFLs- you know the funny spiral-shaped light bulbs.

Vegetarianism is one of the most overlooked avenues for preserving our precious resources. More than 70% of all grain and cereals grown are fed to farmed animals for the production of meat all the while witnessing a hunger crises in developing and third world countries (not to mention many of our own inner city communities). A major report by the United Nations in 2006 summarized it this way:

“Raising animals for food is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, on every scale from local to global.”

Growing crops for animals requires massive amounts of water and land not to mention the fuel to run the machinery and get the product to market. Oh yes, don’t forget methane gas and the tons and tons of manure produced by the livestock, polluting our water and destroying our topsoil, etc. If you’re eating chicken, fish, turkey, pork, or beef, that’s what you’re doing—wasting resources and destroying our environment.

There’s a movement afoot (ahoof?) however, to counter this old way of thinking. It’s called Slow Food. Slow food is certainly not entirely vegetarian, but espouses the production and consumption of good healthy food within local eco-regions. It is produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare (no battery hens or huge feed lots) or our health.

Slow Food groups called convivia, can be found all over the world and there’s even one right here on the Big Island in Waimea! Another very exciting organization that goes hand in hand with the slow food mentality all the while being more environmentally friendly, are the Woofers. WWOOF is an acronym for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. This organization connects workers and farms, the general deal being free room and board in exchange for labor. It affords the farmer workers and allows the workers a hands-on chance to learn organic farming from the ground up, so to speak.

I like to eat and buy ORGANIC because I know it’s better for me and the environment and I have seen a big growth in organic products available on the Big Island over the last couple of years. We can predict even more expansion in this direction especially with all the diversified agriculture on the Big Island.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

That’s right, 20-70% off ALL merchandise next week, Fri & Sat., Oct 26 & 27th at As Hawi Turns! I said ALL merchandise, not like some sales where the teaser ad says in big bold print – 50% OFF! and in tiny, we hope you won’t notice, barely visible print, “selected store items” (you know like all XXXL shirts and size 0 dresses).

Nope this is the real deal! And I love this store too. I shop there regularly because they always have new stuff and it’s not the same thing you can find in every other store in town. Just the name should tell you something, As Hawi Turns. It always reminded me of the soap, ‘As the World Turns’, though I don’t know why.

Anyway, I got the postcard mailing earlier this week announcing their big annual sale and I was bummed right away because I’ll be out of town! Darn. But much to my delight, I walked in yesterday to cruise what’s new anyway, and was greeted immediately by Lisa Ebrahimi, the friendly proprietress who beamed,

“Well, yeah but I’m going to be on the mainland so I’m gonna miss it”, I lamented.

And sure enough, I walked home with a beautiful new silkie for my husband!

So, if you’re not already an AHT devotee, next time you’re in North Kohala (Hawi or Kapaau -the twin cities) be sure to treat yourself to a delightful little shopping spree at ‘As Hawi Turns’ right across from the famous Bamboo Restaurant and next door to the Kohala Coffee Mill and Tropical Dreams Ice Cream.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

For the first time ever in response, I suppose to the latest record breaking $88/barrel, the PUC is allowing Young Bros. Ltd. to add a fuel surcharge to its rates. It will be adjusted every 3 months as the price goes up or down (yeah right on the down part, just like a temporary tax increase!).

To add insult to injury, the Public Utilities Commission also granted another rate increase! The third in as many years. All I can say is, it’s a good reason to work at becoming a more sustainable island. Grow and consume what we need right here on the island. Take Young Bros., Matson and CSX Lines right out of the picture -at least to the degree possible.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

I don’t know how you feel, but I personally don’t want to see Ramadan (Muslim religious holiday which concluded last week) meal recipes in my morning paper as I did recently in the West Hawaii Today (an Associated Press piece by a Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, no less).

It’s not that I am prejudiced (okay, saying that probably means I am), but I can’t help but see it as anything other than a drip, drip, drip, slow gradual, incremental chipping away of our American culture) while slipping in a bit of Muslim culture (read- indoctrination). The more we accept the small things in this manner, the more receptive we are to the big things.

Take for instance the University of Michigan (in Dearborn where my husband grew up!) which has installed footbaths in at least 2 locations on campus to the tune of $25,000 (taxpayers money) after pressure from the Muslim Student Association. This when Christmas nativity scenes, displays of The Ten Commandments, etc., have been disallowed time after time in our own country which was founded on Christian principals (”In God We Trust” on our currency and sworn statements on the Holy Bible in our courts, etc.). This same Muslim Student Association, exposed by the Chicago Tribune as an American branch of the Egyptian terrorist group, Muslim Brotherhood, has a long list of goals (demands?) for the university setting.

And I bet you didn’t know this either. You know the action packed thriller “24″ on FOX staring Kiefer Sutherland that actually depicts terrorists as just that? Well, way back in 2005 in the middle of one evening’s program in response to whining from CAIR LA (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) to FOX, Kiefer- boy apologist, came on and cautioned viewers:

“Hi. My name is Kiefer Sutherland. And I play counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer on Fox’s ‘24’. I would like to take a moment to talk to you about something that I think is very important. Now while terrorism is obviously one of the most critical challenges facing our nation and the world, it is important to recognize that the American Muslim community stands firmly beside their fellow Americans in denouncing and resisting all forms of terrorism. So in watching 24, please, bear that in mind.”

Paleeeze, give me a break already! And don’t offend the terrorists for gosh sake. Pretty soon we’ll be saying “for Allah’s sake” to be more politically correct, drip, drip.

And how about dollars collected to aid Katrina victims? This story brings into doubt the Muslim charity Hands to Hands Social Services Agency, Inc., formed, ostensibly to assist the victims of the storm, but closer scrutiny of this organization and those involved raises serious questions about not only its legitimacy, but the financing of terrorist training and funds diverted to Muslim terror kingpin Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani. Read it and decide for yourself.

I just think it’s time to wise up. We’d better hold on to our borders, language and culture before we don’t have anything left to protect and we’re wearing head scarves on the street.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

“All you have to do is believe in yourself” is the message Andy Baldwin, last season’s hunk to have on ABC’s reality show THE BACHELOR, dispatched to the lucky keiki at the Kona Family YMCA earlier this week.

You have to wonder how less than 2 days before the IRONMAN Baldwin has time for the kids. But this is his 5th Kona Ironman and he really wanted a chance to talk to the local kids about health and fitness and have a Q & A about the grueling 1-day challenge. Baldwin, a US NAVY lieutenant stationed at Pearl Harbor is racing with the U.S. Navy team to raise money for his nonprofit “Got Your Back” (click here to contribute) benefiting the families of fallen servicemen.

Anyway, it’s race day today, so I know Lt. Baldwin is busy now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of those kids aren’t down at the finish line to cheer him in! Either way, they’re thrilled to have had the experience and I’ll bet they take away some great inspiration from the Bachelor!

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

This is the coffee snafu update to my earlier blog post, ‘Branding Kona’s Ironman – Go Figure!‘

Did you see their mea culpa in the paper yesterday and again today? Yep, full pagers in West Hawaii Today. It starts out, “Our Sincere Apology”. They call it a lapse in judgment, not malilcious. Blair LaHaye, Ironman director of communications must have got plenty heat so they have axed the marketing of the ‘official race coffee’ (from Columbia!) and apologized to the Kona community with coffee on their face. Ken Love, a local coffee farmer called it just plain stupid and a slap in the face of Kona Coffee growers.

Of course, the KONA COFFEE brand is a big issue and if you’re buying what you think is Kona coffee, you should learn why you have to pay attention to what you’re really getting.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

It’s amazing to me sometimes to see what the heck are people thinking and I usually conclude – “they aren’t!”
Example- no, actually 2 examples right in this morning’s West Hawaii Today:

The first is a great picture of the FORD IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP parade complete with palm trees, blue sky, waving US and Hawaii flags and lots of smiling, healthy parade participants trailing behind a Chrysler Sebring convertible!

Hello, is anybody home? What were they thinking??? I know for a fact there are gobs of beautiful FORD Mustangs on the island. It’s one of the most popular rental car statewide. I’ve even seen a couple of the Shelby GT 500s
around, so it boggles the mind why a Sebring shows up for all the world to see in the FORD Ironman Championship parade! Honestly, don’t you think this ’smokin’ Shelby Cobra would inspire those triathletes a little more than a Sebring? I do!

The next example a few pages further in my morning paper is this headline: Ford Ironman pulls ads for ‘official’ coffee. Delving further I learn that Ironman Triathlon officials quickly pulled advertisements announcing they would be marketing Columbian coffee in Kona during Ironman.

Now I ask you, what one product comes to mind when you think of Kona?

“Duh, let’s see, that would be Kona Coffee, right?”

Ya think? Oh, that’s right, they didn’t think. Makes you wonder doesn’t it? In any case, the big event is this Saturday so come out and enjoy the race and support these wonderful athletes.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

Okay, if you’re planning on being in town, or even in this neck of the woods on the Big Island (Kamuela, Waikoloa, Kohala) later this month -like Oct 27th to be exact, you’ve got to make sure you go to Oktoberfest!

This is one of North Hawaii Rotary Club’s biggest fundraisers of the year and everybody has a great time. The 8th annual Oktoberfest will be held in the New Beer Gardens behind Daniel Thiebaut Restaurant. The fun includes a live band and Polka dancing, and yes -the ever popular Chicken Dance! Oh, and don’t forget the ono food and terrific beer!

The menu is an array of international culinary delights (like knockwurst, bratwurst & weiner schnitzel -yum! Not to mention some of the most awesome desserts) from the island’s greatest resort and restaurant chefs. German and local brews are compliments of Johnson Brothers and Kona Brewing Company.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. There will a costume contest, a silent auction with wonderful items to bid on like rounds of golf at our gold coast resorts or a dinner for 8 at your house prepared by a personal guest chef, or perhaps a Kathy Long print, just to name a few possibilities. And all for a wonderful cause -vocational scholarships and North Hawaii’s non-profit community groups.

Where else can you go for so little ($45 in advance, $50 at the door -if tickets last), do so much good and have so much fun? So, see you there! Call or email me for tickets or pick them up at these locations, Waimea branch of these banks: First Hawaiian Bank, Bank of Hawaii or American Savings Bank.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

My twin sister who lives in the Bay area complains that the papayas she sometimes buys in California are very expensive and not that good, begging the question, then why bother?

Answer: because she misses THE MANGOES & PAPAYAS FROM HAWAII WHICH WE JUST TOOK FOR GRANTED GROWING UP and she just has to do it once in a while even though she’s usually disappointed.

Many years ago before moving to the Big Island, I lived in a house in Kaimuki (Oahu) that had 3 mango trees in the backyard! Man, oh man, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven and my sister was really jealous. But I overdid it and developed an allergy to mangoes and now can barely look at them without breaking out! Boo-hoo!

After a few episodes of unexplained rash and itching I had a notion it may be the mangoes (now the forbidden fruit!) so I did an experiment. I rubbed just the slightest bit of sap from a mango on the inside of my wrist. The following day- no reaction, so I figured it was something else and I could keep eating my favorite fruit (I loved them sliced on vanilla ice cream, in fruit salad or just cubed and right out of the skin) so slurpy and sweet. But, the next day, oh my gosh! I awoke with a terrible rash, welts and itchy skin. Around my eyes and ears and basically any “skin-on-skin” location (between my fingers & toes, behind my knees, the crook of my elbows, all hotbeds of misery!

The experiment was a success, but the outcome was disheartening -NO MORE MANGOES FOR ME! I later learned that I probably had an inherent propensity to the mango allergy as I’d had terrible bouts with poison oak on trips to the mainland (Hawaii doesn’t have poison oak, thank goodness) and I’d heard that the two, poison oak and mangoes were chemically related. The introduction of poison oak as an allergen in my body created a sensitivity lying in wait, so to speak, for the dose of mango that would be the tipping point, like the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. And guess what? the same thing happened to my twin. She can’t eat mangoes anymore either!

So my advise to you -stay away from poison oak, poison ivy and sumac if you want to be able to keep eating those beloved mangoes.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

Mayor Harry Kim (elected way too long ago on his “Ah shucks, I never wanted to run for this office” campaign), pegging the Big Island population at more than 170,000 worries that about 1/3 of the residents are homeless or at risk. Well, I kind of doubt those figures but I do not dismiss the obvious housing and homeless problem here. And if the numbers are that high, SHAME ON YOU, HARRY KIM!

The State and County of Hawaii (and every county island-wide) have failed miserably in providing housing for it’s residents. Imagine growing up here; born and raised. Where do you go if it’s too expensive here, having to spend a good chunk of your wages just to get to and from work? What kind of family life can you hope for if you are driving three and a half hours (or more!) every day to get to your job? You think those kids are getting quality time with their parents? You don’t just pick up, rent the old U-Haul and move to the next county or state. Not with your entire family, history and sense of self here in Hawaii.

Talk about a travesty. And it’s State wide. I just returned from Maui and it’s the same there. They should never have allowed the mega resorts to be built without providing for worker housing. And don’t give me the tired term “affordable housing”. I have never seen any produced that was affordable for those who needed it. And it doesn’t have to be homes to buy. Small efficient, well designed rental housing, both free standing and apartments are sorely needed.

The lack of housing in close proximity to employment is also a big factor in our clogged, outdated (poorly planned in the first place) roadways. I mean with so much land around on the Big Island anyway, why would any forward thinking government planners (oxymoron?) build 2-lane highways? You can’t really even call them highways as most do not even have a median or dividing strip. That lava isn’t very forgiving either, so accidents are usually fatal, and every accident is a guaranteed traffic jam for hours because there are no alternative routes available -you’re stuck.

And all they do is talk, talk, talk. Lip service about creating affordable housing. The State, County and planning departments have the power to fast-track permitting and other requirements that slow things down. Like why not spend a ka-zillion on studys and planning only to have burial council or the unions drag things out a few years? You think I’m kidding? Just google Hawaii Island Burial Council and you’ll see I’m not!

Yes, it’s a sad state of affairs to see the things our County government wastes it’s time, and our money on, and as the el jefe Mayor Kim, well the buck stops there!

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

Here’s a good healthy appetizer you can make next time your’re meeting friends for pupu & drinks, going to a potluck or when you just want a good snack around to stave off the munchies. I know you may say hummus is not exactly the kind of snack your family yearns for when they’re grazing in the refrigerator, but this is so good, they’ll taste it and love it!

It keeps well in the frig for a few days or you can make a big batch up and freeze it for the quick grab ‘n go later. And I usually cook my own garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas) from dry beans but this takes longer and you have to have a pressure cooker or you’ll grow old waiting for them to get soft enough to use.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 Cups Garbanzo beans (or a 16 oz. can)
• 1/4 Cup liquid from beans
• 2 Tablespoons Tahini (sesame seeds roasted + creamed like any other nut butter)
• 2 Small cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 Cup roasted red pepper (fire roast these in a toaster oven on broil about 10-15 minutes, then peel)
• 1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice

MIX ALL OF THE ABOVE IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER UNTIL SMOOTH and you’ve got a tangy, great tasting dish. Serve with pita bread cut into triangles or your favorite chips. Garnish with a red pepper ring and fresh basil (as shown), or parsley and cucumber slices, and voila- you are ready!

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com

You probably all heard it on the news a week or so ago. The story of the MIT student arrested in Logan International Airport for wearing a fake bomb she called art. When I first heard the story on the radio I thought I’d heard wrong, thinking surely they wouldn’t arrest a terrorist with a bomb and set bail at only seven hundred and fifty dollars! But when I learned who’d been arrested, I knew why bail was so low. Star Simpson isn’t a terrorist!

While attending Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kamuela on the Big Island, Star who graduated in 2006, was an all around good student, a great swimmer and a very smart kid! Phyllis Kanekuni, public relations director at HPA, as the school is commonly known in the islands, said

Star’s father who lives on Maui only wants to avoid any further trouble saying “If you have children, they sometimes make mistakes, but you help them through it.”

What can I say? I guess some of these real brainy kids (Star is majoring in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT) are just wired different from you or I. Lots of smarts, but short on common sense. Well let’s just hope this gets sorted out soon so Homeland Security can get back to the real bad guys and Star can get back to her studies.

Aloha, Mike
RE/MAX Pacific

On Island: 885-5557
Toll Free: 800-500-4895
My “Sell” Phone: 808-896-1943
MikeSells.com
WestHawaiiBlog.com
Mike@MikeSells.com