FLUX No. 2 Water

745 Fort Street #123 (Topa Tower, Ground Floor)

Bus: (808) 536-7177

Cel: (808) 224-1421

Donna’s Closet Fashion Boutique & Accessories

40 SAVE OUR SURF BY

SONNY GANADEN

A legacy of waves, friends and resistance in the aloha state.

48 EASY RIDER REDUX

BY TIFFANY IWALANI HERVEY

The ocean is the epitome of artistry and adrenaline for those who choose to participate in it. For the past 30 years, Jim Russi has been capturing these moments, freezing them in time and place, for a snapshot into the spirit of what happens when mortals and mother nature collide.

54 THE BREAK DOWN

BY TIFFANY IWALANI HERVEY

From Pipe, Banyans, Queens to Hale‘iwa, we explore the island for the perfect break.

62 MALAMA MAKUA BY JUSTIN HILL

The battle for Makua is back in litigation, this time over water and an Environmental Impact Statement.

66 TAPPING THE WELL OF CONTROVERSY

BY SARAH RUPPENTHAL

Two opposing viewpoints illustrate the ongoing debate over water rights – and wrongs.

72

AQUA CULTURE: A DAY AT HE‘EIA FISHPOND

BY LISA YAMADA

One organization is adamant in ensuring that the aquaculture practices perpetuated by our ancestors are not lost in today’s modern world.

77 THE FLUX GUIDE TO WATER CONSERVATION BY CODY MATSUKAWA

Our guide to water conservation will help you understand the importance of water and how to practice smarter water usage.

80

FOREIGN TERRAIN: ECUADOR

BY TIFFANIE WEN

In our ongoing exploration of worlds and cultures seldom seen and discussed, we venture off to Ecuador, the South American country that lies at the center of the earth.

84

SO MUCH FOR THE CITY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDSEY BARROW

We capture this summer’s biggest trends while spending a day away from the hustle and bustle of the city and escape to the sprawling Mānoa park for a recreational escapade.

ON THE COVER: From the shore outward, the massive expanse of waters reach is insurmountable. As an island chain, we are surrounded by water and what it has to offer us.

by Jim Russi.

Photo

SHOW US YOUR WORLD!

Captured something interesting while out and about town? Share your world with us. Upload your photos to the FLUX Hawaii website for a chance to be featured in our reader photo section. For more information go to www.fluxhawaii.com/submit-photo

CULTIVATING KOI

Nishikigoi or more commonly known as, koi, are renowned all over the world. Appreciated for its great beauty and peaceful demeanor, these colorful carp presents themselves in tones of orange, gold, white, red and black. Kodama Koi Farm in Mililani cultivates these prized fish for all to enjoy. We talk to Taro Kodama about the various types of koi and dive into the process of raising these giant fish.

Users with a camera phone and adequate software are able to scan the image of the QR code and be directed straight to our website. This “Quick Response” saves you invaluable seconds from having to actually type out our address, which sometimes gets messed up with those miniscule Blackberry buttons or overly sensitive Iphone screens. But if you have to type out our address to visit us, go here:

FLUXHAWAII.COM

Driving down Ala Moana Boulevard, it can be easy to get blinded by the sea of red brake lights flashing in front of you. It’s easy to get caught up in what’s happening in front of us – the bastard who just cut you off, the never-ending road work to fill in potholes, rubber-necking at the idiot pulled over by police (Ha! Sucker.) – and forget that which is all around us. That between the trees at Ala Moana Beach Park, behind the homeless shopping carts and tents, is a body of water that stretches as far as the eye can see. Sometimes you’ll see white peaks firing at Big Rights. In the winter, or on weekends, the drive up Kamehameha Highway up to the North Shore is just as frustrating.

When inherent beauty is a part of our everyday lives, it becomes just that, everyday and mundane. When we are surrounded by water on every side, it becomes easy to forget that this natural resource is precious, something not to be used and abused. With the theme of “Water,” our goal was to put water under a microscope, to document issues prevalent not just in our city, but as experienced by surrounding cultures as well. To help us remember that water and beaches are not to be taken for granted and that our inputs have a direct effect on the quality of the water that we drink and play in.

So with that we very proudly bring you our second issue. After having a year to produce our first, these past three months have whizzed by. But phew! We made it. Especially with the closing down of publications and the consolidation of local media, we do hope to cultivate discussion and create an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration among all mediums.

Enjoy.

Lisa Yamada Publisher/Editor

WATER

SUMMER 2010

FLUX HAWAII

Editor / Publisher Lisa Yamada

Creative Director Cody Matsukawa

Art Director Ara Laylo

Editorial Assistant Candice Nonaka

CONTRIBUTORS

Elmer Cagape

Sonny Ganaden

Tiffany Iwalani Hervey

Justin Hill

Joshua Masayoshi Huff

Mitchell Kuga

Lacy Matsumoto

Bridget Mullen

Justin Okawa

Mike Pooley

Sarah Ruppenthal

Will Villarreal

Tiffanie Wen

PHOTO

Matthew Alvarado

Lindsey Barrow

Ryan Beppu

Mike Cerrone

Robert Choy

Bodie Collins

Willi Edwards

Ryan Gravela

Harold Julian

Sterling Kaya

Michael Keany

Bruno Lemos

Joseph Libby

Michael McDermott

Roy Movshovitz

Jim Russi

Save Our Surf

Will Villarreal

Miya Yamaoka

Aaron Yoshino

ILLUSTRATIONS

Jennifer Yoko Thorbjornsen

CREATIVE

Ryan Camacho

Almond Cruz

Dulce Felipe

MULTIMEDIA

Sheryle Ishimoto

Matthew McVickar

ADVERTISING

Christy Bauer-Eriksson

Scott Hager

Tatum Henderson

Sandy Ng advertising@FLUXhawaii.com

FLUX Hawaii, 2815 Kaihikapu Street, Honolulu, HI 96819. Contents of FLUX Hawaii are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher. FLUX Hawaii accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. FLUX Hawaii reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors and omissions and may feature same on fluxhawaii.com, as well as other mediums for any and all purposes.

FLUX Hawaii is a quarterly lifestyle publication.

MATTHEW ALVARADO

Water = Just one of the many blessings God created for all of us. What is your greatest fear? That would be a tie between a zombie apocalypse or skydiving. My present state of mind: Peaceful

Three words to describe me are: Loving, passionate and giving My superhero name would be: Nacho Libre Jr. (You have to say it with a Mexican sounding voice)

When I die, I hope people will say about me:

I was an amazing husband and father, was a man of God, contributed and pioneered much to photography. My idea of perfect happiness: Being filled with the Holy Spirit and surrounded by the ones you love and doing the things you are called to do all at the same time. Oh! and a pint of cookie dough ice cream..

Don’t mess with Texas-native, Matt Alvarado, because it’s clear he was blessed with a God-given talent. Matt has contributed to Virgin Records, Capitol Records and Alternative Press Magazine. He now owns a boutique wedding photography company in Maui, Beloved Weddings, and lent his editorial eye to “Tapping the Well of Controversy.”

CHRISTY BAUER-ERIKSSON

Water =Pure

What talent would you most like to have?

I wish I could draw

What is your greatest achievement?

Hiking Half Dome, and finding the love of my life. My current obsession is: Blogs, so many talented people out there.

When I die, I hope people will say about me:

I made them feel special

I can‘t live without:

Iced tea and my MacBook Pro What trait to you most abhor in others?

Lack of loyalty, and dishonesty

What do you dislike most about your generation?

The lack of encouragement, everyone always trying to one up each other.

Christy, like many of us FLUX staffers, wears about 50 different hats at any given time. In addition to working with nonprofit, Surfing The Nations, Christy is our go-to girl for all things miscellaneous: event and editorial photographer, account exec, re-user, distributor, advisor & and the list goes on.

LINDSEY BARROW

Water = Life

What do you dislike most about your generation?

Thier lack of appreciation for the elderly and the past. What is your present state of mind?

Euphoric

Three words that describe me are:

Creative, genuine and determined

When I die, I hope people will say about me:

I hope people will say that I contributed to society, that I tried to fix what was broken, preserve what was good and loved without restraint.

What is your idea of misery?

Living a life full of anger

What is your greatest achievement?

I wish I could say I saved the rain forest, ended deforestation or gave birth, but that hasn‘t happened. Placing first with Fashion Group International Dallas for a green inspired trend board would have to be my greatest achievement.

Hoping for one last hurrah before moving back home to Louisiana, Lindsey helped FLUX capture the playful innocence of summer in our fashion editorial, “So much for the city.”

RYAN CAMACHO

Water = life, energy, emotion, tranquility, rebirth

The motto I live my life by is:

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

- Robert Cromeans

If you could spend 60 minutes with anyone, who would it be and why?

I would spend 60 minutes with my grandmothers again, so I could tell them how much of a great childhood I had, and thank them for everything they ever did.

Three words that describe me are: Innovative, expressive and compassionate

What trait do you most admire in others?

I admire people who are genuine and true to themselves.

Usually surrounded by a mountain of makeup and hair product, Ryan is now consumed by business plans, number crunching and brainstorming as he ventures into opening his own salon, RyanJacobie, later this year. With limited resources for our on-location shoot, “So much for the city,” Ryan created a perfectly, playful summer day. The soonto-be salon owner is currently an Educator at Paul Mitchell the School.

SONNY GANADEN

Water = good idea for an openended topic. It’s power. Chiefs, States, Governments – their distribution of water and access to it define who matters in that system.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Doesn’t really work like that. You work hard and try your best, help out even on the down days to make other people perfectly happy; sometimes the Universe hooks you up. What is your present state of mind?

This month? Go surf and get some sleep, tomorrow’s gonna be busy.

The motto I live my life by is: I think different seasons in life require different mottos. Lately I’m really into the WHY question, like, “Why did that make me / her cringe?”

About half of the words Sonny uses, we don’t understand. But we forgive him; he’s a lawyer. Regardless, his critical and analytical views never fail to make us think, which is exactly what he does in his documentation of John M. Kelly Jr., and his work in preserving Hawai‘i’s coastal environment.

IWALANI HERVEY

Water = LIFE

What is your current state of mind?

What am I doing here in this dirt and smoke? This is a stupid way to live!

What do you dislike most about your generation?

I worry a lot about my generation being apathetic. I worry that we have too much distraction and instant gratification, which turns most into materialistic zombies. What are you most passionate about?

Awareness. About growing intellectually, emotionally and physically.

The motto (s) I live my life by are: Read. Write. Revolt. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Love. Courage. Wisdom. Kill whitey. Damn the man.

Tiff is about balance. She says her middle name balances out the grossness of her stripper name (Tiffany) and her slave name (Hervey). She balances being in the chilly New York City by writing about surfing and surfers.

The former editor of FreeSurf, Tiff cracked the whip and somehow managed to track down six of Hawai‘i s hottest surfers for “The Break Down.”

BRIDGET MULLEN

Water = bad news for iPhones... Who is the person you can count on most?

Ira Glass, to keep this American life company whenever I’m hungry for some food for thought.

What is the motto you live your life by?

Eat, drink and be merry! Or, as my father always says: beer, pizza, mexican food... it’s all good!

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

I have a really large head, which makes hat shopping a nightmare. Also, as I am painfully Irish, I have trouble maintaining a tan. Don’t get me wrong, I love my roots, I’m just tired of looking like a freaking tourist.

My current obsession is: Funfetti cake. How on earth does it stay so moist?!

Bridget comes to us from Hawaii Parent Magazine. Her wit hits harder than any spanking we’ve ever had. She took one for the team in this issue, bringing us both our food features on lunchwagons and chef Nitai Bishop.

SARAH RUPPENTHAL

Water = Life

My superhero name would be: I asked my husband and he said, without hesitation, Wonder Woman. Guess who’s not doing the dishes tonight? Which living person do you most admire?

Elie Wiesel, for obvious reasons. What physical feature would you change about yourself?

My wide feet, a genetic handme-down from my dad. But I still adore him.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be?

A person? The man or woman who discovers the cure for cancer. A thing? The cure itself.

Three words that describe me are: Curious, friendly, loquacious (a fancy word for blabbermouth )

Even a short conversation with Sarah will tell you how passionate she is about her craft. Either that, or it’s the six Starbuck’s mochas that’s got her talking non-stop.

A former editorial assistant at The Maui Weekly and current journalism lecturer at Maui Community College, she knows her stuff, especially when it comes to “Tapping the Well of Controversy.”

TIFFANY

WHAT THE FLUX

OCEAN POWER

The oceans are the world’s largest solar collector: one square mile contains MORE ENERGY POTENTIAL THAN 7,000 BARRELS OF OIL.

IN THE YEAR 2030,

HAWAI‘I

AIMS TO

LEAD THE WAY IN CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVES.

With a bevy of natural resources at our fingertips, including some of the most powerful waves in the world, it’s hard to imagine we won’t.

As the most dependent state in the nation on imported oil, it’s time we look inward for solutions, like utilizing our ocean to generate alternative energy solutions.

$1 MILLION :

The amount the federal Department of Energy awarded, per year since 2008, to the Hawai‘i Natural Institute, at UH Mānoa, for as many as five years to conduct renewable energy research and development of technologies that harness the power of waves and ocean thermal energy conversion.

Hawai‘i is the most dependent state in the nation on imported oil. MORE THAN NINETY PERCENT OF PETROLEUM IN HAWAI‘I NOW COMES FROM FOREIGN SOURCES.

HAWAI‘I CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE:

An unprecedented and innovative partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy that aims to have at least 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s power come from clean energy by 2030.

Hawai‘i has the highest energy costs in the nation.

Hawai‘i’s energy costs are nearly 11 percent of its gross domestic product. In most states energy costs are four percent of gross domestic product. 80 million barrels of oil are imported annually. These sources provide power for over 92 percent of Hawai‘i’s electricity generation.

THE TECHNOLOGY

OCEANLINX

Location: Jams, Pauwela Point, Maui

What: Rising and falling swells push and pull through water turbines

Energy Output: 2.7 megawatts of energy, generating enough electricity to power about 1,600 homes. Could make Maui energy independent within the next decade.

Cost: $20 million

HONOLULU SEAWATER AIR CONDITIONING:

Where: Four miles offshore of Honolulu

What: Pipes extract cold ocean water, bringing it to shore for air conditioning

Energy Output: Cool roughly 40 of downtown Honolulu’s largest buildings; would offset about 178,000 barrels of oil a year.

Cost: $240 million

POWERBUOYS

Where: Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base, one mile offshore, in 100 feet of water

What: The energy created by the bobbing of the buoys is transmitted to shore through an underwater power cable.

Energy Output: 2.7 megawatts of power and reduce carbon emissions from traditional power generation by up to 2,000 tons a year.

Cost: Two buoys, $12.9 million

Text by Mitchell Kuga

THE LIFE OF A... TAKO HUNTAH

Even before the tako he catches is out of the water, Brad Marumoto takes a bite — though it’s not from the part normally eaten as pupu. Instead, Marumoto bites into the tako’s brain. “It doesn’t really taste like anything. It’s just a little slimy.”

Marumoto, 24, caught his first tako when he was 12 and has dove recreationally ever since. His dad taught him how to identify, catch and kill the eight-armed creatures on the shallow shores of Kahala and Waikīkī beach. “I don’t think [dad] was really into it or anything like that but it was something that he could teach me, something that we could do together.”

Most of the tako he catches gets used for fishing bait, but when a party or get together is coming up, Marumoto does a head count and catches accordingly. After boiling the tako, sometimes in beer or sake, and cleaning it with Hawaiian salt, Marumoto covers the tako’s arms in salt, pepper and cornstarch before deep-frying it in a wok. “It’s my new favorite way to make it. It’s super good.”

Although it happens very rarely, tako do bite. There’s a faint scar on Marumoto’s arm for proof. “It hurts a lot. Just imagine a parakeet digging into you.”

The biting of the tako’s brain isn’t done out of hunger. It’s done to kill the frantic creature that, once caught, shoots out a seemingly endless stream of ink. It sometimes takes a few tries, but once Marumoto bites the right spot, located directly above the tako’s eyes, there’s a sound that he describes as a “crackle” — like taking a bite of Rice Krispies cereal. The tako’s arms curl up, flaccid and graceful, its coloration suddenly fading to a soft, milky white.

The first time Marumoto attempted to crack the tako’s brain, things didn’t go so smooth-

ly. “It was a learning experience, because if you’ve never dealt with tako before, you’re underestimating its strength. They’re very, very strong. So when I attempted to bite it, it went all over my face and I actually had to rip my snorkel off. It wasn’t a very good experience.”

Marumoto dives during the day because the tako then are bigger than the ones that emerge at night. The biggest tako he’s ever caught was nine pounds. An average catch weighs in at around five. Hawai‘i Fishing Regulations prohibit hunting tako that weigh less than one pound. “If I catch anything close to that, I throw it back. I’m not trying to take the whole ocean.”

According to Marumoto, the hardest and most enjoyable part about tako diving is finding the tako, an exercise akin to perusing an underwater version of “Where’s Waldo.” When the creature isn’t contorting its spineless frame into maze-like crevices in the reef, it’s camouflaging into inanimate objects. Specialized skin cells allow the normally purplish-brown tako to change colors and textures. One second it resembles the soft contours of the mustard-yellow sand, and the next, a splitting-image of a piece of dark, jagged coral.

Since graduating from Kalani high school, Marumoto has worked at Hanapa‘a Fishing Co. on Dillingham. Behind the counter on the second floor, which specializes in diving equipment, he’s seen a renewed interest in the pastime. “Young and old, local people and guys who just moved here or military people who want something to do. Every nationality you could think of. It is mostly guys, but we do get a bunch of women divers once in a while too. Basically a whole assortment of people. It’s just fun. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Photo by Sterling Kaya, Hanapa‘a Hawai‘i

What has two arms, four eyes and ten legs? A tako huntah and his meal. Marumoto with his captured tako.

by Bridget Mullen

HOW TO CONTROL ANT INVASIONS

You close your windows. Lock the doors, seal the vents, and cover every crack in your apartment. But somehow, they still find a way in. Ants. Nature’s version of the roommate from hell. (They get into all your food, create messes, and never leave the house.) Unfortunately, keeping these pesky little home invaders out the house can be tricky during those warm summer months. No need to get antsy.

FLUX talked with the experts – publisher of AsktheExterminator.com, Rick Steinau, and president and CEO of DoMyOwnPestControl.com, Michael Gossling – to uncover some simple solutions to help control ant invasions. No anteaters necessary.

Step 1: KNOW THY ENEMY

“The first rule of pest control is to get a proper identification of the insect you are trying to control,” says Steinau. “I know it is an ant, but exactly what kind of ant is it? This is important because each species of ant has its own nesting and food foraging habits.”

How to…

“I always suggest collecting a few ants in a small bottle and taking the ants to a local pest control professional for a free ID,” says Steinau.

Step 2: SEAL THE DEAL

“Exclusion is also one of the steps in controlling ants,” says Steinau. “Doing a close examination around the outside of your house will help you discover where the ants are gaining inside access.”

How to…

“Just observe,” Steinau suggests. “Finding ants around an exterior wall is easy. Once you find them, just watch them. If they are entering a crack or a hole where a pipe leads inside the house, just caulk it to seal the opening.” Gossling adds, “Cut back any trees or shrubs against the house that ants can climb for easy access into your house. It is always a good idea to keep all shrubs and vegetation cut back at least 12 inches from your home.”

Step 3: KEEP IT CLEAN

“Ants constantly forage for food,” says Steinau. “As long as temperatures are above freezing, most ant colonies will remain active. As ants find food sources, they will alert the nest that food has been found, immediately attracting other ants.”

How to…

“Always keep food in air tight containers,” Gossling suggests. “Do not leave food or crumbs out for foraging ants to find. Also, ants often search for moisture, so keep dishes out of the sink, and dry the sink out at night with paper towels.” Steinau adds, “Be sure to clean up spills. Good sanitation requires more than a surface cleaning. Touch and smell surfaces to be sure they are totally clean.”

IF THE ANT INVASION CONTINUES, TRY THESE UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS:

Boric Acid: 1-to-1 mix with sugar water. Avoid the temptation to wipe up the trail. They must take this toxic concoction to their queen.

Vinegar: Plain water just won’t do

Baby powder, flour, talc: Sprinkle around items you wish to protect, like pet foods.

Cucumber slices: Ants have a natural aversion to cucumbers.

Cayenne pepper, citrus oil, lemon juice, coffee grounds: Block their point of entry with any of these. The ant will not pass.

Carpenter Ant

White-Footed Ant

Crazy Ant

Ghost Ant

HAWAI‘I’S MOST COMMON ANT INVADERS:

clonesofthequeen.com

matthewmcvickar.com

Singer-songwriter David Tamaoka is all grown up. His debut solo LP, Canefield Hero, sings sweetly of love, and love-lost.

CANEFIELD HERO

david tamaoka

Singer-songwriter David Tamaoka finds God in almost everything.

Three years ago, when his wife was pregnant with their first child, he had a dream: “We had a boy and his name was going to be Pax, which means peace. And I took it as a sign from God,” he said.

Tamaoka took a sip of coffee. “And then we had a girl!”

He managed to find a quirky moniker for his daughter: Pennylane, named after both the Beatles song and his former band, in which he sang and played the electric bass. However the sign from God stuck and in January, Paxton Jude Tamaoka — his middle name inspired by “Hey Jude,” another Beatles song — was born. Eight days after his birth, Tamaoka, sitting outside of the Starbucks in Aiea shopping center, was beaming. “I haven’t slept in weeks, but it’s wonderful,” he said. “I’m way more prepared than the first time around.”

God also has an odd way of finding Tamaoka. If you pop his debut LP, Canefield Hero, into iTunes, the program categorizes the eight, largely acoustic pop songs as “Gospel & Religious” — a misnomer that catches the Moanalua high school graduate off guard.“It’s not really intended to be in that genre so I don’t know how that happened,” Tamaoka, a youth pastor at Faith Christian Fellowship, said. “If you mean religion in terms of expressing a point of view, how do you ever separate a person from their point of view? I guess my faith is inherent to me. So everything I do that comes out will some-

how be touched by that,” he said.

Canefield Hero, which was released in October by Mix808, is a radical departure from Tamaoka’s last project, Pennylane, a Kaua‘i-based quartet that split in 2005. Syrupy lyrics and serene melodies take the place of the heavy guitars that thrashed on Pennylane songs like “Violent Remedy,” reminiscent of something you’d hear while shopping for a studded collar at Hot Topic. Instead, Canefield Hero takes cues from Jason Mraz and Dashboard Confessional, with Tamaoka’s lithe vocals sliding sweetly through refined pop productions about love and lovelost, all of which he’s had a hand in writing. In short, Tamaoka has settled down.

“I’ve done a lot of growing up,” said Tamaoka, who is 30, but evokes the boyish, wide-eyed spirit of a teenager. Wearing a brown fedora, thick-framed tortoise shell glasses and a black T-shirt that reads “nothing new under the sun,” Tamaoka has an easy laugh, and asks about as many questions as he answers.

“I take greater joy in a lot simpler things nowadays. Being a dad made me happy to be at home and be with my family,” he said, noting that Pennylane, who is almost 2, falls asleep to the sounds of Amos Lee and Norah Jones. “She calls her Aunty Norah,” he said.

Growing up has also meant looking back. The album’s title was a way to honor Tamaoka’s ancestors, who immigrated from Japan, China and the Philippines to work on Hawai‘i’s sugarcane fields. His grandfather died in a sugarcane hauling accident on

Kaua‘i while his mother was only in middle school. “I just thought, ‘man, that whole sacrifice of moving and starting your lives to work every day in the sun. That’s pretty admirable,’” he said. “Without them I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the life that I have now, to do music. Music’s a luxury.”

Musically, much of 2010 will be spent promoting Canefield Hero. There are even tentative plans about performing in Japan, but such opportunities come with sacrifices. “If I go out and perform, or spend time writing, it’s time that I could spend with my family, so I have to think about it more now,” Tamaoka said. “I weigh it out now.” Fans can rest assured; Tamaoka plans on making more music. He envisions his next release sporting a more “rocking sound.” When a collaboration with Stephanie, his wife, also a singersongwriter, gets suggested, Tamaoka smiles. “We sing really well together. She knows what she’s doing,” he said. The couple met at a local gig, and were engaged less than two months afterward.

“In terms of creating a record together, we haven’t been able to make it work. But it’s okay. We’re not trying to force that,” he said. After all, he continued, “We’ve made babies. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Text by Mitchell Kuga

Photos by Michael McDermott

A sign from God: David with his son, Paxton.

a

Next to

dimly lit overpass, GRLFRNDS and Painted Highways talk about Honolulu’s musical movement.

GRLFRNDS

an interview by painted highways

Honolulu has a rumbling underground movement that is breaking the surface very quickly. With all the great music flying around the internet lately, it’s no wonder all of us are being inspired to get out of our bedrooms and into your ears. The heart is beating in Chinatown, and if we are the blood, then we are bound to be pumped all over this island and beyond. The best part about this new music scene is exactly that: It is a scene, a community…. Mark, Kai and I (Mike) from Painted Highways spent an evening talking with Alex, Jacob, Nate and Nick from GRLFRNDS about what has been brewing in their brains since they got together last summer.

Painted Highways: So to start, where is your favorite place to do Pilates?

GRLFNRDS: (Without hesitation and in unison) Jacob’s house.

Alex: Jacob has a lot of nice artwork and it’s in the middle of the woods. We would stay up there for days on end and that’s how we wrote most of our music, staying at Jacob’s house.

PH: Who usually comes up with the songs?

Jacob: It’s a collaborative thing. Nick will start a song and I’ll finish it and vice versa. One of us will write a verse and the other will write a chorus.

PH: So how did GRLFRNDS get the name GRLFRNDS anyway?

Nate: I guess it’s because we a four person clique and we sit around bitching at the world, like a bunch of girls. And, we like to watch Gilmore Girls. Then we took out the vowels because there was already a band called “Girlfriends.”

PH: Who is more dreamy? Mel Gibson or Kevin Costner?

Alex: I think they are both kind of spaced

out. I dunno… I’ll go with Kevin Costner. Jacob: Yeah, he did do Field of Dreams.

PH: Trick question… It’s Johnny Depp… Anyway, you guys were in bands back when 1739 was around – you guys did a lot of shows there back then right?

Nick: Yeah our last show with La Tenia was there and we played like one song. Jacob: Oh yeah! That was crazy.

PH: What was more fun for you guys, playing shows in that era or the current “Chinatown Era?”

Jacob: The reception from the audience is much better now. There is more payoff with playing these shows.

Alex: There is something happening right now and everyone is super responsive. That makes it fun. It is a little stuffy because it’s all 21 and over, and it’s all the same aging hipsters – no offense to you guys, of course.

PH: It’s OK, we can smell our own. So you guys are bummed there aren’t more kids at our shows?

GRLFRNDS: Yeah. Definitely.

PH: What do you guys think the biggest difference is between all-ages and 21 and over shows is?

Nick: It’s less intimidating.

Jacob: Well our music might go over pretty well with teenagers, you know that angsty demographic. We aren’t a pitchfork aging hipster band.

Alex: Well we aren’t the Fleet Foxes.

Jacob: I think we could get a disenfranchised pop-punk audience as much as an indie-style audience. We are a pretty populist kind of dancy rock band.

Alex: Yeah, Jacob’s right. When we were going to shows as teens, pop-punk really con-

nected, and hundreds of kids were coming out to watch like Unit 101 and Buckshot Shorty. Now we’re playing a variation of really poppy punk music, which also is affected by electro. We want to tap in to what you see in the mainland all-ages shows, like what’s happened at The Smell in L.A. Why shouldn’t that happen in Hawai‘i? We’re trying to work towards that in any way that we can, but we are mostly waiting for something like that to happen and then we want to be a part of it.

PH: What don’t people already know about you that you haven’t blabbed about in other interviews?

Alex: People don’t realize that when they see us a play our set, that’s just a representation of us at that time. Our band is constantly evolving. We want people to never know what to expect from us. Since we play a lot of shows people assume that we are like other bands in Hawai‘i that keep trotting out the same set over and over. We play a lot of shows because we want to have different dynamics. To sum it up in one sentence: You think you know, but you have no idea.

Text by Mike Pooley

Photo by Aaron Yoshino

Ed Fernandez in the fittingly named, “Green Room”, which houses The Organik’s recent collection.

ORGANICALLY FOSTERED the organik

From soft bamboo and organic, cotton-blended T-shirts to bold graphics and appropriate beach gear, The Organik has made its mark on the sustainable scene. Owners and designers, Ed Fernandez and Brian Jones, are more than just cousins, but are partners who teamed up to create the earth conscious clothing company.

“We wanted to start a sustainable clothing line that would attract the masses and showcase art,” explains Jones in an interview from his New Jersey home. “We were completely bored with the graphic tees in the market. So we took our backgrounds – environmental and design – and that’s how Organik was born,” says Fernandez who now lives in Kona. The duo utilizes the elements around them for design inspiration. “We live and enjoy the ocean so that’s inspirational in and of itself,” says Fernandez.

“Our design ideas are inspired through the beauty of our surroundings and the different cultures we come across,” Jones continues. “Ed and I collect design ideas almost every day, and we communicate that through each season of our Organik lines.”

Each collection features various designs, from urban contemporary graphics to simplistic elements, and each shirt is created to be wearable in any situation, day or night. The Organik works with fabrics that are either organic, sustainable or earth-and-animal friendly. The textures of fabrics like bamboo and organic cotton have a distinct soft feel, almost as if your T-shirt has been washed and worn several times. With other items like organic flip-flops, beach totes, and a small collection of ready to wear, an Organik piece is perfect for every occasion.

Both owners play different roles during the day, with full time jobs and families to juggle. Yet they always find time to surf, or be in nature. “Living in Kona has taught me more and more about appreciating nature,” says Fernandez. “We don’t have fancy amenities like people in Honolulu, but I really couldn’t live anywhere else.”

The two-man company started with a few accounts here and there, and now has grown to being in boutiques in Japan, as well as the trendy Los Angeles retailer, Fred Segal. Their line is also carried at Whole Foods on O‘ahu. As attention on the quality products and unique designs grows, so have the orders, which have been flooding the two boys, keeping them busy and excited. “We really want to go global with our custom collections that are made in the USA,” says Jones. From small town dreams, to taking on the world, The Organik is making big moves this year.

Organic cotton shirts from the summer collection modeled by Shimmer and Lace.

Something to smile about: Heather Brown is making a name for herself with her surf art in Hawai‘i, California, New York and Tokyo.

THE NATURALIST

heather brown

Heather Brown does not just use water as a subject for the paintings she exhibits in galleries around the world, she lives in it. The 36-year-old artist from California has called Hawai‘i home for 10 years, has surfed for nine and is even a bona fide scuba dive master. If that isn’t enough, she works in her two story house in Maunalani Heights, where she lives with her boyfriend-slash-manager Chris and their 1-year-old English bulldog Marley, and regularly paints in front of a vertigo-inducing view of the Honolulu coastline.

The house is bright and open, with surf boards propped up in every corner and gicleés - advanced reproductions of her oil paintings - lining high white walls. The totally unpretentious artist, who is building a name for herself in Hawai‘i, California, New York and Tokyo for her deconstructed illustrations of surfers and waterscapes, has gone from selling her first painting on eBay for “30 or 40 bucks” to commanding up to $15,000 for an original piece.

The super smiley and laid-back artist talked to FLUX about traveling to tropical destinations, why time machines are superior to teleporters and how she loves sharing a piece of Hawai‘i with the rest of the world. The more we talked with her, the cool breeze coming in through the window on a perfectly clear Saturday afternoon, the more we realized – the girl has a lot to smile about.

You’re a total beach bum aren’t you?

I’m really drawn to the ocean. I feel like I need to live by it and see it, go into it whenever I can. It’s my happy place.

Why art?

I’ve been making art all my life, ever since I was a kid. My grandmother was an artist, and she was always encouraging me to be creative, whether it was crocheting or molding clay or whatever. She never gave me her paints though. She thought the oil would get everywhere.

So does that mean you always wanted to be an artist?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a trainer at Sea World. I was really fascinated by the ocean and the ocean’s creatures as I still am today. It always felt really natural to me to be in the salt water and to interact with animals.

I know it’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is, but I’m always curious if artists have a favorite piece they’ve done. My favorite is probably “Glassy Green.” It’s done from the perspective of a surfer coming right toward a wave that he’s about to turn around and catch. You couldn’t ask for anything more perfect. It’s glassy, the light is shining through it, there’s no one else out in the water. It just gives me that feeling of a place that I would want to be.

I imagine it might be difficult sometimes to part with your work?

One of my pieces went to a gallery in Japan and I kept thinking, “I want it, I want it!” And I thought, ok, if nobody buys it today, I’m taking it home. Then it sold. But usually I’m happy to let them go and make somebody else’ home beautiful.

Who do you create for?

I focus on people who want to bring a piece of Hawai‘i home with them. People come here, like people from Japan. They love it so much and they’re sad to leave, so I love that they can bring a piece of art home with them. Every time they see it they can remember their trip and think about coming back.

Art is emotional and affects everyone in a different way. I feel like in my own life I’m happy with the way everything is and I’m a happy person. I try to put that into my art and make people feel good. I think it’s mysterious in a way. An artist has a way of putting something into their work that can make someone feel a certain way.

You mentioned people from Japan and I know you have a gallery in Tokyo. What do you think it is about your work that resonates with your Japanese following?

The Japanese love Hawai‘i and I think my paintings are a kind of fantasy world. I think,

Text by Tiffanie Wen

Photo by Roy Movshovitz

for residents of Tokyo, they want to take something home that is visually beautiful and that they can enjoy when they’re surrounded by all those high rises.

If you couldn’t live in Hawai‘i , where would you live?

Namotu Island in Fiji. I just got back from a trip there. It’s a five acre island with great surf and no one else out. Being in the water feels like swimming in an aquarium, and there are these great coral reefs. The whole place is so relaxing. It was the first trip I’ve been on where I was just really sad to leave.

Ooh Fiji sounds amazing. Where else have you traveled?

I love tropical places. I’ve been to all the other islands, Bali, Puerto Vallarta, Costa Rica and Fiji now. I really want to go to Australia and Papa New Guinea next. I

get inspired when I travel too. Just by everything. Like the colors of the sea in Fiji were so different from the colors here and I might incorporate that into a piece.

You travel a lot. You need a teleporter. I’d rather have a time machine. I’d go back to the 1950s and surf all the famous breaks before people were there, on those old classic boards.

If you weren’t painting then, would you be a surfer?

If I weren’t a painter, I would love to be an architect.

You’ve got a busy year coming up designing posters, working on clothing collaborations, and traveling to Tokyo. But what’s next for you in terms of personal artistic style?

I want to do something totally brand new. I

think I want to make my art more geometric. Now I block everything out, kind of like stained glass artists. I’ve been going smaller and smaller and more detailed, but I think it would be cool to go in the other direction and expand and lose detail. I’m not sure yet though. It’s still kind of mysterious to me.

But I want to keep growing and evolving as an artist, and keep things fresh. I’m such a happy person - I really love using my art to make other people feel happy too.

Keep up with Heather’s art at www.heatherbrownart.com.

Deconstructed illustrations of surfers and waterscapes remind viewers of a beautiful Hawaii. Title: Outer Reef.

Text by Justin Hill

WAI‘ANAE

Photo by Theodore Severin

Large mullet fish don’t come around much anymore, leaving Wai‘anae – which means water (wai) of the mullet (‘anae) – like many other places on O‘ahu: with a place name, given by ancient Hawaiians to describe the area, that doesn’t fit anymore. Water was, and still is, held in such high regard that it was included in the word kanawai (law), and if you had plenty of it, you were waiwai (wealthy).

But Wai‘anae, with an estimated population of almost 11,000 in 2007, is not nearly as wet as it once was with the last 50 years being a dryer period than the time before. Wai‘anae, on the desert side of the island, receives an average of 21.3 inches of rain per year compared with Kailua at nearly 120 inches. The declined rainfall – which has been only

part of the problem and was brought about in part by a large deforestation effort more than100 years ago – has meant an increase in brushfires and an impact on near-shore waters. Bare soil now washes into the ocean and muddies the reefs.

Sugar mills and ranchers also changed the landscape, diverting water from streams that don’t flow year-round like they used to, damaging agriculture and cutting off the nutrient feed to the ocean.

Train cars of the O‘ahu Railway & Land Company are gone from the Wai‘anae landscape. The train - which ran up the Wai‘anae Coast from Honolulu, around Ka‘ena Point to the North Shore and Kahuku - was not only used by plantations, but carried passengers, cattle, and rubbish from Honolulu to a dumping site near Ka‘ena Point. It also hauled sand dunes that used to be mauka of Farrington Highway, which were used in making concrete for buildings in Honolulu.

RECYCLING SUCKS!

With all the hype about going green, it’s easy to separate your glass from your plastic from your paper, and think smugly to yourself, “just doing my part.” What most of us don’t realize, however, is that recycling just plain sucks. It tells us that we can continue to consume glass, paper and plastic as normal, but so long as we’re recycling, it’s OK. Recycled products can more aptly be described as “downcycled,” meaning they are converted into a material of lesser quality. Eventually the recycled item is no longer recyclable, and it ends up in the place you didn’t intend in the first place: the landfill! And even worse, the toxins, fumes and energy required to recycle products make recycling even worse! Recycling has masked the more important concept of reducing and reusing. Reduce your intake and reuse when possible. And I’m not just talking water bottles. Here we feature reusers who make their worlds more aesthetically beautiful.

DIY AT RE-USE HAWAI‘I

“My husband read about Re-use Hawai‘i and he knew he had to check it out. He loves remodeling and doing it at a cheap price! We did our bedroom, made a little office and re-did our entire bathroom. We have yet to tackle the kitchen. We found this amazing tile that we used for the shower wall. It was 200 percent cheaper! We priced a tile that was similar to the one we picked, which ranged from $15 to $25 per square foot. We paid 75 cents per square foot at Re-use. We love going to Re-use because they get you to think outside of the box. Everything is so random in there. You have antique light

fixtures to exotic wood to old gym flooring. It’s fun, but you have to be willing to be creative. I would recommend anyone building or remodeling to check it out. They are really friendly and personal. And make sure you have cash or check – plastic doesn’t get you anything there!” – Christy Bauer-Eriksson

Re-use Hawai‘i 30 Forest Avenue 808.953.5538

Reusing at Re-use: Finished bathroom renovation. Top right: before. Bottom right: In construction.

KINI BEACH

What was the inspiration of Kini Beach? Moving back to O‘ahu I was shocked at the amount of trash and litter everywhere. It was ungodly. Our ultimate goal was to save our oceans from foam and plastics, which take more than 100 years to decompose, destroying the ocean’s ecosystem. Also, reusing these materials would help eliminate toxic wastes from entering our earth’s soils in landfills.

The name Kini Beach came from: As a youth growing up in Kailua, “kini” always meant our “favorite thing,” our favorite marble, favorite trump card. …Our products reminded us of those favorite things.

Describe the materials used to create Kini Beach products:

Every product has at least three materials that are reused: a bamboo mat, a PVC plastic floater and a foam bodyboards. We strip to cloth from the bodyboards, and the big chunks of foam are reused by Hawai‘i’s packing and shipping industry. About 3,000 cubic yards per year of PVC and foam are left in the Hawaiian islands by visitors – that’s about 30 standard swimming pools – which we prevent from ending up in landfills every year.

The Kini Beach line includes: Beach bags in three sizes, paddle bags, stand-up and canoe paddle covers. Our newest product is our “Kainoa McGee” stand-up paddle bag.

Go to www.KiniBeach.com for more information.

MARK CHAI

Many of the materials local artist Mark Chai uses are products most of us would throw away: scrap metal, Styrofoam, cardboard, polypropylene barrels. Instead, he rescues and reuses these materials, turning them into beautifully functional works of art, sculptures, lamps and other furniture. “I am always on the lookout for recycled material to use in my sculptures and lamps. I think it is important to repurpose materials so they don’t end up in a landfill. This is my way of practicing sustainability to some degree.” A sculpture installation by Mark will be on display at the Hawaii State Art Museum in May.

Go to www.MarkChaiArts.com to see more of Mark’s work.

LOS

ANGELES :open market

101

Correspondent Joshua Masayoshi Huff

Like Hollywood or the Lakers, the phrase “traffic congestion” quickly comes to mind when thinking of Los Angeles. And, for good reason: the 101 Freeway was recently named as the reason that Los Angelinos have “America’s Worst Commute,” by The Daily Beast. The fix? Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is feverishly working on its railway system, which originally opened in its current form in 1990. In 2009, eight stations on the city’s Gold Line were opened, and next year the city plans to unveil the Expo Line. The city’s railways are among the

FIRE AND RAIN

most utilized in America, surprising, considering the relative youth of the lines as well as L.A.’s noted automobile romance. Interestingly enough, the same study noted that Lunalilo Freeway (H1) made for the second most miserable daily drive nationwide.

AVERAGE AMOUNT OF CARS TRAVELING ON THE 101 EACH DAY: 318,000 LENGTH OF THE 101: 16 MILES

AVERAGE TIME FOR COMMUTE… ON A GOOD DAY: 60 MIN

A BURNING DEBATE

Out of control wildfires. Flooding. Hail. Mudslides. Tornados. The apocalypse? Hardly: It’s just winter in California. In the past year, California has experienced a torrent of inclement weather:

1. FLOODING: While moderate rains and high surf advisories constitute “normal” winters in California, the flooding — almost a foot of water in some places — was the result of an abundance of wildfires that ravaged large swathes of southern California.

2. FIRE: Bone-dry conditions and high winds make for serious wildfire hazards. Like clockwork, wildfires set California ablaze during dry months, burning thousands of acres of vegetation and putting hundreds of firefighters at risk.

3. MUDSLIDES: With wildfires burning vegetation, there is little left to hold the soil in place, and mudslides become the imminent concern.

4. TORNADOS: Although rare, tornados touched down in Southern California, luckily not causing any major damage.

5. SURF & HAIL: High surf forced authorities to close beaches, and hailstorms brought traffic to a standstill. It seems the skies released everything on Los Angeles but cats and dogs.

“It’s a really sad thing in our line of business. Most of our patients feel betrayed by the city for taking away their legal right to obtain their medicine locally…and it’s going to take away many people’s jobs and livelihoods.”

-- Brittany Morgan Morrison, manager at the Los Angeles dispensary The Herbal Center and Tea Lounge. The City Council recently passed an ordinance that would limit marijuana

dispensaries to industrialized areas — at least 1,000 feet from “sensitive” areas like schools, libraries and parks. Under the ordinance, dispensaries would only be allowed to be open until 8 p.m. and would not be able to advertise their wares with neon cannabis signs in the shop windows. The ordinance, the by-product of citizens and politicians unhappy with what they see as the rampant proliferation of dispensaries in the city, was signed on February 3. The ordinance allows only 70 dispensaries to remain open, shutting down more than 80 percent of the city’s estimated nearly 1,000 dispensaries.

GOTHAM GOODIES:

THE SCIENCE BARGE

How it works: They grow crops using a system called recirculating greenhouse hydroponics (that’s fancy talk for, no soil, just irrigation with rainwater and river water).

What it looks like: A bunch of plants growing out of rain gutters. Powered by: Solar, wind and biofuels.

What it grows: Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkins, strawberries and lettuce, with zero net carbon emissions, zero chemical pesticides and zero runoff.

No matter how urban a community, it’s time to evolve our ways. The Science Barge is a sustainable urban farm and

LEGISLATION WORTH FIGHTING FOR

For being the unofficial home of all that is cool and lucrative, New York sure is behind the trend when it comes to Mixed Martial Arts. Although

environmental education center floating on the Hudson River. It is the only fully functioning demonstration of renewable energy supporting sustainable food production in New York City. The scientists and engineers who created the Barge would like to design these systems for city rooftops, especially schools, because they need fresh vegetables at lunchtime every day, and a greenhouse makes a great science lab as well. Recent studies suggest that there could be enough rooftop space in New York City to grow all the vegetables needed by the population. Imagine the Big Apple as self-sufficient and not dependent on transportation/ importation for produce. This is one to take notes on, lovers. What we do in the present shapes the quality of our future. www.nysunworks.org

it was outlawed in New York in 1997 by thenGovernor George Pataki (he called it “barbaric”), MMA is currently the fastest growing sport in the world. It is regulated in 42 states. Recently New York’s Governor Paterson has proposed to

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!

You will never look at a turtle the same way. Ever. Wandering into the Museum of Sex in Manhattan was supposed to be a touristy escape from the rain. However the shock of seeing animal penises in action and masturbatory mammals (three words: bears are naughty) on video proved to be quite life changing. And that was just the first floor. Super-sized sex toys, fantastic freaks, porn star portraits, and sex lives of robots to follow. Naturally. Tools for pleasure looked more like technological torture, but to each her own. Personally, a chainsaw

with dildo in lieu of saw is just a bit too frisky for me. Like any other devoted institution, the museum is complete with research library and multimedia library, which includes 8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm, BETA, VHS and DVDs. For city dwellers and visitors, the plethora of inspiring museums in Manhattan always provide enlightenment and entertainment. If you have an open mind, healthy curiosity and a sense of humor, seeing what a turtle is packing can be just as dynamic as seeing a Salvador Dali original up close. After all, like Bette Davis said: “Sex is God’s joke on human beings.”

www.museumofsex.com

legalize ultimate fighting as part of his 2010 budget plan to help generate revenue for the state’s $9 billion-and-growing deficit.

www.petitiononline.com/ MMAinNY/petition.html

A study done by the UFC in 2008 estimated that one event would generate $11.5 million in economic activity in New York City and $5.2 million in Buffalo, NY.

A recent Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study con-

cluded that the lower knockout rates in MMA compared to boxing may make MMA fighters less susceptible to brain injury.

Correspondent Tiffany Iwalani Hervey open market: NEW YORK CITY

Photos courtesy of Museum of Sex Collection

Image provided by permission of brightfarmsystems.com

THE URA-MICHI SPECIAL: REPORTS FROM THE TOKYO UNDERGROUND

TOKYO :open market Correspondent Will Villarreal

MAKE-ART

Insertion of ink to the skin has been taboo to the Japanese culture for centuries, once looked at as a mark of punishment and criminality. But now a particular method of tattooing has evolved and become accepted: beauty-enhancing, micro-pigmentation, also known as cosmetic tattooing. This form has become accepted and prevalent among women of all ages. The permanent make-up can enhance colors to the eyeline, eyebrow and lips, and is ideal for on-thego women who always need to look their best but cannot afford the time to apply makeup throughout the day. At the end of the day, your makeup looks as though it was just freshened. You can select your color of ink from a wide variety of natural shades, or a new shade can be created for you.

FERN SANTOS

Art Photos by Bodie Collins

My art is based mostly on Japanese anime, street art and sci-fi. Painting helps me show a world of things that inspires and enlightens me. I was born in San

Diego and moved to Honolulu when I was young. The two places were different but they had a great influence on my art. When painting I listen to hip-hop music a lot it helps me keep a steady pace so I don’t get ahead of myself. Show some aloha throw a shaka!

PAKA FAILURE

It is not uncommon to see drunken men stumbling from bars or even knocked out in the street, but the penalty for possession and use of marijuana in Nihon severe. Offenders can expect long jail sentences, and solitary confinement is common. One such offender, who spent three months in jail for possession of the prohibited pakalolo, tells us about what went down. I was flying high, eight hours to Narita Airport. I remember the beagle. That damned dog. He sniffed me out. Next came the torishirabe, the interrogations. I was tested. The vial turned blue. Blueberry. Positive for THC. Locked up abroad, in Nihon. The Babylon system. Every day of my three-month detainment went like this:

6:00 a.m. – Lights on. Put away futon. Wipe down tatami, vacuum, clean toilet.

6:20 – Back to cell

7:00 – Breakfast, asa gohan

8:00 – Room inspection

9:00 – Outdoors. Undou (excersize).Daily hygiene. Allowed two cigarettes, shave, wash hair, nails. I shower once every five days.

9:20 – Get three books for the day and a change of clothes.

9:30 – Back to cell

12:00 p.m. – Lunch, half a cup rice, pork, chicken or fish. Miso. Hot water.

6:00 – Yu gohan. Dinna. Same menu. More volume.

8:00 – Evening hygiene. Futon junbi.

8:10 – Back to cell

8:30 – One cup hot water.

9:00 – Lights out!

Correspondent

CHINESE FASCINATION FOR BABY BOYS SPREADS IN HONG KONG

Prompted by the one-child policy enforced in China for decades, the cultural preference for boys over girls has created a serious gender gap, according to a paper published recently in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine. Babies born in Hong Kong automatically gain permanent residence in the country, giving them access to free education and subsidized health care. As such, women from Mainland China have been flocking to Hong Kong in droves. In 2008, Mainland mothers accounted for 42.6 percent of all births in Hong Kong. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where women traveling from Mainland China who were at least seven months pregnant would be denied entry, unless proof can be shown they have a valid

FILM ON A DIME!

Hong Kong films were poised for the spotlight at the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival. Ten new films from local directors made their debut at the event, which was held March 21 to April 6. This year, the festival – organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society – boasted more than 240 titles. HKIFFS is a non-profit, charitable agency that aims to discover and promote film culture. While the festival received a subsidy from the government worth HK$11 million (US$1.41 million) – equivalent to about 60 percent of the total budget – this year’s festival saw an increase of 34 percent worth of sponsorships, according to HKIFFS executive director Soowei Shaw.

Hong Kong films have experienced a renaissance over the years with a spike in productions made locally as well as low budget flicks co-produced in China. Hong Kong studios are now more open to investing in low budget projects of around HK$10 million (US$1.29 million) with good scripts and reputable directors. After exposure in the festival and recouping costs in the local market, these films are aimed to make a profit as they make their way beyond Hong Kong cinemas.

reason for entering. Almost ten years after the ruling, the gender gap in Hong Kong – a territory that does not enforce one-child policy – is becoming evident.

Census and Statistics Department data revealed the ratio of boys to girls grew from 109 boys for every 100 girls in 2005 to 114 boys for every 100 girls in 2008. In some mainland provinces this ratio is as high as 130 boys for every 100 girls. Grace Wong, the study’s chief author said that the rise in the ratio was a result of an influx of Mainland mothers who practiced gender selection compared to locals. The journal revealed that one possible reason for the widening gap is that more mainland mothers are interested in giving birth in Hong Kong if the pregnancy involves a baby boy.

DOMESTIC TRANSFORMER

Architect Gary Chang knows how to make the best of tight spaces. In his 344square foot Hong Kong apartment, Chang can create 24 different layouts: fold-down tables and chairs, a hydraulic bed hidden behind a sofa, sliding wall units. So what appears to be simply an open studio apartment can actually be transformed into many rooms. A fold-down wall turns his video game room into his kitchen. His living room into his bedroom. It’s what he

calls flexible living: “That old routine of folding out the bed is similar in spirit to what I do today…it’s all about transformation, flexibility and maximizing space,” Chang said in a NY Times article. He has renovated his apartment four times, and has dubbed his most recent renovation, “Domestic Transformer.” With the growth of this architecture company, Edge Design Institute, Chang’s budgets for renovation has also grown, spending more than $218,000 on his current renovation.

Elmer Cagape open market: HONG KONG

Photo by Edge Design Institute

SAVE OUR SURF

A LEGACY OF WAVES, FRIENDS, AND RESISTANCE IN THE ALOHA STATE text by sonny ganaden photos courtesy of save our surf

In an island community, access to the ocean and the streams defines power. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Save Our Surf (the SOS as its members called it) and its primary organizer, John M. Kelly Jr., organized against the overdevelopment of Hawai‘i’s shorelines. Over a generation later, residents and visitors to Hawai‘i have a bit more paradise because of this band of surfing kids and their charismatic leader.

Everyone is local eco-literate now, passing around insider lingo like water table and Environmental Impact Statement, shoptalking about the ahupua‘a and debating the mandatory video for

visitors to Hanauma Bay. Local ecology is on the cover of everything about Hawai‘i and inescapable on local television. You’d need to go back a full generation to find a Honolulu mayor or state governor that didn’t say environmental preservation was a significant priority. But it wasn’t always school stream clean-ups, blue-green algae farms, and outlawed plastic shopping bags on Maui.

For decades, Dillingham Company, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the young territory developed and altered the landscape of Hawai‘i against the backdrop of tragic cultural loss. The immense changes Honolulu underwent throughout the 20th cen-

tury rivals that of any Asian tiger metropolis in recent history; the dredging of land and sea, the pouring of concrete over the land, a superhighway. By the early '70s, even the slacker local kids born of the baby boom, who ditched school to surf, saw a whole way of life threatened by the unmitigated approach of business and military interests.

“In the beginning, that energy was loose, floating, nearly everywhere, but soft, compliant, unconsolidated, like foaming seas cut by the prow of a ship. We needed a method with which to gather together, aim and release that energy at the right time and place, like ocean waves that gather their force, rise and break.” - John Kelly

WEDNESDAY NIGHT REVOLUTION

Ed Greevy, now 70 years old, has documented “the movement” in Hawai‘i with his camera since the late ‘60s. “I got written to by Doug Frisk in 1970. Doug was the editor for Surfing Magazine. They were getting interested in environmental work as places were being effected all over, places like Dana Point and Malibu. He asked me, ‘ever heard of the SOS? Could you check it out for us and take pictures?’ I didn’t know what he was talking about, but the next day I was at a camera store in Waikīkī that isn’t there anymore, and I saw a poster, this handmade thing, telling me about the next SOS meeting at Black Point.”

What Ed Greevy saw at that Wednesday weekly meeting of the SOS was young surfers in revolt, led by John Kelly in his living room. Save Our Surf was planning the first major protest at the newly minted Hawai‘i State Capitol in downtown Honolulu. They were attempting to lobby the legislature for an investment in the city’s first water treatment facility and against the dumping of sand in Waikīkī beach for development, a move that could have effectively destroyed some of the most famous and beloved surf breaks in the world. “They were planning this big event at the capitol. It was in 2 or 3 months, all these kids in the living room. There was maybe 20 of them, plus the girls running around the house. One of the kids was a treasurer, he stands up and says, ‘OK we spent $8 for this, $12 for that, and we got a little under $10 now.’ I thought, ‘this is crazy, they want to do this big thing with all these people and they got less than 10 bucks.”

HOT CURL AND THE ATOM BOMB

John Kelly, by that point, a father in his 50s, had already seen enough in his life to know that the SOS could win these battles. Kelly grew up at Black Point, when that part of the island was the lonely fringe of Honolulu’s city lights. He was the only child of famous artist parents John Melville Kelly Sr. and Katherine Harland, creators of some of the first global images of an idyllic Hawai‘i - art that maintains its beauty and masterful technical merit to this day in the upper floors of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Hawai‘i State Art Museum. As a surfing kid, his first board was, by modern standards, a ridiculously heavy redwood plank shaped by David Kahanamoku, one of Duke’s brothers. Fellow surfing pioneer Wally Forsieth charged the biggest swells of the 1930s with Kelly. “Every surfer knew every other surfer. And, not only every other surfer, they knew every other surfboard. They knew exactly who owned the board. There were boards with initials and names and all kinds of crazy stuff, and everybody had their own design.” Forsieth and Kelly’s own 1937 design was the “Hot Curl,” which was essentially a redwood board he took an axe to at the tail for a trim V, then kept modifying in order to make it down the steep face of his home break at Brown’s and Black Point.

Courage was a hallmark of Kelly’s long life. He was one of the first to charge the point at Makaha, finding the waves after spearfishing off the Wai‘anae coast. As a serviceman of the greatest generation, he eventually found himself stationed aboard a ship off the coast of Kaho‘olawe. There the navy was beginning a decades-long bombardment of the island with ordnance, using a sacred Hawaiian site quite literally as target prac-

tice. As a skilled freediver, he retrieved unexploded torpedoes with nothing more than a rope and goggles, a task most of the hard-hat naval divers refused. Although he told the Chicago Daily News War Service that “any islander could have done it,” this and other acts earned him a Navy and Marine Corps medal of honor.

Kelly’s real passion was getting people together and directing young energy and talent. After a post-war move to New York to attend Juilliard with his wife Marion, Kelly came back home to be the choral director at Palama Settlement. According to Ed Greevy, it was Marion that politicized the man: “He was crazy about her. She was doing work with the ILWU (the historic International Longshoreman’s Union), where she was Jack Hall’s secretary there for a while. I think she said, ‘If you’re gonna keep hangin around, then you’d better read these books.’” Those politics, along with a character that longtime friend George Downing explains “you couldn’t buy” lost him his job. As a politicized intellectual, Kelly became interested in The Bomb and nuclear disarmament, and in 1959 was set to be a delegate to the Fifth World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima. His bosses threatened to fire him if he went. He chose to go.

SAVE OUR SURF

For Kelly, after charging double overhead sets at Makaha on a board he made himself and lassoing bombs from the sea floor, paddling against the current of overdevelopment surely seemed possible. He and fellow bigwave surfer George Downing (now 79 years old, he is the executive director of “The Eddie,” and the sole decider of when it goes),

created Save Our Surf in 1961 when they discovered that a planned unnecessary jetty by the Army Corps of Engineers in Nānākuli would destroy a surf site. They won. The army relocated the jetty.

It was almost a decade later, in 1970, that the SOS made history. A moment came where locals met the tipping point, the detritus of city life on an island began to metastasize, creeping up mountains and down streams, cutting off the view of the ocean from the mountain in a vertical sprawl of concrete and stucco. It was an era when students realized they could no longer check the waves from Kelly’s alma mater Roosevelt High School; over the rising city you could no longer see the south swells wrapping towards Ala Moana. The beachboys in Waikīkī noticed the dramatic shadows of newly-constructed high rise hotels, cooling and darkening the sand. Some professors spoke of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, some students rediscovered Walden. After being denied the ability to print leaflets at commercial printshops due to political content, Kelly, the son of artists, installed his own press in the basement of his home at Black Point explaining, “the only free press is the one you own.” In the tradition of ideological revolution, those fliers spoke truth to power and found distribution amongst the converted.

In 1970, there was still much to be done: Honolulu City and County had no water treatment facility; there were plans to dump tons of sand on Waikīkī to kill the break while making the hotels more lucrative; there was no shoreline setback law; native Hawaiians and farmers were being pushed off the land; there were very real plans by Dillingham Company to dredge much of the east side of O‘ahu and Diamond Head; and bombs continued to explode on Kaho‘olawe. In those SOS fliers, four words stood out, in the drawn script of surf culture: “Unite to Save Hawai‘i.” Until that moment, the local environmentalist movement was disparate and disorganized. That same year the Nixon administration enacted the Environmental Protection Agency on the faraway Mainland, and although the movement was coalescing on the continent, Hawai‘i was in the midst of unprecedented and heedless development. Now, with a paper call-to-arms, the movement achieved real communal consciousness, a sense of youth, morality and necessity. But it was not a blind revelation; the cranes and bulldozers had been employing locals and operating for years. As John Kelly later wrote, “Hawai’i was in the post-

statehood grip of rapid change when Save Our Surf struggles began in the early 1960s. Freeways were beginning to rip up old communities. Waikīkī was turning into a concrete jungle. Familiar landmarks were disappearing. Surfing friends were being drafted for a far-off war and coming home bitter, if alive.” The tipping point had arrived.

THE SLAM

When Ed Greevy went to his first meeting to photograph surf environmentalism at Black Point, kids had already been taking the bus to Kelly’s house or the Kaimuki library for Wednesday night SOS meetings for months. Kids who were unable to vote were learning about water treatment facilities, preparing fact sheets, and counting the ratio of people on the beach compared to those in the water in order to convey to power the economic and cultural necessity of surfing. In describing his politicization, local labor lawyer Wayson Chow explains: “I was a teenager and I wanted to surf, but rich homeowners at Wailupe Peninsula blocked easy access to the beach. I was pissed off and I went to a meeting of Save Our Surf.” His story is echoed by countless teenagers that were handed a bit of analysis, and returned the deed tenfold when they kept riding that wave.

What can party fliers and a crowd of kids do? Can they crack the walls of politics, stop a bomb, unleash the hope of a more verdant community? Or is real change just a weekend delusion, ephemeral drunk talk amidst the party and the bullshit, for sale, like whack honu tattoos and swap meet leis? A‘ole, no. It actually went down like that for a generation in Hawai‘i- those persistent questions of culture’s influence on structure takes an elegiac tone here, the thought that culture can actually move us is altered by the landscape like an indigenous species threatened by non-native invaders and forgetfulness. By that point, the scope of events in Honolulu suggested structural changes on a scale unseen since the 1890s. When asked what that first demonstration felt like, Ed Greevy explains, “It was huge. Nobody had ever seen anything like that. The capitol was only, what, a few years old, and there had never been a big demonstration there. SOS got from what I can remember almost three thousand people, mostly kids. Session wasn’t in yet, and I guess everybody upstairs got freaked out and locked their doors. The kids wanted their signatures on this beach widening and treatment facility stuff. Mike Mo-

riarty was the emcee. When he heard they couldn’t get anybody to listen to them, he was on the mic, he said, ‘on the count of 3, we need to make as much noise, jump up and down so they hear us. 1, 2, 3!!!’ So for a few minutes it was pretty intense, all kinds of hooting and hollering. Security, I think the sheriffs came up and said, ‘Hey you gotta stop, the folks downstairs in the basement think the walls are gonna crack.’”

What it felt like was a massive winter set breaking inside Waimea Bay, the boys in the tower taking notice, the sand shifting as chests tighten; the love slam.

WAVE OF CHANGE

In those first organized protests in the early '70s, the SOS went forth from modest beginnings to major environmental successes: they defeated a plan for three high rise hotels directly on the reef at Ala Moana; created a 140-acre park plan for a working-class neighborhood on Sand Island where shippers wanted to build an industrial facility; prodded the legislature to pass a law barring development along a 40-foot shoreline strip; scuttled those plans to widen the beach at Waikīkī; and won appropriations for a statewide inventory of existing surfing sites, many of them endangered. In 1971, Stuart Udall, President John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of the Interior, wrote a description of the group that was printed in the Honolulu Advertiser: “Kelly’s young brigadiers gather facts, prepare broadside handbills, edit crisis newspapers and tangle with leading establishment planners and businessmen in public hearings. SOS, with its relatively narrow focus on a single resource, disproves the contention (heard often these days) that the environmental movement suffers from too many overlapping organizations. Diversity, we believe, strengthens the cause. In any event, SOS is a force to contend with in Hawai‘i - and our forecast is that many more Hawai‘i land speculators and shortsighted public officials will be ‘wiped out’ by the young surfers if they continue their old ways.”

The SOS would have later effects on the Hawaiian Renaissance, including the battles to save Waiahole/Waikane, and the development of an ethnic studies department at the University of Hawai‘i. In working with other groups during the Hawaiian Renaissance, such as the active Life of the Land, the SOS extended its reach beyond the reef breaks. Kelly continued to fight overdevelopment throughout his life, until his later years were

Even the slacker local kids, who just liked to surf, saw a whole way of life threatened by the unmitigated approach of overdevelopment.

“I thought this is crazy, they want to do this big thing with all these people, and they got less than 10 bucks.”

– Ed Greevy

WHAT CAN PARTY FLIERS AND A CROWD OF KIDS DO? CAN THEY CRACK THE WALLS OF POLITICS, STOP A BOMB, UNLEASH THE HOPE OF A MORE VERDANT COMMUNITY?

clouded by Alzheimer’s and his passing at the age of 88 in 2007. He maintained his love of the ocean, his lanky frame could be seen gliding into the water off the slippery rocks at Kaiko’s at an age many never reach. The man behind the fliers in moments and in retrospect can be seen as an almost unbelievable character, and in truth, Kelly remains sui generis. The earned respect for courage, the application of political theory, and the concentration of the SOS kids focused the broader public’s attention on the truth and morality of environmentalism in ways that no movement had done before. The loose yet powerful organizational structure and a refusal to back down bolstered other groups at the outset of the Hawaiian Renaissance, and is both unique and fitting within Hawai‘i’s history of resistance.

THE NEXT SET

The O‘ahu chapter of Surfrider Foundation, one of many active environmental groups in Hawai‘i, holds the John Kelly Environmental Achievement Awards annually. Besides lobbying and organizing in the modern era, the organization promotes environmentalism by giving awards in three categories: Lifetime Achievement, O‘ahu-Based Company and Professional Surfer. The first ceremony’s Kelly award was given to its eponymous namesake in 2003. Stewart Coleman, Surfrider Foundation Hawai‘i’s director explains, “He was the first of his kind, he’s the father of local environmentalism, especially for surfers. But the world is different now, and we need to work with and encourage local businesses that are making a difference in the environment.” Past award recipients include lifestyle company Patagonia, surf superstars Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Rochelle Ballard, and most recently, the Malloy brothers.

Many battles have been fought since those SOS days. Coleman explains: “The recent fight to hold off developers at Kaka‘ako

(regarding a developer’s plan to fast-track an environmental impact statement process), we brought in hundreds of people in red shirts to let the city council know we wouldn’t let it happen. That was a play right out of John’s book.”

The history of resistance by the SOS has largely been forgotten, the specifics pulled by the current of a lost era of activism. The record of the movement was recently in danger of being lost forever towards the twilight of Kelly’s life. In an effort to save these essential cultural artifacts, the University of Hawai‘i, the Kelly family and friends digitally scanned the full archive of SOS posters and writings. Ironically, documents once so threatening to state developers are now at our fingertips at a UH Mānoa website. The images from the movement are the stunning design of a generation, the protest of youth as captured in a flier with no year, often the only proof that thousands of people appeared at one place and time to exact change. Ed Greevy, John Kelly, Barry Nakamura, and countless SOS kids took pictures of their time, often to be used as evidence of the environmental degradation that was intentionally hidden from sight by developers, the army, and the state. Now removed by time and technology from their original intention, they take on the powerful and haunting beauty of art, something more tangible than the postcard pastels we’ve been sold: kids playing in the street because there’s no park, cars rusting into the ocean with a surfer catching a head-high right in the background, tragic bulldozers, kids talking to each other about change in a living room after school. The modern parallels taken with camera-phones, of West Side homeless encampments and schools closed on Fridays, make you wonder who will revive those Wednesday night meetings. That the SOS actually won so many battles, that an infinity of waves have crashed on shores that were never dredged, that it was kids

that really did it, is the SOS legacy. More so it is a call to arms.

The honors bestowed in Kelly’s name say little about the way Save Our Surf has taken its place in history — almost forgotten for a new generation of environmentalists. Problem is, they don’t name buildings for those who advocated no building be built, no forever bronze memorials for the peacemaker-dissidents. Designers of rifles - the Thompsons and Kalishnakovs of the world - see their names used as shorthand in the histories of era. Designers of surfboards, however, fade with the tide. Although John Kelly wrote at length of his experience organizing Save Our Surf, it’s unlikely he’d be dissatisfied with the absence of a physical remnant of the struggle, another unnecessary scar upon the shoreline he loved and protected.

To see more of what Ed Greevy has to say, go to WWW.FLUXHAWAII.COM

JIM RUSSI

easy rider redux

TEXT BY TIFFANY IWALANI HERVEY

PHOTOS BY JIM RUSSI

PROFILE PHOTO BY CHRISTY BAUER-ERIKSSON

The ocean is the epitome of artistry and adrenaline for those who choose to participate in it. For the past 30 years, Jim Russi has been capturing these moments, freezing them in time and place, for a snapshot into the spirit of what happens when mortals and mother nature collide.

Russi has been a senior staff photographer for every major U.S. surf publication, yet his imagery might be most well known for the vivacious Roxy ads that have inspired females to get in the water for over a decade now. And beyond surf mags and industry ads, Russi’s imagery now steps on to canvas at the Thomadro Art Gallery in Hale‘iwa. A book is also in the works. Russi does not simply record images, he creates them.

Every role Russi takes on — artist, mentor, father, fellow — is met with fierce discipline and dedication. To see a tattooed and tanned Russi riding one of his choppers around the island, surfing one of his

favorite neighborhood breaks on the North Shore, or setting up to shoot on the beach with his face shielded by a trucker hat — always with the enthusiasm of a fresh-faced grom — it seems he has got it wired. But this life was won by many mistakes that he is not ashamed to admit, which is what makes him so refreshing and inspiring.

“I made a lot of life decisions that set me back a lot,” he recalls. “I can’t go back and change it. I would have put a lot more energy into my craft than drugs and alcohol if I could go back. But it’s not as wasteful if I can share that with other young people. I’m not preaching to anyone, but if someone asks. … If you can learn from other people’s mistakes, you’re ahead of the game. At my age I’ve made so many mistakes, I’m not embarrassed to talk about them to help somebody else.”

This year he will make 25 years sober. He hit bottom when a hanai little brother

Rachel Spear, 2008 Working on the Roxy Campaign give me a lot of freedom to look at things in a different way.

Nathan Fletcher, 20 Exit Pipeline Stage Left.

ARTISTS ARE FAMOUS FOR BEING LONE RANGERS — BUT I THINK THAT’S DETRIMENTAL. I THINK SHARING INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT.

was killed in an alcohol and drug related event. Russi sought a way out. Much like the characters in the movie Easy Rider, he’d been searching for freedom in all the wrong places. “Anybody who has a compulsive personality, which a lot of artists have, can see it go positive or negative,” he explains. “I spent years chasing my tail in photography; that’s a healthy compulsion. The partying compulsion was a negative, and a difficult lifestyle to step out of.” Russi found recovery from addiction in 12-step programs. Later, he found a relationship with his higher power. “Committing my life to Christ, understanding that I’m not perfect and it’s OK when I fall short,” he says. “That healed me.”

Mentors are important to Russi, in personal and professional spheres of life. “That’s how all great civilizations have grown,” he adds. “Any successful society has mentorship.” His artistry is the result of a solid mix of passion and mentors. Growing up in

California and loving motorcycles and surf as a grom, Russi got an early start in shooting his favorite activities when his father, an amateur photographer, gave him his first toy camera and constructive tips in fifth grade. After graduating with a B.A. in photography from the Brooks Institute, Russi took a vacation to Hawai‘i to surf, and like so many, never left. He befriended some guys his age — Jeff Hornbaker, Aaron Chang and Dan Merkel — who would soon become some of the surf world’s most respected and progressive contemporary photographers.

“That was definitely a peer mentorship,” Russi remembers. “We pushed each other. We always helped each other. We raised the bar on surf imagery, always calling each other and checking in, learning. A lot of guys didn’t want to do that. They wanted to be secretive — artists are famous for being lone rangers — but I think that’s detrimental. I think sharing information is important.”

However, times are changing and Russi knows this. His career was built on a time when there were less than a dozen surf photographers on the North Shore, and with the advent of digital photography and a disintegrating economy, he’s unsure of what the future holds. So what is his advice to artists who are coming up currently in less-thanflourishing conditions? “Seek out mentors to help you, professionally and personally. My father always told me to pursue what I love because that will become my job, and I will have to get up every day to do it. You still have to pursue your dreams these days, whatever they are, and the money will come,” Russi urges. “If you just pursue money, you will be miserable.”

Go to www.jimrussi.com to see more of Jim’s work.

Jim Russi in his North Shore home.

Kula Barbieto, 2005 Diamond Head Days.

Rell Sunn, 1993

Auntie Rell loved Hawaii and kids... WE all loved her back.

When I was a kid, I always loved dreaming about flying through the clouds... so I named this one just that and it is one of our best sellers in galleries. I guess I am not the only one.

Kelia Moniz, 2009

THE BREAKDOWN

Text by Tiffany Iwalani Hervey

These days, in Hawai‘i Nei, you have to have your secrets. The world is simply too crowded and resources too limited to go around sharing all the gems with everyone. This leaves much of the tenets of aloha in a precarious position, but then again, such has always been the case. Every surfer has secrets. Above secret board dimensions, rituals, training regimes, and beyond, the secret spots are the most coveted and closely guarded of the surfer’s secrets. A break that is little known, special – its location protected – by a handful of people deeply invested in keeping it that way. Then there are the spots that are impossible to hide from the public eye, but magical nonetheless. Spots that have become iconic, made mere mortals’ legends, and continue through the decades to provide a stage for many on which to perform and build promising lives for themselves. The current generation of surf starts is seeing more fame and fortune than ever before. Here we take a historical glance with contemporary gratitude for the Hawai‘i surf breaks that are used to being in the spotlight, as told by their most progressive waveriders.

REX MORIBE

broke da neck

Spot: Sandy’s

Location: East Side, O‘ahu

by Ryan Beppu

Sandy Beach, or Sandy’s, is home to countless body surfing and bodyboarding competitions, a prime cruising spot for locals, and is comprised of 1,200 feet of dangerous sand. According to local lifeguards, Sandy’s has the most injuries than all the other beaches combined. Ancient Hawaiians referred to the area as Wawamalu or Awawamalu, meaning “Shady Gulch or Shady Valley.” They would go to a particular rock there called Oku‘u and “crouch” to pray. The Oku‘u stone was known as a healing stone. Old-timers used to call it “Sand Beach by blow hole,” which eventually became Sandy’s. Some locals call it Broke Neck beach.

Besides claiming some fame when Obama bodysurfed there before his inauguration, Sandy’s is the spot where locals

go. This is former bodyboard Sandy Beach champion and aerialist Rex Moribe’s spot. “When I was younger me and my friend had this rule where we couldn’t leave the beach until we seen a girl lose her top,” he laughs. “Some days we could leave the beach in minutes and once we stayed for five hours, we almost gave up that day.”

“I love surfing Half Point, getting pounded at the shore break or just looking at all the beautiful girls on the beach,” Rex says. But Sandy’s is as deceptive as it is fun. In two years, Rex got two concussions, almost lost a tooth and ruptured his ear drum. “The shorebreak looks inviting, however if you are not highly experienced, you’ll pay the consequences by getting hurt or maybe worse, losing your swimwear,” he warns.

Photo

Defying Gravity: Rex Moribe lands a rollo at Sandy’s.

KAINOA KALAMA MCGEE

the beauty & the beast

Spot: Pipeline

Location: ‘Ehukai Beach Park, North Shore, O‘ahu

by Joseph Libby

IN TRANSIT

“The allure and promise of grandeur is what brings thousands back year after year in search of that ultimate feeling of surf euphoria,” Kainoa Kalama McGee says of his beloved Pipeline. Kainoa is known as a Pipe surfer —bodyboarding, shortboarding and stand-up paddle surfing on the heaviest days his chosen equipment can handle. His goal is to be world champion in as many possible riding disciplines as possible, which is an attainable goal since his obsession with Pipeline means that is where he trains every day.

profiling individuals in varying states of transition

Pipeline is one of several breaks at ‘Ehukai Beach Park on the North Shore. According to Tom Pohaku

Stone, “‘Ehukai” means, “red sea spray,” due to the red dirt runoff from the river mouths when it rains. The name Pipeline emerged in the early 1960s when surf film creator Bruce Brown filmed California surfer Phil Edwards charging the break. At the time there was construction to repair an underground pipeline and the California surfers premiered the name in Brown’s movie, Surfing Hollow Days. “She is absolutely the most beautiful wave in the world,” Kainoa says, “Even if you are experienced she will kick your ass. She is truly the beauty and the beast.”

Photo

Beast: Kainoa McGee dropping in at Pipe.

CJ KANUHA roots

royalty

Spot: Banyans (Pu‘u) and Lyman’s (Ka kala o kamoa )

Location: Holualoa Bay, Big Island

The spots in Holualoa bay hold some of the most memorable moments of Clement Keliipoaimoku Kanuha III a.k.a. CJ Kanuha’s life. “This is one of the only places in the world that you will find five world class waves in one small area,” CJ says. Banyans sees most of the surf contests held in Kona and this area has reared some of the surfing world’s finest, like Shane Dorian, Conan Hayes and, of course, Kanuha. “It is also the home to some of Hawai‘i’s most sacred archeological sites: Keolonaihehe and Ke Ke‘alani Heiaus,” CJ explains. “My family roots tie deeply into both of these sites and we have been restoring them over the past decade. We have been doing educational programs with the keiki of Hawai‘i at the heiau sites, teaching them about the history and importance of maintaining our Hawaiian culture.”

The Makahiki Festival was held at this site as well as the first ever surfing

games held by the ancient Hawaiian royalty. In ancient Hawai‘i, only the Ali‘i Nui were eligible to compete. It was also the area where the chiefs trained their warriors for battle.

“Banyans is named after the Banyan tree that Queen Emma planted on the beach when she had received as a gift from an Australian whaling ship,” CJ recalls. “Lyman’s was named after old man Lyman who lived in a shack on the inside of the bay in the early 1900s. This shack still remains today. … When I go to surf Lyman’s I ask permission for my ancestors to protect me whilst I am there,” he adds. Other simple rules to live by, according to CJ: If you give respect you will get respect. Never face your back to the water. This is bad luck.

Photo by Mike Cerrone

Pull in! CJ Kanuha at Banyons at Holualoa Bay on the Big Island.

FRED PATACCHIA JR.

from grom to grown

Spot: Hale‘iwa

Location: Ali‘i Beach Park, Hale‘iwa, O‘ahu

Photo by Willi Edwards

Before he became a WCT big shot and got to drink as much Bud Light as he wanted for free, Fred Patacchia Jr. was like any other stoked grom growing up on the North Shore. Many Hawai‘i surfers have a soft spot in their heart for Hale‘iwa Ali‘i Beach Park. It is beginner-friendly and professionally powerful depending on the day. It is the first jewel of the Triple Crown surfing contest, and the first competition most keiki enter as the site of the Hale‘iwa Menehune contest.

“I spent 80 percent of my childhood hanging at Hale‘iwa’s surf center playing ping pong, junior lifeguarding, surfing and doing everything else we could think of. I won my first surfing competition there,” pro surfer Freddy P. remembers. “I grew up surfing Hale‘iwa. I would go there every day after school with my friends and we’d surf until dark.”

KALA ALEXANDER

sweetest dream & worst nightmare

Spot: Waimea Bay

Location: Waimea Bay, O‘ahu

Photo by Bruno Lemos

Kaua‘i’s Kala Alexander recently had one of the biggest honors of his life: competing in the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea Bay.

“To go out even when you are afraid and conquer your fear is an amazing feeling,” Kala says. “People always ask me how long I have to hold my breath when I wipe out on a big wave. As long as it takes.”

Kala describes Waimea as a dream come true in the summer, like a picturesque swimming pool, and a nightmare in the winter when it becomes a dangerous and unpredictable break. “It’s a very sacred place to the Hawaiians,” he says. Waimea, known for 700 years as “The Valley of the Priests” by ancient Hawaiians, was home to two heiau: Pu‘u o Mahuka, O‘ahu’s largest heiau, overlooking the valley; and Kupopolo, which overlooks

the Bay on the Waialua side. With a rich history of royalty and spirituality, Waimea Valley suffered a tumultuous 20th century of land-grabbing and convoluted bureaucratic red tape. While the Bay is an awesome sight to behold, the Audobon Center across the street in the valley is a place to explore native history, culture, and forestry.

While Kala has always been known as a charger, the past few years he has helped to organize an annual beach cleanup along the seven mile miracle, which has been a great bonding event for the community. “The main reasons for the beach cleanup was to bring the community and the pro surfers that come here every year together on a positive note and to teach the kids respect for the land,” he explains.

Launched: Freddy P. getting massive air at Ali‘i Beach Park in Hale‘iwa.

Kala Alexander avoids getting pummeled by a massive wave at this year’s Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational at Waimea.

KELIA MONIZ fit for a queen

Spot: Queens

Location: Waikīkī, Honolulu, O‘ahu

Photo by Jim Russi

“Queen Lili‘uokalani’s beach house was right in front of the break, so they called it QUEENS!”

Kelia Moniz expounds this fact proudly when asked how her favorite surf break got its name. Actually, it’s beyond her favorite break, it’s her life. Kelia and her brothers were raised on Waikīkī beach, surfing from dawn to dusk while their parents ran surf lessons for the tourists. “When I look back on my earlier childhood days the only thing I remember is Waikīkī,” Kelia says. “It is a very special place to me because it brought our family great friendships, fun and memories.”

As the daughter of big wave rider Tony Moniz, Kelia knows her stuff in and out of the water. “One of the most legendary Hawaiian surfers ever to live was Duke Kahanamoku,” she explains. “He grew up surfing the same exact spot here. Duke was one of the original Waikīkī beach boys. He trained to become an Olympic swimmer and through traveling around the world to swim he taught those from California and Australia how to surf.”

Every summer Queens is the site of the annual Duke’s Fest, where all water activities imaginable are held and Duke’s legend is celebrated. “I have competed in the pro longboard event at Duke’s Fest for four years now and this year I was lucky enough to win!”

The queen: Kelia Moniz dancing on the nose at Queens in Waikīkī

MALAMA MAKUA militarization’s

effect on water quality

Text by Justin Hill Photos by Christy Bauer-Eriksson

He poured the rain water he caught at his Wai‘anae home into an ipu, stepped in front of the ahu (alter), faced the majestic and emerald valley in the distance – a valley that is one of his biggest passions – and waited, clutching the ipu.

Then came the chanting, the low hum resonating again in Mākua Valley, a place beyond sacred to people with Hawaiian blood. William Aila Jr., a respected Hawaiian culturist and activist, and a spokesperson for Makua Valley preservation group Hui Malama O Mākua, stood to the left of Dr. Fred Dodge. He opened his mouth and began a chant of ho‘okupu (offering). He extended his right arm and motioned to Dr. Dodge to pour the gift of water on the ahu before entering the valley, because water brings forth life. In that moment, the fence the Army constructed to keep people out of a valley once home to up to 2,000 all

but disappeared. All that was left were the ahu, the valley’s wide expanse and its 121 archeological sites and endangered plants and animals, melding out of focus with the unexploded ordnances and thousands, or perhaps millions, of pieces of shrapnel left behind by years of live-fire training.

Aila, who just turned 52, can trace his family back seven generations to a fisherman on nearby Ka‘ena Point. His commitment to the the area comes from a promise he made to his calabash uncle, who rests in a graveyard between the valley and Mākua Beach: to facilitate a return of Mākua from the Army back to Hawaiian hands. His uncle told stories of guns-drawn soldiers notifying residents they had one hour to get out because the Army needed the valley for training. Not to worry, they were told, because they would get their home back six months after the war was over. That was

more than 60 years ago.

There has been no live-fire training for the past five years though, no bombs, because of a 12-year court battle waged by attorney David Henkin of the Earthjustice law firm and Malama Makua, another organization dedicated to protecting the 4,190acre Mākua Valley. It’s a battle that is back in litigation, this time over water and an Environmental Impact Statement. The Army has done some good in its time in the valley, though, pouring $10 milllion into it, saving the Cyanea Superba – “haha” in Hawaiian – a palm-like tree that is found nowhere else in the world, and protecting 41 of Hawai‘i’s endangered species, including the kahuli tree snail and the O‘ahu ‘elepaio, a small bird. But the water Dr. Dodge poured on those three stones during the ho‘okupu could be the cleanest water the bottom of the valley has seen in decades.

The Army released a court-ordered EIS last summer about effects of live-fire in Mākua, a place it believes it could start training again soon. It’s a volumes-thick document about which Tad Davis, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Environment, Safety and Occupational Health) said the Army “spent a lot of time and effort to meet the letter of the law.”

There is concern about the brownish-yellow waters of muliwai (ponds) behind Mākua Beach, where run-off gathers and is sometimes flushed out to the ocean after heavy rains. The control for the muliwai testing, which came back safe, was a Nānākuli stream, a place some locals call Stink Pond. “I wouldn’t swim in that muliwai or eat anything from there,” said Dr. Dodge, a retired long-time Wai‘anae doctor and a board member of Malama Mākua, who, at 78, has more life than someone two

decades his junior, because passion tends to slow time. “I’ve seen what comes down from the valley. They tested limu and found high concentrations of arsenic. They can’t tell us what kind of limu they tested and they did not test to see if arsenic was in the organic or inorganic state.” Organic arsenic is relatively safe, but in the inorganic state can be very toxic. Even in low concentrations, long term exposures can increase risk for certain cancers and tumors. “There are a lot of effects from training that take years and years to show up,” Dr. Dodge said, “but you can’t tell me there are no effects. It is a very inappropriate place to train.” It’s not the first time there has been a dispute over the methodology used in water studies on the Wai‘anae Coast funded by the Department of Defense.

The woman over there on the beach at Pōka‘ī Bay, the one struggling to get her two daughters out of the water because they love it like she used to as a kid, is Kapua Keliikoa-Kamai, a Hawaiian homesteader who moved to Wai‘anae 33 years ago. She’s worried about the deep blue water washing up on her shores like so many on the West Side are. She’s worried about the tons of conventional munitions the Army dumped just off shore decades ago (Aila once found a shell as big as six inches in diameter just 100 feet from the Pōka‘ī Bay break wall), and the chemical ones that contained things like mustard, lewisite, hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride that Tad Davis said were dumped 10 miles off shore and thousands of feet deep.

She’s worried the Army won’t be going

Embattled but resilient, the people of Wai‘anae continue to fight for their valley, this time over water and an Environmental Impact Statement. Makua Valley’s expansive landscape.

A respected Hawaiian culturist and activist, William Aila Jr. has been one of the Valley’s most outspoken proponents. Aila shown in ceremonial clothing at a blessing of Mākua.

deep enough with a planned clean-up of Ordnance Reef, scheduled for this September, a clean-up that is hoped will clear munitions down to depths of between 120 and 130 feet. According to Davis this could eliminate the risk munitions present to recreational diving. “In a nutshell, we are just trying to make right what someone else did a long time ago,” said Joseph Bonfiglio, chief of pubic affairs for the Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu district. In Aila’s mind, though, the task that will use University of Hawai‘i submersibles instead of divers and will cost the Army over $3 million, is just phase one. Once the technology is proven, he believes a deeper clean-up will come.

The munitions on the reef have been breaking down for quite some time and propellants – a combustible, internal component of the munitions that burn rapidly, similar to a sparkler, and produce intense heat – have been washing up on beaches from Pōka‘ī Bay to beyond Mā‘ili Beach for decades. The Army is hoping the clean-up will take care of the propellants. But Keliikoa-Kamai is also worried about the effects the munitions breakdown has on the water and on the health of the people who use it for fun and food and a connection to something greater. “I’ve heard several people say the water is not the healer it used to be. In 50 years, are the people on the West Side going to be like our Pacific cousins?” she asked, referring to Micronesians whose islands have been used in U.S. nuclear testing and whose residents have high rates of kidney and heart disease and thyroid cancer. It’s estimated as many as 20,000 come to Hawai‘i in search of medical treatment.

No study, though, has found a link between seemingly elevated health problems on the Wai‘anae Coast and the water it plays in. “There is a lot of cancer, asthma, diabetes and hyper-tension,” Dr. Dodge said, “but tying it to specific environmental causes is difficult. Many suspect the military, but I don’t know of any proof so far.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working with the University of Hawai‘i, released a study in 2007 that intended to answer questions about the safety of any dinner taken from Ordnance Reef, a place referred to as squid ground. The survey collected 96 sediment samples and 49 fish tissue samples. All were analyzed for metals and all the fish and over half the sediment samples were tested for explosives. The results said there was little contamination from the munitions present and, based on those results, the Center for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said the site was not expected to be a health risk.

Still, the Department of Defense acknowledged gaps in the study – Aila called them gaping holes – that wouldn’t allow the government to answer the question worth millions of dollars and counting: Are the fish safe to eat? The Army took another shot at it, and after listening to the community, it commissioned another study using local professional fishermen to catch fish instead of scientists, taking fish locals actually eat, as well as other marine life on Ordnance Reef. Tad Davis also set up the Ordnance Reef Coordinating Committee made up of military and community members, a group Davis is proud of and said will serve as a model for similar committees around the country.

Aila kept an eye on things, even taking time off from work as the harbormaster at the Wai‘anae Small Boat Harbor, diving down to see octopus being plucked from the reef just 12 feet from a muni-

THE WATER IS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THE PEOPLE OF THE WAI‘ANAE COAST CAN COUNT ON. ONE OF THE OTHERS IS AILA, A STEADY MAN OF VISION AND INTEGRITY AND RESTORATION OF THE KAI AND THE ‘AINA, A MAN WHO HAS BEEN A VOICE FOR THE ISLANDS ON A NATIONAL

LEVEL, A MAN WITH THEIR BLOOD.

tion. Things like Kona crab, limu kohu and fish that feed on the reef were taken over a period of a year in the study instead of just a few weeks as in the first study. Fieldwork wrapped up last September. “If there is an impact it will show up and be in these fish,” Aila said. “I’m confident in the way the samples were taken. If all the lab tests go according to protocol and the results are good, I’ll be the happiest person in the world because we can eat the fish.”

Results are expected late this year, several months after NOAA completes its field study, which is currently monitoring ocean currents from Pōka‘ī Bay to Mā‘ili Beach, as well as near the dumping of the chemical munitions.

Drive up Farrington Highway on the weekend. Go through Nānākuli and Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae and Mākaha and try to find a parking spot at a beach park or along the road. It might not happen, not when seemingly half of the Wai‘anae Coast is in the water. They need the water. It‘s more than just something to eat from or play in. The water is a part of them, just like they are a part of it and they need to know it is safe. Between Mākua and Ordnance Reef, and the promises they say haven’t been kept, they feel dumped on. But the water is one of the few things the people of the Wai‘anae Coast can count on.

One of the others is Aila, a steady man of vision and integrity and restoration of the kai and the ‘aina, a man who has been a voice for the islands on a national level, a man with their blood. He talks about a tipping point and believes it’s almost here. He sees cleaner water. He sees the Army – whose lease for the bottom third of Mākua is up in 2029 (the upper two-thirds are ceded lands) – finding a way to gracefully save face and backing out of the valley in five to 10 years because, he said, they’ve proven the community’s point that the Army doesn’t need Mākua after not training there the past five years. Most in the community know the Army needs to train; the vast majority just doesn’t want the training in Mākua.

And it’ll take time, generations, in fact, but Aila also sees the biggest potatoes in Hawai‘i being grown in the valley again, just like the ones that were exported from Mākua to California during the gold rush. He sees the biggest koa trees like the valley used to boast. And there‘ll be more ho‘okupu and more water poured on ahu, although the offerings will be led by someone else and poured by someone else, someone much farther down the line, because as Aila and his ancestors have known for a long, long time: Water brings forth life.

TAPPING THE WELL OF CONTROVERSY

Two opposing viewpoints illustrate the ongoing debate over water rights – and wrongs

Text by Sarah Ruppenthal

There are some issues that are so divisive, it seems that any attempt to build a bridge of resolution would be a futile endeavor. On Maui, the issue of water – and who controls it – has fractured an entire community, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and in some cases, brother against brother.

Since the late 19th century, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) and East Maui Irrigation Company, Inc. (EMI), subsidiaries of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., have used a private irrigation system to divert stream water from the mountains of East Maui to the arid sugarcane fields below.

With thousands of thirsty acres to irrigate, HC&S uses billions of gallons of water each year – in addition to the billions it shares with the County of Maui for residential and agricultural use.

But there are many who feel they have been left high and dry – literally – by HC&S, particularly those who rely on stream water to sustain the traditional practice of taro farming.

In a series of legal challenges questioning the constitutionality of the stream diversions, several groups have petitioned the state Water Resource Management Commission to order HC&S to return water to 19 East Maui streams.

As a result, this centuries-old system is now under fire, igniting flames of controversy that will continue to smolder until the commission makes its decision in late March. But as Maui faces one of the worst droughts in the country, a drought that is expected to last for several months, it is likely that the water issue will soon reach a boiling point.

Lyn Scott stands ankle-deep in a watery garden, gently caressing the leaf of young taro plant. “I spend about four

Photos by Matthew Alvarado

The fight for water: As Maui faces one of the worst droughts in the country, the community is split over water rights.

“What are my children going to do? We need to stand up for our streams, for our culture, for our children.”

– Lyn Scott (left) with her aunty, Beatrice Kekahuna.

“These are real people with real bills to pay. We are regular, ordinary people and we are just trying to safeguard our jobs.” – Kelly Ruidas, HC&S.

hours a day in my taro patch,” she says with a smile, “but if I could, I would spend eight.” Given the breathtaking scenery that surrounds her, it is easy to see why. Lyn’s home is nestled within the hushed landscape of East Maui’s Honopou Valley, a lush oasis shrouded in natural beauty, miles away from the trappings of the modern world. Silent but for the soothing sound of trickling stream water and the faint melody drifting from a transistor radio, Lyn gazes out at the valley that her family has called home for several generations. Without question, she is intrinsically connected to the earth beneath her feet; she knows each tree, stone, and of course, every plant within the taro patches that are just a stone’s throw away from her front door.

It is this connection that prompted Lyn to speak out against the HC&S stream diversions in 2001, and since then, she has become one of Maui’s most forthright and acclaimed advocates of stream restoration.

“I’m active, not an activist,” she explains with a chuckle. “I’m passionate and I speak from the heart.” Her decision to defend the water rights of downstream users was based on a realization that her children may lose an important piece of their culture. “It was the original thought in my mind: What are my children going to do?” she recalls. “We need to stand up for our streams, for our culture, for our children.” According to Lyn, the Honopou stream, which is one of the 19 contested streams, was once a thriving source of life for generations of taro farmers. Today, Lyn says the diversions have taken a deadly toll, as the waterway has been drying up, threatening not only the taro patches that rely on it for sustenance, but also native stream life and vegetation. Lyn’s aunt, Beatrice Kekahuna, a lifelong taro farmer, has joined her niece in the fight to restore water to the East Maui streams. She is visibly emotional when she describes the drastic transformation she witnessed over the last several

decades. “My eyes never lie to me,” she declares firmly. “I’ve lived here all of my life, and I’ve seen the changes… I know there is not enough water in the stream now.”

Although restorations were made to a portion of the Honopou stream in 2008, both Lyn and Beatrice say they still struggle to maintain a consistent source of water. In addition, Lyn reveals that the diversions have led to warmer water in the streams – water that was once numbingly frigid – and elevated water temperatures yield conditions that are ripe for infections, weeds and pests. While she understands the fears expressed by HC&S workers, she maintains, “Kuleana, fishermen and taro farmers should have unrestricted access to the water.” She, like so many others, views the reluctance of HC&S as an indication that “they think the water is just there for the taking.”

While she wishes the streams could return to their natural state, Lyn believes the issue can be resolved by a mutually beneficial

compromise. “We are not asking for the diversions to be closed down… we just want them to return the water to the streams,” she says. “If they put back just 10 percent of the water, the stream would be restored by 50 percent.” Lyn says she holds the hope that HC&S and its workforce will someday see that “water is a valuable natural resource for all of Maui.” Watching the water as it cascades over the rocky floor of the Honopou stream, she whispers, barely audible, “It hurts… it hurts my soul.”

Meeting Kelly Ruidas for the first time, you’ll find a soft-spoken, self-effacing young man with warm brown eyes and an engaging smile. But behind his gentle demeanor is a fiercely loyal and ardent spokesperson for HC&S and its 800-member workforce. An Internal Combustion Engine Mechanic at HC&S for more than 12 years, Kelly speaks of his employer as if he is describing a family member. “I’m proud to work for them,” he says, “which is why I’m speaking out… because people need to know the truth.”

After weeks of reading unflattering accounts of HC&S on the pages of the local newspaper, Kelly says he felt compelled to defend his company, and more importantly, his job. Since then, he has provided an impassioned voice for his fellow workers, testifying before the state Water Resource Management Commission, pleading for a decision in favor of HC&S.

“I realized I was too young not to be proactive,” he recalls. “I saw an opportunity to make a difference, and now was the time to do it… I don’t want to sit back someday and say ‘I should have done something.’”

While Kelly sympathizes with the dilemma facing Maui’s taro farmers, he is certain that restoring water to the 19 streams will deliver a terrible blow to HC&S and its workers.

While some may perceive the company as an “evil empire” controlled by men wearing pinstriped suits in air-conditioned offices, Kelly paints a different picture. “When people say the word ‘corporate,’ I think of someone with no heart, but that’s not the case with HC&S,” he says. In fact, he says, the ones who will suffer the most are the workers who rely on a weekly paycheck to survive, a survival instinct that has only intensified in the down economy.

“These are real people with real bills to

pay,” he says somberly. “We are regular, ordinary people and we are just trying to safeguard our jobs.”

Since HC&S restored nearly 12 million gallons of water to eight of the East Maui streams in 2008, Kelly says the company has seen significant setbacks and last year, many workers were faced with two-week furloughs, a harsh reality that Kelly says was a direct result of the water issue.

“I don’t think people see the big picture,” he says. “This is such an emotionally-charged issue, and a lot of the important details have been overlooked.” Kelly cites the ongoing drought, population growth and climate change as several factors that illustrate the critical function of stream diversions, and not just to the benefit of HC&S.

According to Kelly, if HC&S fully restores water to the East Maui streams, that will mean less water for county use, as well as residents, farmers and ranchers. The diversions send water inland, where it is collected first for county and residential use, with the remainder used for irrigation of HC&S’ agricultural operations.

As the island grows increasingly parched under the dehydrating eye of the seasonal drought, the county siphons more of the diverted water, leaving less for HC&S. As a result, Kelly explains, sugarcane fields have endured up to 90 days without water. “Some say we should plant a more sustainable crop,” he points out, “but there are very few crops that can go without water for 90 days.” Despite its resilient nature, sugarcane production has already been impacted by the scarce water supply. “The tonnage per acre is steadily declining,” says Kelly, and if it continues, he is certain 800 jobs will soon be in jeopardy. “People are scared,” he says. “They have families to feed.” So, is there a solution? Kelly admits there is no easy answer to this controversial issue, but he believes one potential remedy lies in finding new ways to store water. “It’s a complex issue,” he admits. “Water is life… it’s something we all share.”

Although there are no easy solutions, water is life, and must be shared.

Kuapā: The restoration of the pond’s wall is key to its existence. Only about a foot wide at one time, the wall is now up to 14 feet wide in some places.

AQUA CULTURE

a day at he‘eia fishpond

Maintaining an aqua culture is not an easy thing to do, especially one perpetuated by the ancient Hawaiians nearly 800 years ago. There is no manual, no almanac for fishpond maintenance, but one organization is adamant in ensuring that the aquaculture practices perpetuated by their ancestors are not lost in today’s modern world.

The thing that gets you most about He‘eia Fishpond in Kaneohe is the quiet. It’s a stillness that’s beautiful, that is indicative of an environment untampered with since the days of the ancient Hawaiians. The waters are still, reflecting a near flawless mirrored image of the blue sky above it, broken only by a school of fish splashing their tails at the surface.

I feel like I’ve stepped into a far-off country, like Lombok in Indonesia or Chiang Mai in Thailand. The water in the fishpond is colder than I imagined, and my ill-thought out choice of shoes (Vans slipons) sink into the pond’s thick mud-sand bottom. I, along with the nearly 100 high-school students from Kamehameha Schools, wade through the pond’s thigh-deep water. I shudder at the feeling of the scratchy limu brushing against my shins, the thought of the creatures lurking in its branches. But we are here to work. By the end of the day, we hope to clear out more than 3,200 pounds (or more than 1.5 tons) of the invasive limu that flood in over the wall and choke the pond’s coral and marine inhabitants.

The pond stretches across 88 acres of Kane‘ohe Bay, and is one of six remaining ponds in the area. Historically, fishponds were created by the ali‘i, the chiefs, as stocking ponds to alleviate some of the pressure on the near-shore reef, as populations during that time period increased. “It is thought, in fact,” Hi‘ilei Kawelo informs us, “that King Kamehameha worked right here in this very fishpond.” Kawelo is the executive director of Paepae O He‘eia, the non-profit organization that cares for the pond.

If King Kamehameha worked in this pond, he would know it

was back breaking. Clearing seaweed is harder than I ever imagined. More and more handfuls of the invasive species get piled into my bag. Every scoop of seaweed brings up a host of sea creatures with it. Baby crabs struggle to get free. Little fish play dead. Gelatinous sea worms make some of the girls scream. I flick out as many as I can, but after a while, they all just get stuffed into the bag with the limu. These baby critters are a sure sign of what’s going on below the surface.

Under the still water is a vibrant marine culture: pualu, moi, papio, ‘ama‘ama, barracuda, puffers, Samoan crab, mo‘ala. Sustaining life in this pond is a delicate balance. Here water can become both cultivator and destroyer. Fresh water flows in from He‘eia stream and salt water from Kane‘ohe Bay, creating a brackish environment perfect for cultivating fish. “The brackish water is like the foundation for life and the foundation for the food chain,” Kawelo tells me. “The waters are areas of high productivity, meaning there’s a proliferation of zooplankton and phytoplankton. It’s kind of the primordial soup where life begins because the mixing of the waters makes food for everything else.”

And life is again indeed being cultivated; the pond, estimated to be about 600 to 800 years old, is being used as the kupuna, the ancestors, intended it: “as a place of practice,” Kawelo says, “a place for our culture to live, to see a little bit of what is still possible. And to produce fish!”

From 2006 to 2008, the pond was averaging two fish harvests per year, getting anywhere from 300 to 800 pounds of moi, local people’s favorite fish to fry whole. Fingerlings were brought in from the hatchery, Oceanic Institute, and were raised until market size, about one pound. The babies were brought in because they didn’t want to put additional pressure on the wild stocks of fish explains Keli‘i Kotubetey, the assistant executive director of Paepae O He‘eia. “The demand was outrageous,” he says. “The fish were snapped up immediately because there’s not really any place you can get fish-

Text by Lisa Yamada

Photos by Christy Bauer-Eriksson

LIFE IS AGAIN BEING CULTIVATED, THE POND BEING USED AS A PLACE OF PRACTICE, A PLACE FOR OUR CULTURE TO LIVE, TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT IS STILL POSSIBLE.

pond-raised fish. …People were very proud and happy that this 800-year-old fishpond was producing fish again.”

Then in 2009, disaster struck, when kona winds and vog made the waters too hot for the fish. “Basically it’s like the pond’s air conditioning turned off, and the fish died,” says Kotubetey. “Some things are in our control, most are out of our control, and that’s just the nature of the fishpond.” Unlike intensive aquaculture, which requires a lot of inputs to maintain the pond environment, He‘eia is extensive, meaning human inputs are very minimal. “You just let the fish do what they need to do,” he says. “You’re really not controlling the environment, but you’re allowing the environment to produce what it can produce.”

One thing that can be controlled is what we allow to trickle into the pond. “Fishponds are interesting because they catch all the goods and bads from mauka to makai,” Kotubetey says. “So anything that’s done uka, above the fishpond in freshwater streams flowing into the pond, ends up affecting the fishpond. Same thing in the ocean. If the ocean is polluted from people throwing plastic and any kine rubbish off their boats, or gas and other chemicals, it can impact the fishpond.” He hoists a 50pound bag of invasive gracilaria salicornia onto a small pontoon boat. “The fishpond can be an indicator of how healthy your ahupua‘a is or how healthy your ocean is.”

We end up clearing 5,400 pounds of limu, more than any group has ever collected. According to Kawelo, about 85 percent of the time spent working on the pond is clearing out inva-

sive species, whether it be the limu in the ponds or the mangrove trees covering the kuapā, or the fishpond wall. “The wall we are standing on, used to be only about a foot wide, and it was totally encroached by mangrove,” Kawelo informs me. Now it’s about ten feet wide, broad and flat, mangrove nowhere in sight. Because the wall is essentially what makes the fishpond, (without it, it’d just be open ocean!) restoring it is essential to maintaining the pond. So far, the organization, with the help of a community of volunteers, has restored about 2,000 linear feet of a 7,000 linear foot wall. Kawelo acknowledges that they’ve got quite a ways to go: “We’re just a pinpoint on a very long scale of a long lineage of fishpond practitioners. I’m sure by the time we reach the 7,000, we’ll have to come back around to the beginning and restack the rocks. So it’s never ending.”

There are six mākāha or gates within the wall. These gates are the veins that bring oxygen to the fish living in the pond. They also regulate the fish coming and going from the pond, allowing baby fish to swim in and preventing bigger fish from swimming out. “A hundred years ago, we wouldn’t have to buy fish and stock our pond,” says Kawelo. “It would happen naturally via the mākāha.” But wild stocks have plummeted and it is becoming more and more rare to see fish hanging around the gates. “There’s a whole slew of reasons for this decline, and overfishing is just one of them,” says Kawelo. “Pollution, overpopulation – way too many people fighting for the same resources.”

Kotubetey expounds upon this statement: “We live like we live on a continent! Really, we

Historically, fishponds were created by the ali‘i as stocking ponds, to alleviate pressure on the near-shore reef.

conduct our daily lives like we live in a place with infinite resources. … Hawai‘i is pretty much the highest consumer of fish in the United States. So is the problem overfishing? Is the problem too many people? Is the problem no more nuff fish? Well, no more nuff fish ‘cause too many people…” Fishponds, he continues, provide an excellent and additional tool to practice proper marine resource management. It allows you to take what you need, when you need it. “Just at its purest form, in our modern context, fishponds can still be used as – I wouldn’t say a full-blown solution – but definitely a tool [to combating the declining wild stocks.]

“I always like to think of the fishpond, especially today when having these kinds of places and experiences are so few and far between, as growing not only food, but that we’re growing people,” says Kotubetey. “We are growing a consciousness, being aware that our resources are finite, but we can still travel on the path of our ancestors who practiced at this very place.”

Chokehold: Eighty-five percent of restoration efforts are directed at ridding the pond of limu.

Nearly 70 percent of the world’s surface is made up of water, though 97.5 percent of all water present on earth is unfit to drink, leaving only 2.5 percent of water consumable. Of that, one-third is frozen in the form of glaciers and polar ice. That leaves the almost seven billion people of the world to share only one percent of consumable water.

THE FLUX GUIDE TO WATER CONSERVATION

Text by Cody Matsukawa

Illustrations by Jennifer Yoko Thorbjornsen

If we all agree that water is a precious resource essential for life, then why are we abusing the way we use it? A human being needs about five gallons of water a day to survive – water used for consumption and sanitation. The average American uses more than 151 gallons of water per day with a household usage of nearly 370 gallons per day. This weighty number is due to the nonchalant attitude we have toward water – that water is more than abundant, a renewable resource that won’t ever run out. If we continue to practice the misuse of water, however, we will find ourselves thirsty, with that once abundant source of water, dry.

Toilet:

Water used: 3.5 to 6 gallons per flush

Average use: Six times per day

Wastes: Up to 36 gallons

Conserve! Installing an ultra-low flush toilet earns you a rebate. If minor construction isn’t your thing, placing a brick or bending the rod with attached floater ball downwards in your toilet tank will trick your tank into thinking it’s full when in fact, you’ve only displaced the water.

Saves: Up to 18 gallons.

The Hawaii Board of Water Supply offers a $100 rebate when you purchase and install an ultralow flush toilet in your bathroom. With an average use of six times per day, the standard toilet could use up to 36 gallons of water per day. The ultra-low flush version uses less than half that.

Faucet:

Water used: 2 to 7 gallons per minute

Average use: Varies (Brushing teeth, washing dishes, washing hands, etc.)

Wastes: Up to 140 gallons. Conserve! Turn the faucet off when not in use. Running the water while brushing your teeth or shaving is wasteful. Also, energy star dishwashers are more efficient than hand washing dishes. If you have to hand wash dishes however, fill the bin with hot water and wash all dishes, rinse and air dry.

Saves: Up to 70 gallons.

It may not seem like a big deal but a leaky faucet is major source of water waste. What’s one drip you ask? Well, a faucet dripping once per second wastes up to 3,000 gallons of water a year. Most leaks can be remedied by replacing the washer.

Watering your lawn:

Water used: 5 to 10 gallons per minute when hose is on.

Average use: 15 minutes. Wastes: Up to 150 gallons. Conserve! Water your garden every other day. Also, water either early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the climate is cooler.

Saves: Up to 40 gallons.

Shower:

Water used: 2.5 to 4 gallons per minute

Average use: The average shower lasts ten minutes

Wastes: Up to 40 gallons

Conserve! Take shorter showers and turn off water when lathering

Saves: Up to 20 gallons.

Th e average household uses nearly 370 gallons of water per day. Here is where it all goes.

Although South America has as much as 28 percent of the planet’s natural freshwater resources, it also has an area of 1.58 million square miles without clean water.

FOREIGN TERRAIN

The world is upside down. My head is cold and wet and it’s both disorientating and wonderful. That’s because I’m leaning back on an inflatable tube that’s floating down the Rio Anzu, a tributary to the Rio Napo and thus the mighty Amazon, my neck stretched until the top of my head is submerged two inches in the river, my hair dragging in the cool, fresh water as the sun shines down, warming the rest of my body.

This particular perspective of Ecuador’s Tena Jungle is spectacular. From the hostel on the cliff I’ve stayed the last two days, it’s impossible to see what lies beyond the jungle’s impenetrable green canopy. But down here, we drift past impressive river walls that ascend 300 feet toward an infinite blue sky, and endless exotic trees straight out of a Dr. Seuss book that teem with cartoonish creatures – parrots, anteaters, hummingbirds, tarantulas, sloths, gigantic butterflies and howler monkeys, their nighttime cacophonies collectively producing the unvarying and high-pitched ringing that characterizes this place and keeps foreign backpackers awake.

Roberto, our local jungle tour guide, brags that he will never move away from this paraíso and tells us how he plans to some-

day embark by raft on a several week-long journey along the Amazon from the Eastern Andes to the Atlantic. “Why would I ever move?” he asks no one in particular, “Here, you have everything you need.” Drifting lazily down the river, fingers trailing in the water, I can’t help but agree with him.

And yet South America is a place of contradictions. The continent blessed with as much as 28 percent of the planet’s natural freshwater resources and one of the highest per capita allocations of water in the world also has an area of 1.58 million square miles without clean water. Though Latin America is home to four of the 25 largest rivers in the world, including the great Amazon, 77 million people lack access to what the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights referred to as a human right that is “a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights.”

I had personally come to South America for the food, the culture, and the water. Sitting at a miserable desk job three months before my day on the river, I found myself fantasizing about going to a place where I could do nothing but study Spanish and improve my surf. A quick Google search led me to discover the perfect little surf town of

Montañita – it advertised Spanish schools and private surf lessons – where I would eventually stay for two months. It wasn’t until I had arrived in Ecuador’s capital city that I learned of the problems facing many locals. After spending a few days exploring Quito, known for its charming colonial old town and sky-scraping vistas, I tried to make my way to Montañita, only to be told the roads were closed due to the “demostración.”

Local Ecuadorians, led by CONAIE, the Confederation of Ecuadoran Indigenous Nationalities, were protesting the government’s new water policy, which would potentially surrender control of local water springs to foreign mining developers. It was a case of privatization, a ubiquitous situation that is largely responsible for the fact that over a billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water.

“We have enough water for everyone to use in the world. However, the reality is that one in six people don’t have access to it,” says Satoko Kishimoto of the Transnational Institute, a worldwide fellowship of scholar activists. “The problems arise with how water resources are managed and water therefore becomes a social and political issue.”

Ms. Kishimoto stresses that insufficient

Text by Tiffanie Wen

Photos by Roy Movshovitz

THOUGH LATIN AMERICA IS HOME TO FOUR OF THE 25 LARGEST RIVERS IN THE WORLD, INCLUDING THE GREAT AMAZON, 77 MILLION PEOPLE LACK ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER

finances are largely responsible for the widespread problem. In many cases, governments borrow money from foreign banks to build necessary distribution infrastructures. But this can cost up to 15% of the government’s budget and is oftentimes impossible due to the country’s already bourgeoning debt or the cumbersome stipulations placed on the loan.

Some argue that because of these fiscal restraints, handing control of the utility to private companies is an unfortunate, but inevitable requirement for increasing the number of people who have clean water in the Third World. Still, according to Ms. Kishimoto, “Privatization is a critical issue. The bottom line is that private companies have to appease shareholders and it denies water to people who can’t pay.”

A case study of what happens when governments give up local control can be seen in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second most populated city, located 160 miles south of Quito and the only city in the country who has given control of water to a private company. Despite Ecuador’s constitutional “Nature Rights,” the resource in Guyaquil has been by controlled by Bechtel since the year 2000. Since then, the company has been accused of repeated water cut-offs, failing to extend services to low income areas, and public health problems and environmental contamination due to inadequate waste water treatment. In 2005, a Hepatitis A outbreak was investigated by authorities who concluded that the city’s water was “not apt for human consumption.”

Last September though, I had yet to research the water issue in Ecuador. At that time, my Spanish wasn’t good enough to ascertain the details of the strike and I was just another traveler trying to get to my next destination. So I spent one more day in Quito until the strike was over and took a fourteen hour bus ride to the coast – and to the place of my Google-induced fantasy.

I was not disappointed. Montañita is the kind of place where ceviche is breakfast, lunch and dinner, shoes are optional, foreigners mingle easily with locals, and late night street meals cost a buck. After staying here a week, I understood clearly why the dusty dirt

road town was quickly earning a reputation as a mandatory stop on the Gringo trail.

But staying on the coast also served to keep me blithely unaware of what was happening in other parts of the country. While I was busy taking surf lessons from Eusebio Rodriguez, one of Ecuador’s highest ranked surfers and a Montañita native, police were firing shots at indigenous protesters in the eastern Morona-Santiago Province.

After dozens of people were injured and controversy was incited by the group’s claim that Professor Bosco Wizuma was killed in the crackdown, President Rafael Correa opened proceedings to the protesters. For now, negotiations between the indigenous group and the government have resulted in keeping these particular springs out of foreign hands – but the issue will un-

doubtedly continue on.

According to Ms. Kishimoto, significant policy changes leading to local control and access to water can only come from domestic initiatives supported by local governments and the international community. Given the current situation in Guyaquil and elsewhere, it may seem an impossible challenge. But even in neighboring South American countries like Bolivia, long-term local initiatives have succeeded in reversing privatization of water, ousting foreign corporations, spreading access to the resource and improving its quality.

And in a country where indigenous groups have had a leading role in the overthrow of two previous Ecuadorian presidents, it does not appear likely that unfair access to water will be tolerated by its people.

Though the war for water will undoubtedly continue to rage on in South America and other regions of the world for some time to come, it seems that at least one small country is well on its way to proving local efforts can and do make a difference. The rest of us should be watching.

Staying on the coast kept me blithely unaware of what was happening in other parts Ecuador. While I took surf lessons, police were firing shots at protestors.

Model:

Hair: Ryan Camacho

Makeup: Dulce Felipe

Makeup Assistant: Almond Cruz

Styling: Cody Matsukawa

Photo Assistant: Ryan Gravela

SO MUCH FOR THE CITY

PHOTOGRAPHER: LINDSEY BARROW

Model: Helene Veldman

Model: Erica Miguel, Kathy Muller

Kaloa Robinson, Niche Models & Talent

Kaloa wears

Shirt Hurley

Jeans Levi’s

Helene wears

Cardigan Stussy

Shirt Hurley

Skirt Lucy Love

Helene (left) wears

Shirt Hurley

Romper Lucy Love

Scarf Tarnish, Nordstrom

Erica (right) wears

Woven Hurley

Shirt Lucy Love

Shorts Hurley

Fedora Eric Javits, Nordstrom

Sandals DV by Dolce Vita, Nordstrom

This page:

Helene wears

Swimwear Hurley

Kaloa wears

Boardshorts Pull-in

Opposite page: Helene wears Dress Hurley

Erica wears

Swimwear RFAVELA

Cover Up RFAVELA

Opposite page:

Helene wears

Cardigan Rubbish, Nordstrom

Swimwear RFAVELA

Shorts Lucy Love

Sandals DV by Dolce Vita, Nordstrom

Kaloa wears

Tank Hurley

Shorts Hurley

Fedora Makins, Nordstrom

Shoes Vans, Nordstrom

This page:

Helene wears

Dress Stussy

Headband Cara, Nordstrom

Sandals Seychelles, Nordstrom

Kaloa wears

Henley The Organik

Shorts Hurley

Fedora Makins, Nordstrom

Summer merchandise available in stores and online beginning mid-April.

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Photos by Aaron Yoshino

IN THE KITCHEN

WITH NITAI BISHOP, PARADISE FOUND

Text by Bridget Mullen

For North Shore vegetarian chef Nitai Bishop, food is personal. Well, at least his food is. When he cooks a dish at his Hale‘iwa vegetarian café, Paradise Found, he puts time and effort into adding an extra bit of flavor to connect his diners with their orders. Perhaps

it is this special touch that keeps the small café, located in the back corner of Celestial’s Natural Foods, consistently busy. Everyday, regulars and newcomers alike belly up to the countertop to get some of the best meatless grindz on the island and talk story with the charismatic, Hawai‘i-grown chef. I visit Nitai afterhours at his North Shore residence, which immediately reminds me of Paradise. After ten minutes of talking to the chef (and several bites of the best vegetarian lasagna ever), I see that Nitai is pretty damn good at getting personal.

So, food is personal?

There is definitely an intimate relationship between food and people. I’ve seen farmers that just absolutely cherish their vegetables.

When they see a perfectly crooked neck squash, with its golden hue and its nice little green nubbin, a tear forms in their eye. If that can be transferred all the way to the table, then everyone on the line gets to enjoy it and be a part of that relationship.

I hear that you used to be a beekeeper. Do you take it personal when vegans hate on honey? Honey is just one of those things. It’s a personal bias. I love bees. And I do not think it is torture to collect honey from them. They have ample supply of it, and in my heart, I know that they are making it because they know how good it is. They are not hording bastards; they are nurturers. They want us to enjoy it.

Bee-haters aside, Paradise Found has a pretty big group of devoted regulars. It’s local and it’s fresh. There isn’t anything else much like it available, and it’s been that way for a long time. So people, whether they are vegetarian or vegan, can order something without a question for every item on the menu. That is the heart and soul of Paradise Found.

Paradise is a pretty small place. Is running a smaller restaurant easier than running a bigger one?

Actually, small is more difficult, because it’s just you. You have to be present at all times. It takes people that are very dedicated and in a sense, kind of insane, but they are so fringe that they don’t really fit into anything else.

So is that how you’d describe yourself? Completely dedicated and kind of insane? [Laughs] Yup.

But it must be nice being your own boss. The boss is really every person that walks in that door and orders food. Somebody said to me once, isn’t it great to be the boss? I’m not the boss; you’re the boss. You just gave me an order, didn’t you? You told me to make a sandwich, and now I’m making you a sandwich.

Do any celebrities ever stop by?

Yes, but at Paradise Found, everyone gets to be treated as they are, not what other people think they are, or anything like that.

Come on, you have to have a few exceptions. What about that time Woody Harrelson came in?

Well yeah, I had to stop to shake his hand, because, you know, it’s Woody Harrelson! He wasn’t eating anyway, but [Harrelson’s friend] Owen Wilson was, and he definitely devoured a lot of food in one sitting.

What did he order?

The Big Ass Burrito.

Sounds big. What is your biggest pet peeve? My biggest pet peeve is when you order something to go and you eat it at my café inside the disposal containers that I will then have to throw in my trash. I would actually rather, if you do that, you take the container with you and put it in your car, and let it collect insects, because I don’t want to waste products that don’t need to be wasted.

I hear you like to dance. Do you ever dance while you cook?

I dance in the kitchen sometimes in the morning before anybody gets there. If the

deejay is good and KTUH is pumping some really good shit, I’ll call the deejay and tell them that they are making my feet move, and it’s dangerous because I’m holding knives and flaming pots, so they better freaking cool it on the freaking excellently nutritious sound byteage.

What do you like to cook when you are not in Paradise?

Fish. I admit, I have a vegetarian café, I don’t get to cook fish often, so I love to cook fish when at home. And I have friends that fish, so when they catch some, they bring it over.

If you were on Death Row, what would you order for your last meal?

It would probably be Greek. I’d have a bunch of different dishes, fried fritters and tasty slivers of meat. Then I would finish with some really nice fig wine that this guy in Pennsylvania makes, and then I would get a file key and bust my way out of jail and spilt.

You’d live on for another meal… Fuck ya. The guy that brought me the fig wine busted me out!

IF NITAI WAS AN HERB, HE’D BE BASIL (WELL, IF HE WAS A LEGAL HERB, AT LEAST)

“There are so many different varieties, and it is fragrant. It crosses a lot of spectrums of flavor. You have your sweet sort of basils, your more tart basils. The basil itself sort of finishes flavors because of its fragrance. Especially when used fresh. It adds that final layer to a lot of dishes. It’s refreshing, and it leaves a pleasant aroma in your mouth. Basil’s green too, and I love green.

NEED-THAI GREEN CURRY

Ingredients

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 medium shallots (sliced thin)

1/2 large onion (thin strips)

2 medium Asian eggplant (cut thin strips)

1 red bell pepper (1/8th inch thick strips)

Saute in a wok or large sauté pan on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. It is best to prep the protein separately and add to either the finished curry or just before you add the liquids to the saute.

*add prepped protein of choice*

1-2 tbsp green curry paste (I prefer Maesri brand or to make my own)

1 medium head of broccoli cut into long bite sized flowerettes

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp tamari soy sauce

1/2 cup water

Wait one minute. Then add one can coconut milk. Stir and add a generous hand-full of Thai basil leaves. Bring to a boil and it’s done! Remove from heat and serve immediately.

MEALS ON WHEELS

There’s no denying it, mobile eateries are on the rise. At the heart of this movement is the king of all meals on wheels: the roach coach, the grease bus, the lunch wagon… call them what you will, but admit it, there’s something special about them. Maybe it’s their über-cheap prices and true American portion sizes. Maybe it’s their casual no-shirt-no-shoes-noproblem ambiance. Or maybe, the concept of hunting down these mobile eateries brings us back to the simpler days of our youth, when we would blindly run onto the street with a fist full of quarters whenever we heard the off-key twang of the ice cream truck. So without further ado, we bring you our choices of some ono lunch wagons:

OPAL THAI

808.381.8091

Where to find: 66-460 Kamehameha Hwy, in Hale‘iwa across from McDonalds

Wednesday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Prices: $6.00 – $7.95

Asian influences in Hawai‘i are everywhere, so it isn’t surprising that an Asian eatery has jumped on the band(lunch)wagon. Easily one of the best Thai joints on the island – not to mention one of the cheapest – Opal is located in the Mecca of food trucks on O‘ahu, the North Shore. The coach is clean, the food, made to order, and the service is fast, friendly and authentically Thai. The menu offers a decent variety of yum, including spicy glazed garlic chicken wings, green papaya salad, curry of the day, summer rolls with peanut sauce, and more.

And then there is the gauntlet of Thai cuisine, the Pad Thai, a particularly difficult dish to master. With so many ingredients, preparing this popular plate offers a lot of opportunities to screw up. Thankfully, Opal Thai has got it right. They make the dish with the freshest of ingredients (eggs, fish sauce, bean sprouts, peanuts, chili peppers). Most importantly, they cook their Pad Thai with tamarind sauce, as opposed to ketchup, which is a common mistake faux-Thai dishes try to fool their eaters with. The result is rich, satisfying, and worthy of a plate licking. Not a Pad Thai fan? Then turn your attention to the drunken noodle. Yeah, it may be a little obnoxious, but it sure does taste delicious!

BLUE WATER SHRIMP & SEAFOOD COMPANY

Mililani: 808.232.5956; Waiakamilo: 699.0658; Waikiki: 926.3532

Where to find: Waiakamilo Shopping Center, daily from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; 2145 Kuhio Street in Waikīkī, daily from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; and 95-130 Kamehameha Hwy in Mililani, Monday – Saturday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Prices: $6.95 – $12.95

If there were a particular breed of lunch wagon that is indigenous to this island, it would be the O‘ahu shrimp shack. Giovannis is often noted as the best of these small seafood eateries, but for many Oahu residents, the long drive to its North Shore location is just plain unappetizing. Luckily, the newer breed of Blue Water Shrimp and Seafood Company trucks are taking over. With three locations on the island, your garlic-fix is now more accessible. Blue Water’s trademark dish is its jumbo garlic shrimp, which can be served mild, medium or spicy hot. The easy-to-peel shrimp are served glistening in garlicky butter goodness that tantalizes your taste buds. Careful, this dish can be addictive.

For those non-pescatarian eaters, Blue Water also offers an array of dishes that bleed red, such as sirloin, pork chops and hamburger steak. (Menu items may vary.) All plates are served with two scoops of rice, a green salad and a piece of much-appreciated garlic bread (to soak up the juices, of course). The portions are large, the food is cooked fresh, and the flavors won’t disappoint.

HAILI’S HAWAIIAN FOODS

808.593.8019

Where to find: On Auahi Street across from Ward Stadium 16 Theaters

Monday – Saturday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Price: $5.50 – $12.00

You’ve probably noticed Haili’s Hawaiian Food truck while circling the parking lot across the street from Ward Center, desperately hoping to find a parking spot in time to make a movie. The big white van – with its brightly colored details and unbelievable parking karma – is a preferred resident of the lot, which is good news to hungry shoppers. With good food, friendly service, and an ambiance more like an outdoor café than a lunch wagon, Haili’s is a great detour on the way back to the car. Haili’s menu features a good mix of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian cuisine, such as Hawaiian bowls, salads, plate lunches, wraps, sandwiches and sides. All food is prepared in the morning of the day of sale in Haili’s other (nonwheeled) location on Kapahulu at Winam.

A must-try on Haili’s menu is their spicy pastele nachos. A scrumptious combination of pastele, rice, cheese and chips, it’s the perfect plate to sneak into the movie theater. If your belly is feeling hungry and your Hawaiian pride is on the rise, then order the Big Kahuna plate lunch, equipped with kalua pig, laulau, chicken long rice, lomi salmon, poke, haupia, and choice of rice or poi. This mega Hawaiian meal is da winnahs.

JAWAIIAN IRIE JERK LUNCH WAGON

808.388.2917

Where to (usually) find: Monday – Friday during lunch hours at 669 Ahua Street, Saturdays during lunch hours at 1830 Kapiolani Blvd., Thursday nights from 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. at Redda Fire at Fisherman’s Warf.

Price: $3.00 - $10.00

Come on, Irie! Jamaican me hungry! Stop by this Jawaiian lunch wagon – one of the only places to get Jamaican cuisine on the island – and you will see that charismatic Chef Cassie sure knows how to jerk his chicken (and other varieties of meat). Portions are large, prices are small, and flavors are spicy. The Jamaican Jerk Chicken plate is worth a try. Intensely flavorful, the meat is bathed in a rich coating of West Indies spices – though the heat isn’t too hot to handle. Plates come with rice-n-peas, ital (a vegetarian stew) and a fritter, which is enough grub to last two meals. The menu also features jerk pork, escovitch fish, curry chicken, veggie patties, bread pudding and more. Plus, thanks to a lunch wagon’s ability to host a sound system, all purchases come with a complimentary side of reggae music. Yeah, mon!

Text by Bridget Mullen

by

Photos

Aaron Yoshino

BLOWOUT LAUNCH PARTY

After a successful insider only look at our premiere issue, FLUX held nothing back and officially launched February 20 at Ka Restaurant & Lounge in Ward Centers. David Tamaoka and Yoza kept the crowd entertained with soothing musical notes while the champagne was flowing thanks to Korbel and Better Brands. Guests also enjoyed small bites from KA. The event also raised money for Compassion International in support of the Haiti relief effort.

Photos by Mike Keany