Homespun Honolulu

There’s one thing people in Hawaii love to do and it doesn’t matter which island you’re on or which side of town — we love to eat! Restaurants are a great thing but our menu items are often, much like us, an ethnic blend of recipes we have tweaked and morphed to our own liking. This is where our local grocery stores come into the picture and take on the highest priority!

I never noticed this sign until I was walking around with a camera. I never noticed the other half of it either… Safeway has been in Honolulu as long as I have! I knew there was something good about this place. Works for me!

It was three and a half years ago that I wrote a letter to Safeway’s corporate office in Arizona. I couldn’t think of any other way to let them know how pleased I was with my favorite grocery store. I opened the letter saying,

“Sometimes it really pains me that there is nothing that can be done by a consumer to fully show their earnest appreciation for the staff of an establishment like this one.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Black Friday is over and for those who weren’t able to get to the malls either because you had to work, or because you were just burnt out from Thanksgiving the day before, or because you were anxiously awaiting that nail-biter of a football game between the UH Warriors and the Boise State Broncos, relax! It’s Cyber Monday… and cyber all week long!

The fact that you’re reading this at all is probably a good indicator that you may be one of those people, like me, who avoids the big shopping malls altogether and goes to specialty shops, shops at Ross, watches QVC, or just shops online… whenever possible!

Whatever the case, I’ve decided to make a little page with shopping ideas for you to do your Christmas shopping! Let me make this clear, I would NOT have a business listed here if I did not trust the products or services that these vendors provide and/or if I had not experienced them for myself before telling you how wonderful they are.

What follows below is the start of our Shopping Page. We will build on it as we are able. Happy shopping, or at least browsing!

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I can’t even begin to tell you about the variety of stuff that Hawaii Vacation Gifts sells. The scents are wonderful, the body products don’t cause itching or other skin irritations, and the customer service is “on it!”

HVG’s artistic creator has become a good blogging pal and I became a small customer of her products.I was lucky enough to receive a bit more than I ordered in my package so I know what I’m talking about. I have tried other similar products but have been left cold and unimpressed. There’s no unpleasant residual left behind from these products — neither in feel or in scent.

Go ahead and browse around the site and check out the products she has to offer! Everything from a bar of soap to an entire gift basket and more! Wait until you get to touch and smell her soy candles! They are clean and fragrant and they just feel good when you hold them! It’s weird, I know, but I like keeping them around just to smell them… without even burning them. They really do smell that good.

This is not the usual tourist keepsake place you find in Waikiki — this is the real thing! The products are designed and made here and not mass produced.

Visit Hawaii Vacation Gifts’ blog too!

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How about giving a Ninja for Christmas?

A thought went through my head while I was reading something by our next gift idea. This little guy will let you give a blog as a gift! As I was reading it suddenly dawned on me, “What an awesome gift!” As much as we bloggers love our blogs, I think we can all vouch that this would be something awesome to receive, especially for someone who loves to write but doesn’t have one yet!

Not only is this a great gift idea, it is extremely cost effective! In fact, they will do it all for free! All you need to do is sign up for hosting with one of their partner links. Hey, you would have to pay for that part anyway. The most effective way to tell you about this gift, is to get it straight from the horse’s mouth… excuse me, the Ninja’s mouth.

Here’s where I tell you the best part of this gift suggestion. I know and trust this vendor and have worked closely with him for nearly a year. This “Ninja” comes with my highest of recommendations! Interested? You’ve got to at least be curious! Read on!

Ninja Blog Setup

We setup and configure blogs. It’s our goal to provide professional WordPress blogs without you having to even think about all the technical details.

A step by step overview

1. You fill out a simple form to give us the information we need to setup your blog
2. A Ninja will begin your blog setup including:
   • creating a professional email address for your blog (eg. yourname@yourblog.com)
   • testing your new email address
   • creating WordPress.com account for you so you can use the Akismet Spam protection plugin
   • creating a FeedBurner account for you so you can take advantage of FeedBurner stats with your RSS feed
   • installing WordPress on your hosting count and domain name
   • configure WordPress:
     • increase the size of the post writing box - makes writing posts much easier
     • setup search engine friendly URLs (permalinks) - more traffic
     • add a complete list of services to the ping list - tells various websites every time you write a story
     • install a robots.txt file - secures your WordPress admin pages from search engine spiders
     • create your user account within WordPress - so you have access to write and administer your site
     • delete the standard links (blogroll) that are included in WordPress
   • install and activate over 20 essential WordPress plugins ( see list of plugins )
   • setup an automatic WordPress database backup to be delivered weekly via email
   • install over 50 theme choices so you can easily change the look and feel of your site (see the themes)
3. We’ll mail you all the details of your installation including a short roadmap of optional configurations that you may want to setup.
4. You’ll receive a video guided tour of the WordPress administration area so you can easily learn your way around.

That’s it. From your point of view, you just fill out the form, and about 24 hours later, login and start blogging on a fully configured WordPress blog.

You can get started by signing up for hosting with one of our partner links:

http://www.ninjablogsetup.com/blog/wordpress-blog-hosting/

Or if you already have hosting or would like to use a different company, you can contact us to inquire about rates and other options.

What did I tell you? Is that an awesome gift idea or what?

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Not exactly what you had in mind? How about something a little simpler? How about a t-shirt, or several t-shirts… the kind with attitude! These are as homegrown as you’re going to find and you can’t get them in a regular store.I went looking for Pure Breed Clothing Company because I was so sure they actually had a store in Mapunapuna. I don’t know where I got that idea, ’cause they don’t.

But, they do have a website. In addition, Henry, Christine and their three adorable children will be attending several shows and fairs between now and Christmas.

Here’s the schedule that I have been made aware of:

• 12-1 at Hilo High School fair
• 12-2 at Castle High School fair
• 12-8 at Moanalua High School fair
• 12-8 also at Aiea Elementary School fair
• 12-14 to 12-16 at gift fair at the Blaisdell Center

Go ahead and attend some craft fairs! While you’re there, look for the Pure Breed banner, pick up the perfect shirt to match that friend or family member with all that attitude, and cross a few more names off that list!

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Electronic items always make good gifts! But, who do you trust? Where do you shop? I found one! I finally faced up to the fact that my computer needed more RAM or I wasn’t going to ever get out from under the software shutdown problems I was having.

The problem was that my computer is “old” by industry standards and, get this, they have stopped making the memory upgrades!

There were two companies online that had the memory that would fit and work in my computer. I couldn’t get through to a live body on the phone, but I was left with the option to have my call returned. Only one company, Edge Tech Corp, returned my call. Therefore, they got my business and my recommendation!

Their shipping was quick and the product has made me and my computer friends again. So, I list them here because they’ve got memory and they’ve got neat stuff too!

Their customer service was excellent and they have a lot of Cool Tech Gadgets and Free Shipping too! 

Edge Tech Corp has “all the tools needed to promote memory upgrades, digital media cards, flash memory devices, portable hard drives, and other technology gifts and gadgets.” In other words, they have toys in all price ranges!

• Memory for desktops, laptops, printers, servers ($15 to $2,000+)
• Digital Camera Flash Memory Cards ($15 - $190)
• Digital Memory Card Readers ($20 to $35)
• MP3 Players and Digital Music Accessories ($21 - $65)
• Portable Hard Drives ($100 - $360)
• USB Flash Drives ($18 - $190)
• Technology Gifts and Gadgets ($40 - $230)

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Bringing the shopping back home again, we have to be sure and mention these worker bees! You guys know how I fell in love with these bees! I could not make a shopping list and fail to mention the glory of these honey makers for the Christmas holidays.
 

Volcano Island Honey Company is a great place for gifts ideas and for the Christmas dinner table as well. Here we have the unusual gifts for the people who look at things a little differently than we do.

This was one of those great moments when an irresistible picture presents itself. All else must stop when you see it happen and you have a camera to capture the moment! I took this picture a few months ago and figured I would eventually find a way to use it. It never occurred to me that there would be something so very appropriate for this simple “Kodak moment!” Has this little guy got his head in the sand? Oh no, on the contrary, this is one very industrious and hard-at-work little insect!

While looking for a collection of Hawaii-related stories in a little shop the other day, I found something that peaked my curiosity. On a different shelf of unrelated items, some little jars caught my attention. The label said, “rare, Hawaiian, organic, white honey.” Huh? All kinds of questions popped into my head. Why is it white? Another industry to replace sugar cane? Why isn’t this in the grocery store?

When faced with all of these questions and an industry that I never even thought about, I had to be niele (that means nosy in Hawaiian) and find out more about it, of course! I had to have a jar of this stuff! So, I left the little shop with my new book and a jar of honey. What a combo!

When I got home to my computer I wasted quite a bit of time looking for stuff.  Then it dawned on me to go directly to the source. Duh! (I did that once with Norbest turkeys. Do you guys know that those turkeys are white too?!?) Anyway, on just one of those little 8 oz jars of honey there is an abundance of information, not the least of which is a web address!

Volcano Island Honey Company is located on the Big Island of Hawaii and their website has an abundance of information about our tropical honey for all of you little niele honeys out there. While we’re building our Hawaiian vocabulary, how do we say “honey” in Hawaiian? “Wai meli.”  What’s the literal meaning? Bee liquor. I love that!

Once I was able to drag myself away from the computer, I had to try the little delicacy I purchased, so I did. I can’t even begin to describe it and all of the thoughts that went through my mind. The biggest thought? “What have they done to the honey we buy in the store?” Seriously, that’s the first thing that went through my mind! (Apparently I’m not the only one to have had difficulty describing the taste! Scroll down until you see the paragraph on “Taste.”)

The honey in the regular grocery stores is different. It’s sticky, it’s processed, it’s messy, it’s… it’s just not right! The honey from Volcano Island Honey Company is smooth, it doesn’t run, it tastes like sugar (without the aftertaste), it’s spreadable, it dissolves, it’s just, well, it’s just good! It actually becomes part of what you put it in — it enhances the flavor without taking it over. The list of ingredients says, “Pure Raw Organic Hawaiian Honey.” Hmmm…

Raw is not usually a word that most of us like to see when associated with a food product. Until now. If the honey is left too long in the comb it crystallizes and has to be heated to extract the honey. What happens? The taste, the color and the texture of the honey are altered! So, raw honey is actually something a real honey connoisseur will be seeking, if they know what they’re doing!

Did you know that honey will taste different if the bees harvest nectar from different flowers? Who would have thought? I didn’t see all of those different honeys offered by Volcano Island Honey while I was in the store where I bought mine. Some of them are seasonal. I have my eye on one of them and I will talk about that, and why, in a later post… once I get my hands on some!  I promise.

Then I wondered if there was more to learn or see. Oh boy, was there more! Certainly more than I can even begin to cover here! Check out the process for making the honey!  And all of this wonderful stuff is the result of, and nested in, keawe trees? These are the trees that supply the wood we use to barbecue food over! They’re certainly nothing to look at, but, I guess now we know why it’s the wood of choice for making food taste good! Apparently the bees agree with us.

Okay, we’ve got all of this knowledge but the website wasn’t finished there. We’re going for more than just a treat for Thanksgiving; we’re going for some Christmas giving as well! Here’s a rather different treasure trove of Hawaiian gifts for us to contemplate. Talk about “Made in Hawaii!”

I have to share this one little story.  For the record, I did try to find out if the moon has anything to do with honey harvesting or its production.  I couldn’t find anything directly related to the bees but, in the process of looking for any lunar impact, I did stumble on something interesting.

In 1984 honeybees became little astronauts aboard the space shuttle! Seriously! As part of an experiment, the bees actually managed to build a honeycomb in space… and with no gravity! That was all I was able to find in the way of any direct celestial involvement, but I thought it was pretty cool.

The only question now is to figure out which item holds more fascination for me — the jar of honey made by the bees or their website? Our Big Island residents get to go see these honeybees at work! I’m so jealous! I’m telling you, all of this makes a person look at bees in a whole different light! Yeah, yeah, I know, buy a ticket. An airline ticket. Until then, I’ve got my honey to bee with me!

Volcano Island Honey Company, LLC
46-4013 Puano Road
Honokaa, HI 96727
Phone: 808-775-1000
Toll Free: 1-888-663-6639

It was quite some time ago that I was complaining about losing the Petland in Ala Moana Shopping Center so I thought we were more than overdue for a follow-up. No, it’s not reopening. We’re just going to follow up with the other Petland, Kahala Petland.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into this store. It sure seems to have the pet supply thing more than under control. In all fairness, I had never been to this location but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the inside!

There are lots of products, and a lot of knowledge can be seen by what’s on the shelves! Products for cats, dogs, birds, fish, grooming, cages and all kinds of things cover the place from wall to wall!

So, if you remember our original story when we talked about the Ala Moana store closing its doors and leaving us, you can see that Ducky (Ducky is the smug one in the picture in this previous article) had a thing or two to say about it as well.

Well, The Duck decided that she should have her picture on the Internet again so she thought we should follow up on the story.

Since we do love her and all the babies very dearly, how could I not give her another opportunity to be a star? She thinks she’s “all that” so how could I refuse to let her show herself off again?

Of course, if you look at her expression you can clearly see that this was not what she had in mind!

Yeah, if looks could kill! I could just see her little mind thinking, “You do know that this is not what I meant, right?!?” Yeah, well, sorry Ducky. You needed a bath.

This is Shaniya, and she needed a bath too. It’s okay, don’t worry, they’re all dry and fluffy now, running through the house (especially away from me!) and smelling very sweet!

Petland in Kahala is doing just fine too! This is the place with the Sunday puppy swap meets where breeders bring pure breed puppies for people looking for a new family member. Like their commercial says, they’re “your best friend’s best friend.”

Petland Kahala, 4400 Kalanianaole Hwy., Honolulu, HI  96821 (808)734-7387.

This news actually came out a couple of months ago, but I wanted to be sure that nobody missed it! Researchers at Penn State did a controlled study and found out that macadamia nuts are good for you! Specifically, they are good for your heart.

Well, I think roses and macadamia nuts for Valentine’s Day would be a good thing. You can always get the chocolate covered ones if you must have chocolate. Now that Hershey has bought Maunaloa Macadamia Nuts those chocolate-covered guys should be better than ever!

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin, this discovery was one that researchers at the University of Hawaii have known about for years. The “discovery” of the lowering of cholesterol levels comes as no surprise to local scientists.

I will make an editorial comment here. I tend to be picky about my macadamia nuts and I like them as close to fresh off the vine as possible. As far as the plain nuts are concerned (which generally means they are dry roasted and at least lightly salted), I prefer the Hamakua Plantation nuts you see pictured here. They taste fresh and never taste like they just came out of a tin can.

Where can you get them? Longs Drugs carries them right next to the other two competing brands. Longs is my drug store of choice for just about everything other than groceries. I’ve spent many hours browsing through the isles at the craziest hours of the day and night! It’s hard to get out of that store without dropping $70+ every time. Those macadamia nuts are about $10 a bag so they certainly won’t help you get out of the store with a small tab!

I wonder if the rest of the world is as dependent on 7-11 as we are. When 7-11 first hit town, many moons ago, people talked about the convenience and how you could get emergency supplies even after the regular stores were closed for the evening. But you paid for that convenience. It was not wise to go there when the other stores were open because everything was way more expensive at 7-11. Now it doesn’t matter. The stores are now open all night too and the prices are comparable.

The stores figured out that all they needed to do to compete was to stay open all night. Did it work? Maybe. Do I go to the grocery store at 2:00 am? Sometimes. But 7-11 still has something they don’t — easy in and out service and location, location, location! I might even go so far as to say that 7-11 changed the way we live and the hours that we keep. They do lock down the sale of liquor at some point in the evening; the 24-hour grocers do too. They have easy-access, hot food all night. Why am I talking about 7-11? Because they’re everywhere?

In Honolulu you can’t go more than a mile or two without running into one. Outside of Honolulu proper you might have to go a little further but each little town has at least one… maybe two. For me there’ are two — less than two blocks away from each other. Are they both busy? Yes! Are they both crowded? Yes! Location, location, location. We have adopted them and some of us have chosen favorites. The personality of a store is important to some of us. I know I have my favorites.

This is Eddie. Eddie is homeless but he has his favorite places too. About a year ago my car was broken into at my 7-11 (I’m still waiting to catch someone in the act and nail ‘em!) and Eddie wasn’t there yet. He comes in the evening usually and hopes for a Good Samaritan to give him a couple of bucks for something to eat. When I walked out of the store and saw the glass on the ground, Eddie showed up and pushed the huge chunk of glass, in spite of my protests, off my window and onto the ground.

After calling the police and calling my husband I whipped around and looked at Eddie and hollered, “Where were you?!?” He just put his head down. He has kept an eye on my car ever since. My husband always gave him a couple of bucks and now I do too! He’s a gentle person and always says, “God bless you.” The difference between Eddie and most of the other people that throw that phrase around is that he means it and you can hear the sincerity in his voice. It’s more money in 7-11’s pocket anyway because he goes in and gets something to eat. No, I have never seen him with liquor.

This same 7-11 is also the place that someone stole a car not realizing that they took someone’s baby with them. What does this say about my 7-11? That they need a security guard maybe? Pay Eddie! He needs a job! Now there’s an idea!

7-11 has been acclimated to our local culture so they carry the products that suit us best. That was a good business decision. The Spam musubi is pretty good. I like the Spam katsu musubi. I haven’t eaten it for a while but I know it was good a while back. They’re even selling manapua now. Their manapua, I have to admit, is not representative of the real thing. It’s edible but not quite right — the dough is too fluffy for manapua. If you like manapua, the first time you buy theirs might be the last. So, buy a hot dog instead — that’s always a sure thing.

I’m telling you, they have become a part of the way we live. Just recently a 7-11 opened up in Niu Valley. Suddenly this little shopping center that used to be so dead has come to life! See, they’re good for the businesses around them too! That’s a new favorite of mine too — they carry my soda and they are rarely out of it. I only asked once and they have kept it in stock ever since.

Thank you, 7-11. I have no idea what made me talk about you. I guess I must like you a little. Thinking about Eddie is what made me actually do this. He needs a dentist to stop the pain in his teeth. You need a security guard at the upper Nuuanu 7-11. We should clean him up and put him in uniform!

A few weeks back I was walking home and a familiar sound caught my attention. That sound… I know that sound… dragons! Somewhere there was a Chinese dragon dance going on! I kept following the beat of the drums and finally found it!

Nothing gets my attention like the sound of those drums and nothing warms my heart like the sight of the dragons, lions, whatever you want to call them. I will also point out that there are very few things that make me reach for my wallet and start to pull out dollar bills, but this is one of them!

After enjoying these darling creatures performing for this crowd of people, I finally asked someone, “What’s the occasion?” I was then informed that it was the grand opening.

Getting a grip on myself and figuring out that I have just stepped into a bloggable occurrence, I proceeded to figure out just where it was that those Chinese drums had led me. I then decided to take pictures of more than just the entertainment.

“Obviously you must have received an invitation,” someone said to me.
“Uh, no, I’m here because the sound of the dragon drums brought me here.”

Kim Taylor Reece has opened a gallery in downtown Honolulu! Most people, myself included, are very familiar with Mr. Reece’s artistic photography. From time to time you will walk right into it. Much of it has become part of the city’s decor.

To his credit, Kim has devoted many years to absorbing and perfecting the knowledge of his subject matter. He has developed one art form that displays another! His talent only enhances the beauty of the cultural treasure that is the Hawaiian art of the hula.

Few people can argue about the artistic achievement in this gentleman’s photography.

Much of his work, as I see it anyway, is derived from his fascination with Hawaii’s beauty and culture, and his obvious admiration of the female body.

It is truly an event for an artist to have a new gallery of their work open to the public! I was just lucky enough to fall right into the middle of the excitement!

He looks very happy here and he is not the only one. Everyone there was enjoying themselves. Although this was not really my realm, it was an interesting study in human behavior to be sure.

While this was not an atmosphere welcome to shopping that evening, I did manage to go back a few days later.

While I was doing a little research on Mr. Reece I stumbled on to this print. As I admired it I decided I had to have it!

I am no art expert, but I know what I like. This one tugged at my heart strings, probably because of 9-11, so I had to go back and I had to find out if they had any copies lying around. They had to bring one in, but it was worth the wait.

I love this print! It’s me on the inside! I’m going to have my husband take this to be framed for me so I can hang it right next to my computer… he just doesn’t know it yet!

Aloha Liberty and Lady Liberty… how could I have ever found a better statement than this?!?

Kim Taylor Reece Gallery
1142 Bethel Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Another icon from the past bites the dust. Ala Moana Shopping Center is quickly losing its attraction for some of us as it loses the stores that many of us grew up with. Pacific Business News reported a couple of days ago that Petland, Ala Moana is closing its doors. That does leave the one in Kahala Mall but that’s a further drive and I am not one for shopping malls anymore and will have to search for it to figure out where it is. The malls have become too crowded, parking is a nightmare and by the time Ifinda place to park I have road rage. Yes, it’s that bad.

“Ducky” is not one for shopping but she is one for reaping the benefits of what the pet stores have to offer. (She also likes to have her picture taken and gets in the way of the lens whenever possible.) Petland was closer than most of the other well-stocked pet stores. They carried just about everything you need for dogs, cats, fish, birds, etc., and had a lovely array of shampoos and things to make the felines and canines smell good and look good. I guess I’ll have to figure out if the Kahala Mall store is worth the drive and let everyone know.

I’ll wager the Ala Moana’s overhead is the biggest reason Petland has decided, after 45 years, to close up shop at the most heavily marketed shopping complex in Honolulu. Petland’s owner reportedly said they anticipated an eventual slow down in business. I was there the other day and was struck by just how empty the store was. I don’t think eventual is exactly the right word. It looks to me like it’s a little bit of both — too much overhead and not enough customers to cover the cost of that overhead.

Petland has been there longer than I have been alive! When I was little, I would walk from one end of Ala Moana Center, where there was one pet store (that vacated long ago), to the other end to visit Petland. It’s a little crushing for me to watch part of my childhood go out window and this is yet another reason to NOT go to Ala Moana. There is one less practical reason to go there now.

As Ala Moana sees fit to bring in more high-end stores, affordable Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have opened just across the street, maybe a block away. Wal-Mart is very busy now! Ala Moana has become, for many of us, just a place for window shopping or emergency shopping; it has almost become a place to be avoided. Even the tour buses are busing tourists to Waikele Shopping Center — a good 20+ miles away. What does that tell you?

A couple of weeks ago I was completely frustrated while looking for a birthday gift. Unsuccessful, tired and seeing all stores as futile, I was about to give up. I ducked into a cute little wine store that I had never been in before. It looked peaceful, was close by, and it had a cute name, Simply Grape.

When I’m under a time crunch I am not the easiest customer to deal with and my patience is quickly expended. My lunch hour was almost over, I had been in all of the usual haunts, and I still had nothing to show for it.

Hey, I admit it, I can be the customer from hell if my buttons are pushed. But, the staff in this cozy little store asked if they could help so I told them what I was looking for.

They began to think. Hmmm… 29-year-old girl, it’s her birthday, well, maybe… There was some hesitation about bringing this item to my attention. “I don’t know if you would be interested,” someone suggested, “but this one is popular.” I took one look at the label and said, “Damn right I’m interested!”

Look what I got! Yes, you’re reading the label right. I was so stoked when I saw that label – talk about perfect! Perfect for the mood I was in and perfect for the birthday girl who would see the fun in it.

Then I saw the coasters that I could buy to go along with it — cute little rubber slippers for wine glasses! I suddenly realized that these nice people had just helped me fund the perfect gift!

Don’t let the label fool you, this is a wine that is definitely to be taken seriously – a red, Barossa Grenache that is 15% Proof. Real wine with a great label!

This store was small, attractive and very welcoming. What enamored me most about the store? It was neat, clean, inviting, and above all; the people were friendly and oh so helpful. They were smiling, sincere, and forgiving of my attitude. The latter is always key for me when deciding to adopt a business into my circle of places to hang out and spend money.

I signed the inside of the birthday card, “To the Bitch-in-Training.” She’ll get this down in time. We all do. In fact, some of us have honed it down to a fine skill, ahem!

Simply Grape, a Wine Boutique
Davies Pacific Center
841 Bishop St., #153
Honolulu, Hawai’i

Phone: (808) 447-9000
Fax: (808) 447-1100