Bucolic Luxury/Fraternal Splendor

Remember (and Worry)

Moloka`i Properties Limited, owners of the Moloka`i Ranch and the beautiful Moloka`i Lodge announced last week that it is shutting down all operations including Molokai Lodge, the Kaupoa Beach Village, the Kaluakoi Golf Course, the Maunaloa gas station, the Maunaloa Tri-Plex theatre, cattle-rearing, and the company's substantial maintenance operations.

Over the next 60 days more than 120 employees will be laid off. This is very significant to the island's economy, as the populations stands at about 8,000. The operations closing down will likely have a devastating impact on the few remaining businesses on the West side of the island as well.


My fiance and I visited this area twice back in late November/early December 2006. We first had lunch at the Lodge (one of the most impressive hotel lobbies I've ever seen) at the outside bar, and then came back on our last night on the island to indulge in the main dining room. The meal was very pleasing as I recall, and the service quite attentive. The grounds on the hotel property were well maintained and within walking distance was the small strip of businesses - collectively making up the town of Maunaloa. There we found a delightful kite shop/toy/book/souvenir shop and purchased some christmas gifts for my nephews as well as a few things for my dad. It was a little oasis -- a quiet corner of the world where you had all the amenities of a vacation resort in a pastoral setting that has become increasingly difficult to find in our ever-developing world.

Now the fate of all the properties is up in the air, as I'm sure the bidding will begin for new ownership. There is a strong movement by the people of Moloka`i to gain the land so they have more control over its destiny, but with a $200 million price tag it will take more than just creative fundraising.

The basis of the sudden closure seems to be a frustration with the strong opposition by the Moloka`i people to the company's "Master Plan." Much of this plan is ostensibly the development of luxury properties at La'au Point. It is unfortunate that such drastic action had to come of all the disagreement.

See

My fiance loves television. And I love that he loves television. Before I met him, I wasn't quite in the "Kill your TV" camp but dangerously close. I watched a few shows here and there, but mostly rented movies. While I still mostly prefer to sit down to watch a program as opposed to just zoning out with the remote, I've become much more of a TV-nut. Often I will hold out on shows that my fiance records, not wanting to commit myself to yet another 30-60 minutes per week.

One such show was the ABC Family dramedy Greek. I thought "How could a show about college kids in fraternities and sororities on the same network that does High School Musical and that show with the (now) pregnant girl be entertaining to men in their thirties?"




One night I finally sat down and gave it a shot. Okay, pretty snappy dialogue. I have a weakness for teenager stuff (Heathers, Mean Girls, Bring it On, all those John Hughes movies -- not to mention, those tempestuous years of adolescence on 90210!). I took me about two episodes before I was fully hooked, but then I just added it go the list of must-see TV. It's a smart show, a sweet show and it appears to be a step toward the edge for the network. One of the main characters is gay and rushing a fraternity and he hooked up with another frat gay. Drama ensues, and highlights the inherent intolerance in the fraternity system. Kids have sex and drink, and the sexy villainess of the show is not played by a buxom blonde but by a talented up-and-coming Indian actress. All of these things point to a show that is not only entertaining to someone like myself, but also a show that is moving in the right direction for a network that has so much influence on today's youth. Go ABC Family!