Island News

Woke up nice and early thanks to a smoke detector malfunction in our room here on the north shore of Oahu, so thought I might troll around the two major newspapers (the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star Bulletin) to see what's happening 'round the islands.

Holiday trees are checked for pests
Two Matson Navigation Co. workers grabbed a fir tree from a shipping container and pounded the trunk against the ground repeatedly until pine needles and small branches fell on a cloth canvas.

And so did unwanted hitchhikers, including spiders, slugs and, in a couple of cases, angry wasps.

Department of Agriculture specialist Domingo Cravalho Jr. grabbed spiders and slugs with bare hands and put them into glass vials. When he was satisfied there were no more insects or other living organisms, he started on another tree from another container.

Inspecting a couple of trees from each of about 100 or so refrigerated Matson containers was all part of the annual Christmas tree shakedown yesterday.
[...]
In recent spot checks, state inspectors have found European wasps in the trees. Also known as the German yellow jacket or Vespula germanica, the yellow and black-striped wasp tops the state's list of insects they want to keep out of Hawaii.

"They're very aggressive," said state entomologist Darcy Oishi. "They'll swarm and sting. They're just not as friendly."

Movie Hopping
Summer Kupau knows when the multiplex lights go dim, the THX logo charges up and the excitement builds with the crescendo of soundtrack, she's in for a show.

So why, just as she's wrapping herself in the surround-sound experience, does she have to put up with those goofy teenagers down in front, breaking the mood by bopping in and out of the theater?

We suspect they're movie hopping.

Local movie theater employees know some people buy tickets and attempt to see more than one movie in one session, though it is against the rules. On the Web, it's easy to find sites that advise on a strategy for this misbehavior of paying for one ticket and seeing more than one show.

But moviegoer Kupau won't do that. Besides knowing it's wrong, "I don't do it because I don't have the time," Kupau said, with a toss of her long brown hair.

Coffee cuppers foresee tasty year after Kona event
After tasting hundreds of cups of coffee, one of the world's top cuppers predicts a very good year for Hawaii's Kona coffee.

As a professional cupper, Lisslotte Eckhoff insists it is something of a natural gift, but she takes her vocation seriously. She helps judge the best coffee grown along what is America's only coffee belt, above the western shore of the Big Island.
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The only region in the United States to grow a substantial annual coffee crop, the Kona coffee belt is home to some 200 farms. Some are just a handful of acres tended by relative newcomers; others are larger parcels cultivated by three or four generations of the same family.

The Hawaii coffee industry dates to the early 1800s when missionary Samuel Ruggles planted the first trees and found the combination of volcanic soil, sun and a sprinkling of rain made for great beans.

Only coffee grown in the Kona coffee belt is eligible for the cupping contest. Entries are judged on fragrance, aroma, taste, acidity, aftertaste and body.
[...]
After whittling down the entries to 15, the cuppers returned for a second day of tasting and finally bestowed this year's first-place honor on Bruce and Lisa Corker, owners of Rancho Aloha.

Located on nearly four acres in Holualoa, Rancho Aloha is certified organic by the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association and has been in operation for four years. This is the third time Rancho Aloha has entered the contest.

Free wireless access to city's Web site now available


O'ahu residents with computers ready for wireless Internet service don't have to pay to reach the city's Web site when they're in "hot spots" around the island, under an arrangement announced by Mayor Mufi Hannemann and officials of Skywave Broadband LLC.

Computer users typically pay a wireless broadband provider, such as Skywave, to gain access to the Internet. Under the pilot project with the city, Skywave now allows all computer users to get onto the city's Web site, www.honolulu.gov, regardless of whether they pay to use Skywave's service.

Skywave is available in a variety of access points, known as "hot spots," including much of Waikiki, downtown Honolulu and test sites at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale. The list of available areas will grow over the next two years, said Joshua Beil, Skywave founder and vice president of business development. The free service started in September.