Keiki Contribute Bench To Bus Stop
Mayor Bernard Carvalho and other officials said mahalo to Kamehameha students for building a bench for a bus stop. Photo courtesy Beth Tokioka
How sweet it is when keiki get involved in helping the community, and that’s just what happened when third-graders in the Kamehameha Schools’ Kali’imamo Program built and donated a wooden bench for the bus shelter at Kapa’a Neighborhood Center. The group of students included Lani Cabresa-Dotimas, Julianne Castro, Justyce Enrique, Kaipo Fulton, Calista Gealon, DeShawn Greer, Char-Lee Kaleiohi, Isabella Kasprzyk, Tayler Kinoshita, Miki’ala LuisRapozo, TyrenNakamura-Palacio, Jesse Ornellas, Angelina Rivera Ramson, DenaeSacramed, Lei Sitani, Daymin Souza-Yim, Uilani Thompson and Lilia Unutoa. The Kapa’a bus shelter project is part of a $947,072 contract awarded to Haron Construction Inc. for ADA improvements to 51 county bus stops. The contract includes the construction of an 8-by-5-foot concrete platform at each bus stop that will allow for a safe area for those in wheelchairs to get on and off the Kaua’i Bus.
The sheltering of all bus stops on Kaua’i is an initiative of Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. The Kapa’a and Kalepa Village bus stops are the first to be sheltered using public funds, 80 percent of which are from the Federal Transit Administration. Transportation executive Celia Mahikoa says the stops along the highway with the highest usage have been prioritized, and when further funding becomes available, “we plan to shelter the rest.” Several bus shelters were built as a partnership between the county and local organizations, including locations in Lihu’e, Kilauea and Princeville, thanks to the North Shore Lions Club and Lihu’e Hongwanji.
Donna Mercado Kim was honored for supporting libraries. Photo courtesy HSPLS
Currently under way are modifications to the Kaua’i Community College bus stop, a project managed by KCC personnel. The Kaua’i Bus operates Monday through Friday, 5:15 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., depending on the route, ands runs on a reduced schedule Saturdays, Sundays and most holidays. Bus passes cost $25 per month, $120 for six months and $240 annually and are sold Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Lihu’e Civic Center Motor Vehicle Registration window and at the Kaua’i Bus office located on Ho’olako Street across from police headquarters. For the mainline routes, individual fares are $2 for adults; seniors and youths ages 7 to 18 pay $1 for one-way travel, and children age 6 and under ride free when accompanied by an adult. To learn more, go to kauai.gov. or call 241-6410 …
It’s always nice to find a bit of SoHo in unusual places. And as it goes, when the artists move in, it’s only a matter of time until what used to be a relatively unknown scene is now the place to be seen.
Only galerie 103 owner Bruna Stude could do that for a place that might otherwise be seen as nothing more than an enclave for visitors or associated with the posh South Shore behemoth that is Kuku’iula. But bring in the artists is what she did, and now talent such as Gilles and
Louda Larrain, and Kaua’i’s own Doug Britt are among those featured in her curated shows. Britt’s humorous contraption, titled “Escape from L.A.,” and Louda Larrain’s extravagant creations from found objects and reclaimed materials, along with the fact that Gilles is also a flamenco guitarist who has rubbed elbows with the likes of Miles Davis and Salvador Dali, are among many reasons to make it down to Stude’s gallery. Also included in an exhibit are photographs by the Larrains in a series titled “Dark Angels,” an ongoing collaborative project that found its seeds in childhood memories of role-playing superheroes mythology. For more information, go to galerie103.com …
Blaise Domino discusses the map he created (background). Photo courtesy Beth Tokioka
Speaking of art, a special mahalo to artist Blaise Domino, a cartographic master who creates historical documents interpreting history by researching and drawing original maps. Domino recently used “visual vignettes” on a giclee map of Kaua’i he later donated to the county. Domino consulted with Kaua’i historians, state archaeologists and representatives from Kaua’i Museum and Bishop Museum, and presented similar giclee prints to other Neighbor Islands. Domino aims to create beauty within the context of old maps, which he says, “represent a quiet authority and grace.” Indeed! The artwork will be displayed in the atrium of the Piikoi Building of the Lihu’e Civic Center …
At a time when good old-fashioned book reading is a habit struggling to survive, it’s inspiring when people like state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, (District 14-Moanalua, Aiea, Fort Shafter, Kalihi Valley, Halawa Valley) demonstrate support of Hawaii’s public libraries. Kim was given a nod for her efforts to save the state’s libraries as the winner of the 2011 Mahalo Award. Perhaps best known for chairing the Task Force on Reinventing Government which searched for ways to eliminate government “waste” and to save money without cutting core services it’s particularly heartening that she believes libraries are essential. According to the Hawaii State Public Library System information liaison Paul H. Mark, Kim, who also donated a copy of Lou Tice‘s Personal Coaching for Results to the Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library, was instrumental in keeping the HSPLS budget intact during a time when libraries were closing and proposing furlough days as a solution were becoming part of daily rhetoric. Mahalo, Senator! …
Thank goodness the sixman paddling season is gearing up, with consistent exercise to replace the momentum of decadent holiday overindulgence. Canoe clubs such as Pu’uwai have kept a tight ship in the off-season (kane and wahine practicing twice weekly) while clubs such as Kukui’ula are starting up and recruiting new paddlers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 28, at Kukui’ula Small Boat Harbor on Lawai Road (road to Spouting Horn) in Po’ipu. The team practices every Tuesday/Thursday from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. Club dues for the year are $150. For more information, call Fran McDonald at 635-0165 or Tony Zina 635-0642, or go to KukuiulaOutrigger.com …
Hanalei Canoe Club also is recruiting more paddlers, and its annual meeting and season registration are set for Saturday, Feb 4. For more information on HCC, call 639-4048 or email info@hanaleicanoeclub.org …
