As we head in to the new year, I can't help but think back on some of the events that took place in 2008...
Early on in the year, Aloha Airlines shocked the state by closing their doors for good. ATA Airlines was soon to follow, along with a couple other airlines. As the year continued on, and the stock market and wall street hit record lows since the great depression, we start seeing other companies big and small also shut their doors. There will be and always is something good to come out of all of this. Who knows what the next coming years will bring in the financial department, but there's always a positive for every negative!
In Sports, UH Manoa Alumni Colt Brennan does well as a Washington Redskin, and Maui's Shane Victorino along with the Phillies win the World Series. A spectacular opening ceremony welcomes the world to Bejing for a great Summer Olympics 2008. Michael Phelps becomes a household name swimming his way to many gold medals, and we even have a couple of Hawai`i Olympians that proudly bring home the gold too.
Political signs cluttered up the roadway for some months there, but they proved effective for candidates like Billy Kenoi who was elected as Big Island Mayor, Mufi who was re-elected as Oahu Mayor, and of course Barak Obama elected as commander and chief. Top issues on the Big Island were Coqui Frog control, waste management, Marijuana possession penalties, and traffic for West Hawai`i. The main topic for Oahu was the railway system; and what dominated the presidential election was our country's economy and the war in Iraq.
Another thing when I reflect back upon 2008 is the launch of the Hawai`i Super Ferry and all of the controversy surrounding it. On the one hand environmentalists were worried that it would harm whales and marine life, and others worried about there being more cars on the roadways followed by more thefts, crime and drugs, and will this allow invasive species to spread faster? On the other hand, there were some that were eager to use the ferry because the price of flying becoming so outrageous and they only could ask: 'when is it going to start going to the Big Island?'
There are many other events that took place, especially here on the islands that I just can't think of at the moment, but as we move forward I'm sure we'll look back and fill in the blanks.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
...until that big, golden, heat-producing orb in the sky that governs our day showed itself on Monday, giving us all a reason to get out our cameras, point them up at the mountain and start shooting away!
Beautiful Mauna Kea is made that much more breathtaking covered with tons of snow!
2009 promises to be a year full of many interesting and noteworthy events, and I need to make a promise (to myself) to keep up with and maintain this blog with entries more frequently than every 5 months. Much, much more frequently!
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