Editorials for Wednesday — August 06, 2003

• Leaving home

• Ice stats

Leaving home

Census figures released this week show Hawai‘i and California are losing residents at a quick clip.

The spiraling cost of real estate, of gasoline and the basics of life are surely behind this exodus.

Arguably, Hawai‘i and California are the two most scenic states with moderate climates in the United States. They are both known as paradises for a number of reasons including proximity to the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

What this movement out means for the futures of the two states is yet to be determined.

However, the reflection of our society in Hawai‘i shown in the census statistics does show there is a price to pay for living in paradise that many don’t want to pay.

The young generation of today may face even higher costs then we do today, even when adjusted for inflation. Will the population of the Islands decrease because of this? Will owning a home be for the few? What will happen to the ever-thinning-down middle class in Hawai‘i?

In his book “Hawaii” author James Michener wrote that there is a price to pay for living on an island, and that materially you’ll most likely never get back what you put into it, and that the cost of island living requires a sacrifice in many areas.

Michener was looking back a long ways in his proclamation about islands. His view needs to be taking into account when we are looking at today’s situation, and we need to remember that life on Kaua‘i is something special, something most only dream about, yet we get to live it out.

Ice stats

While the actual number of ice users in Hawai‘i may be much less than law enforcement officials have stated, the fact remains that crime associated with use of the destructive drug is a reality.

We as a community must continue to push on together in the fight to rid the Island of ice.