When your home is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, away from any mega-industry or major metropoleis, you’d naturally expect to have less pollution.  So, it comes as no surprise that six O’ahu communities appear in the Top 25 Places with the Cleanest Air, according to the annual survey conducted by Money Magazine (August 2008 issue).

Hawaii had more communities on the list than any other state with recognition going to Honolulu, Kane’ohe, Mililani Town, Pearl City, Waimalu & Waipahu, each with an air quality index (AQI) of 98.6%.  Air quality index is the % of days that AQI is ranked good.  They also had an average air pollution index (API) of 78.4.  The national API average is 100 (a lower score is best here).

Not too shabby for an area that is among the most populated sectors in the state.

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Source: AQI numbers from Environmental Protection Agency. Air Pollution Index is based on the incidence of airborne lead, NO2, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and ozone depletion.

Recently, O’ahu’s Diamond Head Theater was honored to be the first community theater in the United States to gain the rights to produce Les Miserables.

Auditions will be held soon for this epic musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Shönberg.  Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables will premier as the first offering of the theater’s 2008 - 2009 season in September.

Other offerings for the season include Peter Pan, Souvenir, Gypsy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Wedding Singer.  Diamond Head Theatre is the Broadway of the Pacific, producing the best live community theatre entertainment and advancing the theatre arts through education in Hawaii since 1915.

2008 - 2009 season schedule

Ticket Information

Best Life Magazine has ranked Honolulu the top city to raise a family, noting that Honolulu schools spend almost $9,000 per pupil, unemployment ranks less than half the national average, and you can play on the island of O’ahu’s 125 beaches.

 

Editor Stephen Perrine says the magazine also considered sprawl, the crime rate, median home value and the number of parks and museums in arriving at its list of the 100 best cities. Full story.

 

 

 

 

 

So many choices… Alan Wong’s in Moiliili, Chuck’s in Waikiki, or maybe Yudi’s in Manoa?  We’re talking restaurants, of course.  Such choices are made easier thanks to The Hawaii Restaurant Association’s (HRA) new web site, myalohavibe.com.  The HRA proudly announced the site’s 100th member restaurant listing today with plans for a full press launch of the site in July.  Each member restaurant is free to create an entry for their establishment and can use the free tools provided to create and maintain their page or for a fee, take advantage of professional tools for an even better look. A sort of FaceBook or MySpace for restaurants, myalohavibe.com is fast becoming a great resource for information about all kinds of dining-out in Hawaii.

Information about schools; their ranking, curriculum, sports programs, etc., tends to be some of the most important information for relocating parents.  It’s all about the keiki (children).

Honolulu Magazine is a great resource for school information and has again published an informative issue dedicated to reviewing Hawaii’s Public Schools called “Grading the Public Schools”.  In addition to the print issue which can be purchased here, the online article includes corrections and community comments.  The Honolulu Magazine Website also includes a helpful database with school by school ranking information.  

Your collection of Honolulu favorite bookmarked sites will not be complete without the Pacific Business News City Guide for Honolulu.  While targeted to business travelers, content such as top restaurants, city attractions and a section called “cocktails” contain valuable information for newcomer or kama’aina alike.  Check it out.

 

There are 12 letters in the Hawai’ian alphabet; 7 consonants (H, K, L, M, P, and W) and 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U).  For more information about the Hawai’ian language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_language.

 

Here are a few common words in Hawaiian:

 

Aloha (ah-low-ha): hello, goodbye, and love

Hale (hah-lay): House

Kane (kah-nay): man

Keiki (kay-kee): baby, child

Kokua (ko-coo-ah): help

Mahalo (ma-ha-lo): thank you    

Makai (Mah-kah-ee): to the sea

Malihini (ma-li-hee-nee): new comer

Mauka (mow-ka): to the mountains

Pali (paw-lee): steep cliffs

Pupu (pooh-pooh): appetizer, hors d’oeuvre

Pau (pow): finished, over

Wahine (wah-hee-nay): woman

The America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest multi-sector collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children and youth.   The 2008 100 Best Communities for Young People includes cities and small towns located across the United States that are wonderful places for youth to live and grow up. 

Included on this impressive list are 44 communities, including the City & County of Honolulu, that have been recognized as 100 Best Communities three times in a row.  Read more

The America’s Promise Alliance will host a two-day National Forum and Celebration to foster best practice sharing and knowledge exchange among the 100 Best winners, other interested communities and national Alliance partners.  These events are open to all communities and registration is required.  The 100 Best Communities for Young People Fall 2008 National Forum and Celebration will be held in Washington, DC, September 22 - 23, 2008.  Event details.

One of the many benefits of your new home in paradise is that Hawai’i is rabies-free.

 

If you are just starting to plan a move to the 50th State and pets are part of your plan, you will definitely need to take a moment to review the rules and regulations associated with animal quarantine.

 

Generally, pets are quarantined for 120 days, but efforts taken prior to your relocation could make your pet eligible for the “5 Days or Less” alternative. 

 

Certain animals are prohibited from living on O’ahu altogether including alligators, bulbuls, coconut crabs, electric catfishes, ferrets, gerbils, hamsters, hermit crabs, land snails. lion fishes, lories. monk parakeets, piranhas, snakes. snapping turtles and toucans.

 

Current information: www.hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info.

 

Contact the Animal Quarantine Station @ 808.483.7151, rabiesfree@hawaii.gov.