SperlingViews - Kailua_CCD_(Hawaii_county), Hawaii

I recently spent 2 years in Kona. I fell in love with it but its no place for working class people. The housing is so expensive that they had create a 60 mile (one way)free bus system. It transports the working class from the other side of the island (Hilo) to Kona and its free. The poor(meaning working class) catch the bus in Hilo, ride one and one half hours to Kona to work the day and then ride back. This is the same system of aparthied they had in South Africa. One problem with housing is that 20 year old mainland kids will do anything to live in Kona and will work 90 hours a week for next to nothing and then pay HUGE.......I mean HUGE amounts for rent to share a crummy mother in law apartment with 6 others. Most of Hawaii is comprised of transients like me that dont stay very long. Starbucks and Walmart have really put the damper on island charm and people are downright rude. Everything reminded me of L.A. Everything is about the $ $ $. If you have a lot of money you can live with your rich snotty neihbors in a gated community, if not you can live in Hilo (which is not cheap) and commute 3 1/2 hours a day. There is no cheap place to stay on the entire west side of the island. Oh and dont forget the world class traffic jam, its called the "Kona crawl". I feel bad for so many of the Native Hawaiians who have lived there for generations and are now moving to the mainland because they cant afford Hawaii anymore.[read more...]

Since March of 2008 the Volcano, Kilauea/Mauna Loa, has been spewing out a huge amount of volcanic gases aka "VOG"... volcanic smog. This vog consists of sulfer dioxide and carbon dioxide. These gases are major contributers to acid rain and the greenhouse effect traditionally associated with combustion engines, China and Al Gore. For those who suffer from breathing disorders i.e. asthma, these volcanic gases are debilitating; many people are forced to move to less effected parts of the Big Island or even off island. Effects of these gases are burning eyes, nose, throat and lungs. The carbon dioxide is killing crops in some places in close proximity to the volcano. Some residential neighborhoods have been evacuated due to the high level of noxious volcanic gases. My recommendation: if you are traveling to the Big Island, check the vog conditions first, especially if you suffer from a breathing disorder. If you are planning on moving here, consider how much you like to breathe clean air. No one knows when the volcano's spewing of noxious gases will slow to previous, more tolerable levels; it could slow tomorrow or it could slow 50 years from now or longer.[read more...]

The one main road in Kailua-Kona, HI on the west coast of the Big Island has become way too small for the population explosion and dramatic increase in vehicles on the road in the last 7 years. The county has been widening the narrow divided highway on the eight mile stretch between Kailua-Kona and Kona International Airport into a 4-lane highway. Completion of a section of this construction should be completed by late 2008. Just south of Kailua-Kona town there is very little or no room to widen the narrow roadway. People who live in Kainaliu (96725)and south to Captain Cook are stuck in the notorious "Kainaliu Crawl." Between 3pm - 6pm weekdays, especially on a Friday (rain compounds the traffic), the divided highway is literally a southbound 1 mph parade. On a stretch of road that should take about 5 minutes to clear, it literally can take up to 35 - 45 minutes. There is no public transportation except one bus that circles the island but is limited in convenience. A secondary bypass roadway is being built by a local high-end development known a Hokulia, but has run into many legal problems for its completion. The bottomline is these roads were not built for this many vehicles, and the county was taken by surprise by the huge population explosion post September 11, 2001. Also, more attention is traditionally given to Hilo on the east side of the Big Island due to a much higher population, and Hilo is the seat of government for Hawaii county.[read more...]

Outragious - including utitilies - thru the roof![read more...]

can't beat the winter weather - other than the vog form the active volcano summer is a bit muggy.[read more...]

May be a little hot & humid in the summer, but it's never "BAD". I love the weather just miss the change of seasons after 20 years over here.[read more...]