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I heard that message from the Civil Defense as well.
Wonder how many tourists listen to the Civil Defense messages?
Pahoa needs some serious, positive PR right now. Maybe HAAS can help them on the social media end?
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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MainStreet Pahoa Association is proud to announce the annual Holiday Parade on Saturday December 6 at 9:30am. The Ho'olaule'a Pahoa 2014 theme is "Pahoa, Center of the Punaverse". It promises to be one of our best parades ever.
Grand Marshall is Mayor Billy Kenoi. Hawaii Volanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando is coming with her cast of characters.
HELCO will hang the banner Monday Nov 17 at 9am at the Kauhale intersection.
Merchants throughout Pahoa are sponsoring the "Pahoa Center of the Punaverse" totes which will be available for sale along the Parade route. The proceeds will go to MainStreet Pahoa Assocation's Disaster Relief Fund to provide advertising for our business ommunity.
The parade line up will be along Ka'ohe Homestead Road and the Parade will start at Pahoa High School. Our destination is Post Office Road but if Pele comes to the Parade, we can stop where we need to.
Sacred Heart will have its annual Christmas Fair starting at 7am including a steak BBQ cooked by Puna Lions. The judging area is at First Hawaiian Bank. There will be a vendor fair in the Bank of Hawaii parking lot. Free Santa photos at Savio Realty. And that is just the start. We are adding new attractions daily.
The support from the Puna community and all over the island has been enormous. If you would like to be in the Parade or support MainStreet Pahoa Association in some other manner, please contact us at MainStreetPahoa@gmail.com.
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quote:
Originally posted by PaulW
Meanwhile on forums like TripAdvisor there are people telling tourists to stay away because it would otherwise be disrespectful to the "victims".
One of those is our very own KathyH ,known as KamaainaK on TripAdvisor.
You can read all of her posts here :
http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-forums/KamaainaK
Of special interest is this topic ,"Puna state of emergency due to lava --read if you have plans"
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There are definitely less tourists in general... it's hard to say how many have been scared off staying in Puna and how many would have been day-trippers from Hilo or Kona. I have a feeling that will dramatically change when/if there is a lava viewing area set up. Right now the only thing on the news is "crisis zone, but there is nothing you can see".
I also wonder how many locals have already moved away. It seemed like there were two different waves of people leaving. First wave was a couple weeks after the hurricane when we all learned that this lava situation was serious, and another wave of people left when it looked like the lava was gonna hit Main Street. Both times I saw plenty of trucks piled with people's belongings, but haven't seen much of that lately. Maybe they are already gone for good.
My own personal Pahoa habits have changed too. Between running errands for my work and personal, I would usually be in Pahoa 5x a week. Since the road closed, the transfer station moved, etc. I have been trying to be more mindful and consolidate my needs to 1-2x a week. I still spend the same amount of money, but I'm in town far less. Frankly, I'm saving plenty of gasoline, so maybe I should have figured out this years ago.
I'm also noticing a distinct vacancy on the shelves of some of the stores, especially Malama Market and Ace Hardware. I can completely understand them not re-ordering their regular stock, but if they continue to do so they will slowly squeeze their business out and we will all be going to Orchidland, Keaau or Hilo. I continue to support Pahoa businesses because I think it's important, but they also have to support us!
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A festival would be really cool.
The Festival Of The Permanent State Of Emergency
Every Friday Night
Maybe Saturday Night Too
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quote:
Originally posted by Obie
quote:
Originally posted by PaulW
Meanwhile on forums like TripAdvisor there are people telling tourists to stay away because it would otherwise be disrespectful to the "victims".
One of those is our very own KathyH ,known as KamaainaK on TripAdvisor.
You can read all of her posts here :
http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-forums/KamaainaK
Of special interest is this topic ,"Puna state of emergency due to lava --read if you have plans"
Oh my her posts are not good. She certainly is not helping our area out at all.
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I can't believe this. KathyH is advising tourists to avoid HPP because of the lava flow?? Does she have any idea whatsoever about anything?
Oh I see, she probably runs a rental in Hamakua and needs the money.
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Wow... that isn't good. Isn't that sort of opening oneself up for litigation issues? Why on Earth would anyone feel it necessary to take it upon themselves to do such a thing?
We ate at Black Rock tonight and asked about how business was going and the waitress said "Things were really busy until shortly after the flow slowed, then things really slowed down to almost dead. We're hoping things pick up soon because it's hurting us now."
How many thousands of people read that trip advisor?
Hopefully for someone they have a delete function.
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I couldn't understand why she advised potential visitors to avoid renting in HPP due to smoke. Her profile lists her location as Hilo, over 20 miles from HPP.
I live in Paradise Park near the ocean and have had no problem with smoke. In fact, the two times I noticed it I thought a neighbor was using their fireplace, a common occurrence down here this time of year. Then I realized it had a slightly sweet scent almost like the fragrance of new mown hay, and that it was probably from the lava fires. I found it not only subtle, but pleasant. Hopefully she will revise her comments to provide accurate information, directly from a resident of the area in question.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I just read through several of the post she made. She's misrepresenting the situation big time and obviously by looking at the potential visitors replies she's done some serious damage to not only business in Pahoa but nearly the entire area of lower Puna.
Those post are read by thousands of people.
I foresee some possible law suits headed her way. Ouch!
