But it’s like Aloha Airlines, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that one of the 3 local airline carriers went out of business. They’ve said before there were the 3 and up until the bankruptcy of Aloha that Hawaii could not support 3 carriers. But people went after the cheap (Go!) and forwent a company who was truly a part of this community and gave to its community. And then people got all sad and stunned when Aloha’s final demise came.

You can say the same thing for a lot of local restaurants that have been shutting down over the years. They’re losing business to Chili’s, Mac Grill, CPK, etc. and while they are creating jobs, the bulk of the money is not being put back into Hawaii. But employment is always the thing that makes stuff look okay. Sure you’re employing 10, 20, even 100 people, but what other re-investments back into Hawaii are being done. Cause you’re still taking more than you’re putting back.

Look at UH sports, Flamingo, Columbia Inn, KC Drive Inn, Aloha Airlines, etc. all gave to the school. Do the big box boys or the “mainland” companies? How about to our local charities? Event sponsorships?

All, I’m saying is that patronizing non-local affects the overall economics of a community. Individually it can look good, but in the big picture it’s not the same.

Though being a bounty hunter for the devil sounds WAY cooler than being the CIA/NSA “Intersect”/Whipping Boy (and becomes expendible when the Intersect is put back in a computer), it sounds a little better to work with Sarah Walker than it does working with guys named Sam, Sock, Ben and the Devil.

Follows the adventures of Sam Oliver, a young slacker that has to serve as a bounty hunter for the devil, capturing escaped souls. Sam, Sock and Ben work at the Work Bench (ala Home Depot).

Money leaving the state is something else… I think it has to be balanced with the jobs that Big Boxes create… tho perhaps, initially, management level jobs are reserved for “outsiders”…

I suppose that’s somewhat anti-Republican, but I am a huge advocate of Big Box stores since I need to “Buy More” (OK, who gets that reference to my favorite Monday night show?) for the home…

The contridiction is that some mom and pops actually do have better deals on certain items than Big Boxes… and may carry things that Big Boxes do not offer… Niche Marketing… Just need to figure out the niche.

Not that I’m not prone to shopping at the large national retailers myself, but more big box means less mon ‘n pops. More money leaving the state and less money reinvested in to the community.

Yeah, I think the Waipio gas area has more space and two ways to get to the pumps. Also, though the Iwilei station is designed rather poorly for high volume… who would have thought the price difference would be so much… $0.65/gal!!! What happens to the line at McDonald’s when they have new mini beenie babies?

I agree that when people are in a rush or have been made to wait for a long time for something that should have taken a few minutes… their IQs drop by 50%, their tact drop by 35% and their patience drop by about 75%.

Waipio Costco, man… 6:30am. I think the answer is to move Waipio with Doctor Keith… who, it just occurs to me… no one reading this blog knows…