The University of Hawaii’s seven community colleges have experienced a large swell in enrollment. Close to 29,000 students have enrolled this fall at all of Hawaii’s community colleges combined. A nine percent increase from last year’s enrollment has been recorded, with four of the seven reporting record enrollment. Big Island’s Hawai’i Community College and O’ahu’s Leeward Community College experienced a record 14% increases. Kapi’olani and Maui Community Colleges have recorded their highest enrollment on record thus far.

 University of Hawaii’s Vice-President John Morton, claims the increase is due partly to the schools efforts to add more classes and a very concerted effort to heighten their marketing of the schools. In the past Hawai’i community colleges had financial issues with adding classes, as they were losing money even if those classes were filled. But ever since the legislature started to provide extra funding for the community colleges to add classes so that they could meet the demand, they went ahead and stepped up their marketing campaign. Last year they were given $1.3 million dollars and an additional $2.4 million dollars was allotted for this year. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, nationally, two-year schools enroll practically half of the nation’s undergraduates.

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

The Kapolei Summer Sunset Festival begins today and will run through Sunday, September the 7th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is being held at the Kapolei Regional Park. This event is FREE and is being sponsored by the American Youth Soccer Organization’s Leeward Region. Music groups from Amakua Records will be on hand to please the multitudes. In addition there will be a Keiki Village, several other acts and many attractions for adolescents. Movies are being shown both nights on a 40-foot high inflatable screen after the sun sets. There will also be several vendors there selling many types of foods.

 Also of interest is a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit that is going on now through October 18th at the Kapolei Public Library. This exhibit examines the connection between Americans and the food they produce, prepare, preserve and present. There will also be demonstrations by Kapolei High School Culinary Arts students as well as the lecture called, "Tips on Buying Hawai’i Produce" by Terry Phillips of Aloun Farms on September 9th at 7:00 p.m.

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

During lunchtime on Thursday, September 4th the Kapolei Chamber of Commerce and the West O’Ahu Economic Development Association is set to host the city of Honolulu’s very first forum with all three of the top Mayoral Candidates. It will be held at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu. This forum will feature current Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Councilmember Ann Kobayashi as well as Dr. Panos Prevedouros.  Seating is limited for this very exciting forum so please sign up as soon as possible at Kapolei’s Chamber of Commerce website.

On another community note: Traffic on Kalaeloa Boulevard is now being re-routed onto the temporary lanes. Left turns are NO LONGER allowed from Kalaeloa Boulevard onto Kapolei Parkway heading into Kapolei town. The no-left-turn condition only affects traffic headed to Kapolei town. 
Kalaeloa Boulevard is still open. Motorists headed to places along Kamokila Boulevard need to find alternate routes through Farrington Highway and other exits. The no left-turn condition is being used to keep traffic flowing on Kalaeloa Boulevard, and to minimize any impact for the drive in and out of Campbell Industrial Park. You may still make left turns from Kapolei Parkway onto Kalaeloa.

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

Kapolei Property Development, LLC, an affilliate of James Campbell Company, LLC, is by far the biggest developer in the city of Kapolei, Hawaii. They are responsible for so much of the growth in the area that has resulted in massive job creation and positive economic activity for the region. Now they have decided to give back to the community by donating a total of $190,000 to nine public schools in West O’Ahu and on the Leeward Coast.

 The breakdown is as follows: Kapolei’s High School’s Ho’Ola Leadership Academy received $40,000.They are Hawaii’s first academy using traditional Hawaiian cultural practices to assist students reach all of their academic goals. The balance was awarded to these schools to sustain their technology needs:

• Kapolei High School $30,000
• Kapolei Middle School $30,000
• Kapolei Elementary School $15,000
• Barbers Point Elementary School $15,000
• Makakilo Elementary School $15,000
• Mauka Lani Elementary School $15,000
• Campbell High School $10,000
• Nanakuli High School and Intermediate School $10,000
•  Wai’anae High School $10,000

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

University of Hawaii is gladly accepting the $60 million dollars that Governer Linda Lingle released  to them yesterday, and already has repair and upgrade plans in place. Most of the work across all of the campuses consists of electrical repairs, mechanical repairs and other restoration projects, such as re-roofing.

The work on all of these campus projects will begin no later than June 2009. UH-Hilo will receive $4.1 million dollars for renovations and the U.H. Community Colleges along with the UH-West O’ahu campus will receive a combined total of $12.2 million dollars for various maintenance projects and renovations. $1.5 million dollars is going towards health and safety designs for all of these sites. The University of Hawaii-Manoa Campus will be home to the largest projects, due to the fire that occurred in October 2007 which caused so much damage to the school. It will receive $41.7 million for their plans, designs and improvements. About $3.6 million of these dollars will go to eight re-roofing projects, which is probably their biggest priority. Happily, the campus will also be spending $9.2 million dollars to replace and upgrade six air-conditioning systems, which will be responsible for huge energy savings.

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate contact John Riggins.

First and foremost, you should know that the first phase of construction to widen Kalaeloa Boulevard is making great headway. Temporary lanes on each side are being completed for your use at this time. During this week of August 25th, workers are doing their best to keep all four lanes open, but there is the possibility that lanes may be closed for a short period of time to finish paving said temporary lanes.

Please note that sometime after August 29th ALL traffic will be directed onto the temporary lanes. During this time, left turns will be prohibited from Kalaeloa Boulevard makai-bound onto Kapolei Parkway. This affects drivers headed to Kapolei and places along Kamokila Boulevard. If this is you, please find alternate routes. If you are headed to Kapolei from Honolulu on H-1, instead of using the Campbell Industrial Park Exit, you should continue on Farrington Highway along the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park or take the Makakilo Interchange Exit. If you are headed to Kapolei from the Waianae direction on H-1 and usually use the Campbell Industrial Park Exit, please take the next exit, which is Exit 1B. This will take you to the intersection by the Kapolei Police Station.

For more information about Kapolei Real Estate contact John Riggins.

Fresh produce and fresh seafood is not the only thing you will find on a Sunday morning if you happen to visit the "People’s Open Market"  at Kapolei Community Park at 91-1049 Kamaaha Loop between 7:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. You will find a plethora of fresh herbs such as mint and watercress. Also available are stunning fresh cut flowers, heavenly freshly baked breads, beautiful fresh produce such as papayas, tomatoes and green onions, to name a few. The most fun of this market is seeing the amazing array of ethnic fruits and vegetables that are simply not available in big retail supermarkets in the area. What is so nice about buying here is that if there is a fruit or vegetable that you are not familiar with, the vendors are more than happy to discuss with you all of the ways to prepare and cook them.

Prices at People’s Open Market are commonly 35% lower than retail stores. If you have not experienced this wonderful market, come out and support your local farmers and fishermen by purchasing their produce and goods. You will save money and enjoy socializing with Kapolei residents too.

 For more information about Kapolei Area Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

Honolulu’s Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International that utilizes local resources, comprised of volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of materials and money. The intent is to build quality houses for low-income families right here in Hawaii who would not have the opportunity to own a home without this help. Habitat Homes are sold to partnering families for around $85,000 with zero profit. The families pay them off with small monthly payments that cover insurance, taxes and the mortgage over a twenty-year period. This money is put into a revolving fund which is used to start construction for more homes. HHH has built 61 homes for families in need since the organization’s inception in 1998.

Many of HHH volunteers have found the experience so rewarding that they come back to help year after year. Families that have been chosen to receive a home are required to add a little bit of "sweat equity" of their own. They must spend at least 250 hours working to help build other Habitat Homes prior to working at least 250 hours on the construction of their own house. On August 23rd, Honolulu’s Habitat for Humanity is hosting a "Build-A-Thon", where volunteers will gather pledges to sponsor their work at a home-building site.

For more information about Kapolei Area Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

The Malama Learning Center WOW (’Without Walls’) is hosting an "Edible Gardening" workshop on Saturday, August 9th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Kapolei High School. It is being held for both residents of West O’Ahu and K-12 teachers. This class has been crafted for weekend gardeners as well as K-12 teachers to teach people how to select edible plants for your garden and how to start growing them. Also being taught are ways to create healthy soil, as well as hands-on training transplanting seedlings. The teacher will also expand on his knowledge of how to control garden pests the safe, non-toxic way.

 The workshop is being taught by Anthony M. Ortiz. Mr. Ortiz has earned a B.S. in Agronomy and Soil Sciences, a M.S. in Plant Pathology, and is a U.H. CTAHR Board of Alumni Member. He is also a Resource Management Teacher and even has experience with his own family and their farm. All of your gardening questions will be answered here, and you will also receive an information booklet as well as an edible plant to take home for your very own backyard. The Malama Learning Center’s mission is to provide people with a knowledge of how to grow their own food and to help them make the connection that this has to their health, the environment and the history and culture of food and the land. Wow!

For more information about Kapolei Area Real Estate please contact John Riggins.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has donated $150,000 to Hawaii Maoli (a non-profit organization that facilitates cultural and educational grants) to help with the construction of a brand new Community Center in Kapolei. The Community Center will be named ‘The Prince Kuhio Community Center’ and will be located on a 24,000-square foot piece of land that will be leased by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The office building section will contain the offices of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, The Prince Kuhio Federal Credit Union, Hawaii Maoli and other community organizations.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has also been awarded the 2008 Conservation Innovation Award from the Hawai’i Conservation Alliance for its acquisition of the Waimea Valley ahupua’a on Oahu and the Wao Kele o Puna Rainforest on Hawaiian Island. OHA’s mission is to support the Native Hawaiian cultural value of caring for the aina. Keep up the good work!

For more information about Kapolei Area Real Estate please contact John Riggins.