Kapolei is Booming!
If you haven’t noticed, Oahu’s “second city” of Kapolei is booming! Consider the numbers. Homes is Kapolei in 1990 – 11,722. Homes in Kapolei projected in 2025 – 56,710. Kapolei’s population in 1990 – 42,983. Kapolei’s projected population in 2025 – 172,000.
The numbers speak for themselves. But if you’ve gone to Kapolei in the past couple of years, you can see the development. This past year, Costco opened their Kapolei store. And right on their heels was the opening of Kapolei Commons with Target, Petco, Sports Authority, Office Max, Ross, Price Busters and many more. There’s further retail development planned for Kapolei to add to the existing retailers such as Long’s, Safeway, Home Depot, Consolidated Theaters and many more. Plus, there are all the eateries such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Zippy’s and a host of others. There’s even more retail development planned with two more shopping centers to break ground soon.
All this with the planned completion of the Disney Resort in Ko Olina and the opening of the Kapolei Court Complex in 2010. Yes, Kapolei is definitely taking steps to become Oahu’s second city. Even my company, Liberty Mutual, has been eyeing spots to open an office. In the meantime, we’ve been doing a lot of business in Kapolei through our nearby Pearlridge office.
It’s exciting to see how Kapolei has developed, and even more thrilling to think of where the city is going.
Texting and Driving
A couple of weeks ago, Liberty Mutual released some new tips on safe driving. Each tip was accompanied by a short video clip. Check out the link above to view the video.
Hawaii recently passed a law that prohibits using a cell phone or similar devices while driving. When the law was passed, I saw some interviews on the news asking for the publics’ opinion. Before the law was passed, I would occasionally use my cell phone while driving. And I admit, it was difficult driving and dialing a number at the same time! I couldn’t believe that some younger drivers could drive and text at the same time. But then I saw another interview where the texter could text quickly and accurately, without even looking at her phone! I made me realize that you could text and drive if you’re good at texting. Still, as the video shows, even a moment’s distraction can be dangerous.
Viva Las Vegas!
I visited Las Vegas again from 09/18/09 to 09/21/09. It was a quick visit mainly to check out the UNLV vs Hawaii football game. There were 10 of us from Hawaii who went up. We met with a friend who lives in Las Vegas and another friend who drove up from San Diego.
Although we went up to watch the game, there was plenty of time to gamble and shop as well! I left Hawaii on Friday afternoon with a friend. We arrived late Friday night and met up with everyone at the California Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. We stayed in downtown all night (actually early morning). I did well gambling wise, so it was a good start to my vacation.
On Saturday, we did a little shopping during the day. We went to buy beef jerky from a shop in downtown Las Vegas. We also made a Trader Joe’s run and bought some other stuff to bring home. We all met at the California Hotel for a tailgate party before the game. We had Hawaiian food and Hawaiian entertainment, then caught the bus to the game. It was a great game. Hawaii had their chances to win, but ended up losing by 1 point. Oh well, at least they made the spread! I put some money on Hawaii, so I was already up headed back to the casinos. We ended up going to the Orleans Hotel after the game. We gambled a bit, but we went back to our hotel around 3:00 am because we were pretty tired.
On Sunday, we did some major shopping during the day. We visited a couple of outlet malls. I bought some gifts for my daughters. I bet with my friend who lives in Vegas on the Rams vs Redskins game. I’m a Rams fan, but I didn’t have high hopes. Unexpectedly, the Rams made the spread and I won dinner from my friend. We ended up at the Red Rock Casino, which is a newer casino in northeast Vegas. Although the dinner was free, the gambling was a losing proposition. I ended up losing all the money I made in the first two nights.
I can’t complain, though. It was a quick, fun vacation. I broke even gambling. I got my fill of shopping. The only thing that would have made the vacation perfect was if the Warriors won the football game.
