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Plugs & Slugs

October 01, 2009

[Plug] To Aloha Recycling for adding glossy paper to the list of items they accept. The family-owned Kahului facility is the only one in the county (and one of a few in the state) that takes magazines, brochures and the like. (Note: For folks on other parts of the island who don’t want to make the trek to Kahului, Maui Recycling Service offers curbside pickup and will drop-off at Aloha.)

[Plug] To Keola Donaghy for preserving the Hawaiian language, with a 21st century twist. Donaghy, a professor of Hawaiian studies at UH Hilo, dedicated more than 100 hours to translating Google search terms into Hawaiian, part of the search engine’s “Google in Your Language” program and received an Innovation Award from the governor.

[Slug] To Safeway for not staffing enough checkers. While most of its on-island rivals keep things flowing, even in this slow economy the grocery giant is notorious for empty, cordoned-off registers and long lines snaking into the aisles. (This is something we’ve gotten numerous reader complaints about, to add to our own experience.) Perhaps the hardest hit are the checkers themselves, who are overworked and forced to unfairly endure the wrath of impatient customers.

[Plug] To Hard Rock Cafe for aiding in the fight against breast cancer. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hard Rock’s “Pinktober” benefit, held in conjunction with breast cancer awareness month. This year, the Lahaina location will host reggae collective Natural Vibrations and auction off a signed Ziggy Marley guitar on October 21, with proceeds going to the Pacific Cancer Foundation. Feelings about corporate restaurant chains aside, anyone who’s lost a loved one to breast cancer (or survived it themselves) will understand the importance of this effort.