Source: Maui Time, Maui News, Best of Maui, Maui Activities

Plugs%20and%20Slugs

by Jacob Shafer

October 29, 2009

[Plug] To Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar, for giving Hawaii a much-needed windfall. This week, Omidyar, who attended middle school on Oahu and lives there with his wife Pam, donated $50 million to the Hawaii Community Foundation, an organization that provides grants to local nonprofits. Of course, massive acts of philanthropy come a little easier when you’re number 40 on Forbes’ list of the richest people on Earth, but generosity is generosity—and we could use more of it.

[Plug] To the American Red Cross, for lending a helping hand to Mauians in need. After a Kihei house fire left six people homeless earlier this week, the Red Cross stepped in, providing food, temporary housing and other necessities. A secondary plug to the firefighters who contained the blaze, and maybe a tertiary plug for you, if you visit hawaiiredcross.org and pitch in.

[Plug] To Eha’s Pool Bar, for using rock to raise funds. With the help of sundry local musicians including Bad Kitty, Erin Smith and Mojomana, the Kahului watering hole pulled in $1,300 for breast cancer research during a weekend-spanning event earlier this month. For those scoffing at the relatively modest total: first, every bit helps; second, when was the last time you heard of a dive bar (and we use that term in the most affectionate sense possible) doing something altruistic?

[Slug] To Hawaii diners, for being bad tippers. According to the results of a recent Zagat survey, Hawaii ranked at the bottom of the heap nationwide, with an average gratuity of 18.4 percent. (The best tipping spots topped out at 19.6 percent, so the disparity wasn’t too extreme, though anyone who’s ever carried trays knows that extra 1.4 percent makes a difference.) It’s possible some of the blame can be assigned to stingy visitors; Zagat doesn’t specifically say it polled only residents. But odds are we all played a part. What this really means is that Hawaii’s number one in another category: pissed off servers.