Boating in Hawaii oddly negligible

Water, water all around us, yet Hawaii ranks at the very bottom among the 50 states in terms of the economic value of recreational boating.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association revealed last week that recreational boating nationwide had a total economic impact in 2012 of more than $121 billion, covering 12.2 million recreational boats, 34,833 related businesses and almost a million related jobs.

Hawaii’s contribution to this was a minuscule $210.6 million, covering 15,100 recreational boats, 226 related businesses and 1,738 related jobs.

The top five states were Florida, at $10.3 billion; California, $8.9 billion; Michigan, $7.4 billion; Texas, $5.9 billion; and New York, $5.7 billion.

Illinois, where the association is based, ranked ninth, at $3.9 billion.

Maybe we could use a few more lakes and reservoirs?

Remember when DVDs dominated?

The August closure of the popular Kahala Blockbuster store, one of 300 going out of business across the country, is yet another reminder that more and more people prefer the online and ship-by-mail modes of video delivery.

But the parade of DVD diehards through the store’s liquidation sale proves there must still be a demand for those old discs in clamshell cases.

Still, the discussion about the endangered DVD species has been going on for years, so the future looks bleak. At best, we’re likely to end up with just a few brick-and-mortar stores for the more old-school among us. Let’s hope that the used-books emporia and the old record stores will make space on their shelves for Hollywood’s finest.