For Kailuans, more means more crime, too
It’s difficult to know how to read the recent reports of crime trends in Kailua, other than with distress.
Property crimes are up. Example: There were 271 thefts from autos for March-June 2013, with 118 cases in that period last year.
That suggests that maybe the increased tourist traffic in the town is a factor. Police are always warning visitors to Hawaii not to leave valuables in their rental cars, and that advice goes for local residents, too.
Is it the sluggish economy? And is it only a problem in Kailua, or is it that this town has a tendency to speak up more assertively than other neighborhoods?
In any case, when one of the crime victims is a veteran legislator — state Rep. Cynthia Thielen had a close encounter with a burglar at her home — the topic will remain high profile for some time.
An American icon in Ho Chi Minh City
Increasingly, Vietnamese are putting aside their pho noodle soup and dumplings for cheeseburgers and fries and other fast foods. The latest, and biggest, entrant: McDonald’s, which will open its first outlet next year in Ho Chi Minh City.
More than 130 fast-food KFCs already have entered Vietnam, along with Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut and Starbucks. Vietnamese-American Henry Nguyen is the main partner in placing McDonald’s in the capital where a U.S.-based government fell to communist troops 40 years ago.
"More than half the people here in Vietnam are under the age of 25 and I think they’re looking for a new experience," Nguyen said, adding that "international brands like McDonald’s helps meet that market demand and aspiration."
