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As if the cost of living in Hawaii wasn’t high enough, the cost of feeding many parking meters on Oahu streets is doubling, from 75 cents an hour to $1.50 (and from $1.50 to $3 in Waikiki and the urban core). If you park at the Honolulu Zoo or Kapiolani Park, or in off-street city parking lots, the rates are unchanged.
What’s a poor driver to do? You can take TheBus, although there are plans to raise those fares, too. You can buy an electric car — those park for free. Or you can just get a mountain of quarters (or a credit card for the newer smart meters) and adjust your budget accordingly. But be careful. A quarter here, a quarter there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money — which, from the city’s perspective, is the whole point.
Teaching children to be global citizens
It’s heartening to hear of Maryknoll School expanding its high-demand Chinese Immersion Program to five more grade levels. The private school already offers the program to kindergartners and first-graders — there’s a waiting list — and now thanks to alumnus Douglas Ho’s $225,000 donation, the program will grow.
This is a visionary way to help youngsters become global citizens, by becoming bilingual at an early age; kids’ brains are like sponges, so being immersed in languages early makes for easier absorption. And with more Chinese visitors coming to Hawaii — as well as China’s ascent in world affairs — speaking Mandarin and understanding the culture will position these kids well for the decades ahead.