Barbara Abe, Your Hawaii Kai Realtor

The Department of Education has approved a plan to redraw Hawaii Kai attendance boundaries to boost enrollment at Koko Head Elementary by about 150 students.  The DOE had proposed closing either Koko Head or Kamiloiki.  After public opposition to closing either of the high-performing schools, the DOE suggested redrawing the boundaries ...

After initially intending to close either Kamiloiki or Koko Head Elementary schools, the School Board has proposed to change the Hawaii Kai attendance areas in order to boost enrollment at the 2 schools.  The idea won widespread support at a public meeting of the Board of Education. The plan would redraw boundaries that determine ...

Getting Hawaii's best teachers and principals to work at the state's lowest-performing schools is a key element of the Race to the Top national contest, designed to lift student achievement.  Nearly $19 million in federal funds, a quarter of the $75 million Hawaii won, will go toward turning around the lowest-achieving schools. The ...

The Makeke o Maunalua Farmers' Market has a new name, but its mission remains to serve as the weekly community social for East Oahu residents to support local farmers.  Opened a month ago in the parking lot of Kaiser High, it is now called the Hawaii Kai Farmers Market and has a definite community focus.In addition to fruits and ...

Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder and Kahala resident and philanthropist, is planning to launch a local online news service, focused on public interest and civic issues affecting Hawaii's communities. The venture, scheduled to go live early next year, will present original, in-depth reporting and analysis of local issues in Hawaii.  The news ...

With the City Council's passage Tuesday of Bill 09-51, owners of property on O'ahu who don't live on their land — including most residential and commercial landlords — are probably in for some major tax hikes. Those increases, the critics say, will be passed on to everyone. Deputy Budget Director Mark Oto said it's ...

About a dozen farmers lease 87 acres of ag land from Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate in the back of the Kamilo Nui Valley.   The valley is the largest and last parcel of open, undeveloped land in east Honolulu, and the lush productive region also serves as a watershed area to control flood waters coming down the valley to ...

You've read in my blogs previously about the strong opposition in Hawaii Kai to the shark tours proposed earlier this year in Maunalua Bay.  After hearings around the island, with many residents opposed to any shark tours anywhere, the Honolulu City Council introduced a bill to ban shark tour operations.  Bill 67 calls for ...

While the city says it is installing 179 new street lights to replace 59 lights along Lunalilo Home Road, both to upgrade an aging street lighting system, as well as for safety reasons, the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board has asked that the project be halted until officials could explain why so many lights are needed. Collins Lam, deputy director ...

As the economy continues in the doldrums, the number of pets being turned over to pet shelters statewide is rising to the point of serious proportions.  Many of the 30 no-kill shelfters are full and still receiving requests to accept pets.  If a family is having hard times feeding itself or making its mortgage payments, they will be ...