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Aunty’s too many tansus solution

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Pal Cookie is currently on tansu hunting missions whenever she goes to Japan.  And she goes to Japan a lot.  Aunty understands this behavior because she is guilty and vulnerable of buying tansus at the collectible shows here as well as at Robyn Buntin Gallery‘s annual 40% off sales.

A couple of years ago, Aunty decided to bring all of her wooden treasures out and display them together as a collection.  It was a wonderful creative and workable transformation of a blah wall.

BUT, at the last March Wiki Wiki show, Aunty found and had to have 3 more little tansus, without enough room on her shelves.  Her existing layout of tansus spanned 60″ over 2 short bookcases that were bought at City Mill, and the new tansus weren’t going to fit without awkward stacking, finding and purchasing perfect sized new bookcases, or major elimination of existing wonderful tansus.  After careful measuring and juxtaposing new with old, Aunty needed a 67″ base on which to add her new tansus to her old over the existing pair of bookcases.

Alex, Aunty, and Gary

The Solution

Min Plastics to the rescue!  Aunty has used Min Plastics in the past, for furniture toppers to protect wood surfaces such as dining tables or as connective “bridges” between desk and shelves with great success, so Aunty called in the order to Alex and picked it up the next day from Gary.  (808) 847-1511.

Aunty ordered a 67″ x 12″ x 3/8″ clear piece with rounded corners, flame polish.  This is quite thick, almost invisible, and pure functional perfection.

The staff there is really helpful and nice, even when Aunty later placed a dinky order of a couple of smaller table toppers in the 1/100″ thickness, with slightly rounded corners and sanded.  City Mill has this type of sheet plexiglass and can also cut, but Min Plastic has a wider selection of sizes and the price difference is only slightly higher with better attention to detail.

The result makes Aunty very happy.  So happy, that maybe Aunty will stop buying little tansus.

Maybe.

On Financial Advisors, CFP

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Because of the original nature of this website, Aunty has been asked if she is a financial planner or advisor.  Nyet, no, negative.  No license, and no desire to take control of other people’s money.  We have been propositioned by a few bonafide financial planners to control our money, but so far none of them has been in alignment with our goals, needs or plans.

Naks with smarts

Aunty has a good friend Naks (pronounced knocks, short for Nakayama) who is one of the smartest people I know because whenever we get together to talk and we differ, he always says, “You right!”

LOL, it’s not that Aunty is right.  It is that Naks has the ability to avoid useless conflict whether he agrees with the speaker, or not, and that is what makes him wisely smart.

Last week, Naks called to say hello and we began talking about his new retired lifestyle.  He is actually in pretty good shape financially, with more than enough to live on, and retirement funds that he was thinking of juggling around.  Enter into the picture – a financial advisor, CFP.

Group participation, please

Please comment below if you have a financial advisor and what you think of them, how they have done, etc. because this is a relatively uncharted area for Aunty.

The following comments are only Aunty’s opinion of CFPs.

A few years ago, a couple of CFPs came to Uncle and Aunty representing an annuity firm.  Annuities sound wonderful.  You give them your thousands of dollars forever, and you get paid a decent return, forever.  Usually it is 5%, sometimes 6%, sometimes even 8%.  Some have set rates, some have fluctuating rates – anywhere from 0-13% depending on the market.

Aunty was not interested.  The reason was that these bright good looking young men acted like they knew everything and were on top of the world with their very nice cars and homes in the best areas along the California shoreline.  They were making and spending a lot of money on doodads.

Proof is in their own spin

They brought along charts that showed what the return could compound to and how wealthy we would be in 10, 20, 30 years from now.  More charts that showed how much could be drawn out and still have the assets multiply.  Their commissions, they said, were reasonable and up front.  Results were guaranteed.  Nothing was as safe as annuities.  What they didn’t say, but they did flash was that other people’s annuities bought them their BMWs and ocean front houses.

A hidden plan for a sale

At another financial seminar that hyped about taking care of retirement needs, we filled out a questionnaire about our current financial picture and listened to an interesting presentation of what retirement life might be based on social security, income, needs, choices.  Most people were in good shape, and all would be hunky dory, until our health begins to fail.

Thus, the second half of the presentation focused on insurance.  Do you have enough for this, or that, and what if you get sick, disabled, or need help?  Insurance is something you need to have in place BEFORE you need it, so the push was on to buy it today, or else….

The biggest pitch was for Long Term Care Disability Insurance, and Uncle and I bought into it.  It was rather expensive and set to go up as we got older, but it irked me.  It felt like reverse gambling – insuring that you would have your bets covered if you hit craps, but you weren’t even throwing any dice yet.  And, if you never needed it, you “lost” all of those premiums to the insurance company and agent.  After 2 years of paying thousands of dollars, with potential increases as we got older, we terminated our plan and saved money.

*Update:  Aunty has recently purchased a hybrid type long term care insurance with a death benefit from Jason Wong of Shiraishi Financial Services.  It took a LONG time to decide after several meetings and potential policies, and different schedules, costs, etc.  The one that Aunty decided on had HIGH monthly premiums for 10 years, without increases, and then after 10 years, NO premiums are due.  This policy will cost $150,000  in total but will payout $300,000 worth of long term care.  If Aunty passes without using any of the long term care benefits, $300,000 will be paid out to beneficiaries, so double the payout of what was paid in.  Aunty feels a great financial burden has been lifted from her family’s shoulders if she should become incapacitated in the future.   Using a C Corporation has made it even sweeter because premiums are an expense that can be deducted.  (C Corp post coming – one of these days.)

Everything has a spin

Years ago, we had put our retirement funds in mutual funds through our bank of choice.  We chose our own funds based on past performance.  Of course Aunty picked the most aggressive, Uncle chose a bit more conservatively.  20 years later, Aunty’s and Uncle’s portfolios were in sad shape, yet those mutual funds still had good looking historical yields!

The stock market crash of 2008 had not yet occurred, and luckily, we closed out the funds and transferred our sad retirement accounts into self directed vehicles before the crash.

Who is making money?

The answer to that question should be YOU.

A certified financial planner has to be licensed to take care of your money.  To receive their license, they must go through courses, college, apprenticeship.  They become the experts, the specialists, the qualified salespersons.  Many of them are good (Aunty plays poker with one of them), some are not so good.

Sometimes they make good returns for you, sometimes they do not.  Sometimes you might even be losing money.  In any case, good or not so good, they are making money.

Hidden fees

Whenever something is bought or sold, a commission is collected from the client.  Mutual funds, load or no-load, seem to be one of the favorite investment choices for financial advisors.  That, or a basket of this and a basket of that.  Quite a lot of choices, all with layers of unseen fees and many hands that get paid.  The breakdown of those payments is not easily determined, and most people don’t even bother to ask about them.

Real estate is not in their vocabulary

Actually, one of the biggest reasons that we do not use a financial planner is because they do not have cash flowing real estate properties in their arsenal.  It is out of their scope, and there are no commissions or fees for them to generate from your acquiring real estate, unless they are also real estate professionals that are agents or property managers.

You make their world go round

In a perfect world, when you trust someone (a financial planner) with your life savings or retirement accounts, you should get exactly what you were told that you would get.  They make money because YOU made money.  If they lose your money, then they should be paying you back.

The problem is, we do not live in a perfect world.  There are no guarantees.  Past performance does not necessarily predict future performance.  Most people are looking out for themselves, and not for you.

Who loves ya, Baby?

Remember that line, spoken often by Telly Savalas as Kojak?

If you feel inclined to go the route of having a financial planner and buying into whatever they have to offer, then please make sure that they care about you.  You want someone who loves ya, baby.  Or at least someone who is ready to sit down and listen to what you have to say, understand exactly what you want, and then design an individual plan to get you there.

If you get the slightest inkling that they are looking at plans for you that will benefit them the most, then get yourself out of their office and find someone else.

To each, their own

Naks, in his capacity to trust and believe, is vulnerable to vultures, but so far has been safe.  He has hired a financial planner to manage his portfolio made up of stocks and funds.  He seems to be doing okay.

Perhaps Aunty’s previous encounters and dealings with financial planners were not the norm, and Aunty is too jaded.  Aunty really hopes that Naks has found someone who is caring and capable of managing his retirement funds well so that he can have an even better retirement for as long as he chooses.

Aunty’s favorite investment vehicle is rental real estate.  Naks’ choice is for something on autopilot and no stress.  The main thing is that everybody is able to live happily ever after, right?

“You right!”

Thank you, Mr. Nakayama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aunty and Monsters

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Hoolulu Street behind Zippy’s Kapahulu

Monster houses have been popping up on the island of Oahu in neighborhoods that normally have single family dwellings with yards and frontages allowing for parking of their inhabitants.

Granted, Kaimuki isn’t a ritzy area.  It is spotted with some derelict houses amongst nice old houses and a few new big houses that don’t always fit in, BUT, 10 – 20 bedroom houses are being built on average sized lots that are zoned for single family dwellings, passing the permitting process with unusual speed.  These “homes” do not have enough parking (wasn’t there a requirement of 1 parking available per bedroom?), some are 3 stories (what happened to the height restrictions?) and they take up the entire lot without setbacks (aren’t there 10′ setbacks for front and back and 5′ setbacks per side?)

Aunty’s beloved Palolo Valley has fallen victim.  Wilhelmina Rise, with its already horrible lack of parking has a community up in arms, but the building goes on.

A recent KITV news report highlighted one project on Houghtailing Street with 29 (!) bedrooms and 17 (!) bathrooms that has been permitted as a 2 family unit.  The same contractor is building another one on Kalihi Street – a 6 (!) story home with 20 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms.  The parking situation on those streets will definitely cause problems.  These look and act like apartment buildings.

Regardless, these “homes” have NOT been in violation of building codes – until a City and County moratorium was passed this February with the Mayor signing off in March.  This is a temporary halt with rough edges until the new building code laws are changed sometime this year.

Currently, our State legislators are pushing through a bill to make lying to county inspectors a crime, to strengthen the enforcement side of illegal building and/or use.

A question to determine our future

Thomas Bena produced a documentary, “One Big Home”. about monster homes that started popping up on Martha’s Vineyard, in Chilmark – a rather laid back township, sort of like Kauai.  Some of those monster homes had 66,000 sq ft of building!  Aunty went to see a free showing of it since Thomas was in town.

Kristin Andres, a reviewer, asked this question, “What is it we value about our town, our community, and what is our responsibility in protecting it?”

Aunty feels that this is a question that everyone who loves our island should think about and answer.

You can also share it in a comment below.  Aunty’s answer of value is growing up in a neighborhood that is safe and friendly.  Having mangoes handed over from neighbors that call me “Aunty.”  It does not include being invaded by monsters and an over growth of buildings changing our skylines, horizon, and density.

Share your answers with your elected officials.  Let your voice be heard, and in doing so, you are doing your bit to protect our island lifestyle that is getting more fragile with every pour of concrete and uninhibited change.

 

 

What to do for a cold

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Aunty rarely gets sick.  It could be because she reaches for Congaplex by Standard Process Labs at the first hint of a sore throat, sniffles, or being around others who are sick.

However, this time, with no Congaplex in sight, this cold that started as a slight sore throat became a cough with a fatigued body.  Yuck!

*Update alert!  Ever hear of the hydrogen peroxide trick?  3 drops in your ear, for 10 minutes.  It cackles and crunches in the ear.  Then, remove with a qtip.  Supposedly works 80% of the time to kick out beginning colds and flu!

So Aunty is staying home (couldn’t testify about Monster Houses today, boohoo) and away from air conditioning and drinking lots of warm liquids.  Here is what Aunty is doing, and feeling better.

Oil of Oregano

Oil of Oregano was recommended by Jini of ListentoYourGut.com.  This stuff can burn the lips, so it is important to do as instructed – load up dropperful, tilt back head, insert into open mouth and squirt in.  Close mouth and swallow.  Let this sit in the throat.  It WILL be hot but manageable.  Then, drink water.  Oil of Oregano absolutely kills any bacterial infection and works very well for flu/strep throat and sinus issues.

Stop Eating

There was a saying, “Feed a cold, starve a fever” but Aunty believes in not eating when sick.  Perhaps a little bit of rice and chicken noodle soup.  A bit of crackers.  Nothing greasy or sugary.  By doing this, the digestive system of your body gets a break and you also stay out of the kitchen and stop spreading germs.

Drinking liquids

Years ago, Dr. Bernard Jensen (renown iridologist) taught us about a drink for fasting or while sick.

Maple syrup, 1-2 TSP

Fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste

Dash of cayenne pepper

Hot water

This is actually very delicious and has enough calories to give you energy.   Aunty made a big bottle of it and took it to class yesterday.

Vicks Vapor Rub and Air Detox

Peppermint and eucalyptus oils have such wonderful smell, and Aunty rubbed Vicks Vapor Rub on her chest and sprayed a paper towel with Dr. Schulze’s Air Detox.  This paper towel is very handy to breathe through as well as use to wipe off common areas of exposure such as door knobs and handles.

Tapping

Something new that Aunty tried, with skepticism is “tapping“.  Here is a video explaining the process of boosting your immune system (so you get well).  It was quite revealing to Aunty – and by golly, it works!  Take a number reading, from 1-10 of how bad you are feeling before, then after.

Load up on vitamins and good stuff

We all know that vitamin C is good for colds, so drink a lot of orange juice or take supplements.  B12 patches also help to give you energy and help you heal faster.  Green tea, clothing that keeps you warm but not hot, socks, and

REST!

Take it easy.  Allow your body to heal itself by not doing what you don’t have to do.  Pamper yourself and you will soon be well.

SLEEP….

This is probably one of the most important tips when sick.  When we sleep at night, the body’s immune system kicks in and the healing begins.

Unfortunately, it is very hard to sleep when battling a cold that keeps us up at night and makes us so terribly uncomfortable.  Aunty would toss and turn and watch the clock.  Finally after a couple of nights of poor sleep, she went out and picked lemon balm leaves that grows like a weed, poured hot water over the leaves, and drank the tea before bedtime.  It really helped to calm and aid in a good night’s sleep, and then the real healing began.

Not sure about taking sleep aids such as sleeping pills or cough syrup with codeine.  To each their own and now Aunty will take better care of her lemon balm bush that she would whack at to get rid of.

How to buy Bitcoin in Hawaii

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Bitcoin is something else.  When Aunty first heard about it, it was not for real.  Some made up internet money that was generated by computer power that took up a lot of electricity and buying it involved a lot of steps and verification in places that were new and unproven.  And how could a regular person like Aunty with very little techno skills buy it?

Well, the easiest way was to open an account with Coinbase, but they pulled out of Hawaii in a hurry after our State regulators got too strict.  After that, it became very difficult to buy bitcoin in Hawaii, and the tax bite on profits were quite high since it was considered to be “property”.

Using IRA money

Aunty used existing Roth IRA funds, transferring monies into an account with BitCoinIRA.com.  VERY high initial fees, long processing times, limited trading times, and delays in orders being taken and recorded.  It takes patience and is a bit complicated for things to get rolling, but it has been the best thing that Aunty has done last year because of the price movement of Bitcoin, and the zero tax status of using Roth IRA money in a Roth IRA account.

Matthew@BitcoinIRA.com was super helpful and had to answer Aunty’s many questions.  It is almost like there are 3 layers of transactions – Kingdom Trust being the custodian of the account, BitcoinIRA being the sales/mediator, and Bitgo being the wallet that changes dollars to digital currencies and back again.

Once the money is deposited into the Kingdom Trust custodial account, the fun begins.  Purchasing choices are the digital currencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, or Ripple.  A call to BitcoinIRA starts the buying (or selling) process, then a confirmation call from Bitgo, and then in a few days, the transaction shows up on the Kingdom Trust account.  This can take over a week.  However, profit potential is huge because of the way these digital currencies move swiftly and spectacularly.  Some people like to just hold on for the ride.  Aunty likes to sell and buy, sell and buy.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes Aunty sells too soon.  But such is life and Aunty’s results have been pretty good.

Using a familiar broker, like Ameritrade

The easiest way to invest in Bitcoin is in a “stock” symbol GBTC.  Anyone with a trading account (Ameritrade, ETrade, Schwab, etc.) can buy GBTC at its market price, which had a tremendous ride last year, going from $100 to over $3,000 in a matter of months.  One share in GBTC represents .09 BTC, just under one tenth of a Bitcoin, held in trust.  It is something like an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), but not really.

The market price of GBTC is quite a bit higher than the actual value of .09 BTC, which is why Aunty hadn’t bought into it BUT a 91 t0 1 split will soon be taking place, for those that have GBTC in their portfolio on January 22, 2018.

When this happens, each share of GBTC will be worth about 1/1000 BTC, so the price will be less per share and much more affordable for the average investor.  Instead of $2,000 per share, the split will shatter the old GBTC into 91 smaller pieces of .001 BTC that cost $20 per share if the market value of actual Bitcoin is at today’s pricing.

It will be an interesting split, that Aunty will want to be a part of.  To do this today will cost about $2,000 each – maybe more, maybe less, depending on what the market is for the day.  If that is too steep for you, wait for the split, and the cost per share will go down to ~$20 or so.

Opening a wallet of digital currency

Bitcoin now has more of a legitimate status nowadays.  Some businesses accept payment in Bitcoin (Aunty saw a sign in the Aloha Crepes window in Kaimuki “bitcoin accepted here!”)  You will be able to pay for your new Tesla car with Bitcoin.  Because it is a digital currency with no ties to a bank, a digital currency wallet is necessary to transfer Bitcoin in or out as well as convert to or from US dollars.

Opening and funding a wallet is very difficult, especially in Hawaii, but it is doable.  There are several wallet companies, but only a few that will accept us Hawaii people.  Aunty was finally successful with Abra, an online app on Aunty’s iPhone that can convert dollars and store Bitcoin, as well as send out fractions of Bitcoin to other wallets for products or services.  A small problem with Abra is that NONE of the Hawaii banks are acceptable for funds transfers, so you must have and get verification in a mainland bank account such as Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Bank of America, etc.  You can only fund a limited number of dollars at a time, so it will take awhile to have a substantial wallet account, but a fraction of a Bitcoin today is better than none, in Aunty’s opinion.

You can also fund Abra with your American Express card but that comes with very very high fees, so your best option is to open a mainland bank account so you can use it with your Abra account.

If you are willing and have the patience to open an Abra account, congratulations!  It will be worth the effort.  Just be sure to write down your security “phrase”, word by word, in order, and complete each step.  Keep that in a safe place that only you have access to.  Your Abra “address” is a very long account number of upper and lower case letters with numbers.  This must be entered exactly as it reads, or one can use the QR code associated with the account.

Since this will NOT be an IRA or retirement account, your gains on crypto currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.) are subject to taxation, so every transaction must be recorded for your account.  Especially your cost basis – what you initially buy Bitcoin for, and all subsequent buy/sell activities.

Spending Bitcoin transactions such as buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks must also be recorded, because spending Bitcoin is the same as doing a withdrawal or sale.

Using a wallet

Aunty used her Abra wallet to purchase USI-tech BTC packages.  This was an investment with daily payouts based on number of packages purchased.  However, USI-tech has recently halted its business side – the multilevel marketing side of signing up new people, and the purchase of more BTC packages.  What will happen to Aunty’s existing account is still up in the air, but, like any other investment, the risk was limited to what Aunty could afford to lose without losing sleep.

If and when the dust settles at USI-tech, the Abra wallet will be utilized to withdraw Bitcoin from USI-tech, converted into US dollars, then transferred to a bank account.

Phew!

It IS a huge learning curve, and this is just a small view from Aunty’s perspective and experience.  However, once you get used to it, you will love it because of the roller coaster ride into uncharted territories.

Aunty likes checking on her Bitcoin accounts with a free online app called Blockfolio.  This is an app that you add the digital currencies that you are interested in, or it can act like your own personal portfolio tracker by entering the number and price of your Bitcoin/Ethereum/etc. purchases.

Another way to follow the digital currency movements is with CoinGecko.  This website shows the most active digital currencies with links to price charts and info on each.  There are over 1000 different digital currencies that CoinGecko tracks with very up to the date prices.

CoinDesk is where the latest news, buzz, and opinions from various digital currency writers abound.  This site also has tutorials on what is Bitcoin, how it works, etc.

Aunty first decided to test the waters because of Teeka Tiwari of the Palm Beach Research Group.  His passion and belief in digital currencies is contagious, so kudos to him for his lessons and recommendations.  His advice is, even if you don’t subscribe to his service (quite expensive), buy a little bitcoin, even if only $100.

Aunty also says Buy Buy Buy!

But only invest what you can afford to lose.

For the average person, the hoops, verifications and requirements of establishing a digital currency wallet and custodian are overwhelming, and so, the simplest and most familiar way would be to buy GBTC with one’s stock account (i.e. Ameritrade).  Today’s price is around $2,000, but it will drop substantially after the 91 to 1 stock split on January 22.

Buying with Roth IRA money in BitCoinIRA is having the best of all possibilities because of the no tax on profits, with no reporting necessary.  The drawbacks are that it is a slow process to get going and the need to call in trades and wait for transactions to clear.  So far, BitcoinIRA it is the only game in town that handles IRA funds in ways that will comply with IRS regulations, so it IS the one.

The beauty and wisdom of a Roth IRA and growing up

Aunty once did a post on opening a Checkbook IRA.  That post is the cornerstone of Aunty’s legacy, and hopefully taken to heart by Aunty’s readers, young and old.

The Roth IRA is a gift from the government, but only if it is opened, funded, and used for growth.  Aunty never thought she would be old – until she was called “Aunty” by some young kid on the bus.  From that point, there was no turning back.

Other than having a younger body, Aunty wouldn’t want to turn back.  She would lose her Ross Stores senior discount on Tuesdays and the long awaited Zippy’s Senior Discount card!  Life is shorter, but better now.

 

 

New Year Plans

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This is a excuse/to-do/notice post since it is already the 6th day of the New Year!

2017 was one of much change – so many endings, which then creates new beginnings. Aunty tends to love change so it was a great year, and 2018 will be one of growth and expansion.  One of Aunty’s favorite New Year posts was from 2016 – Make like a tree and …

Upcoming posts will be about The Fascianator, something that pal Wandaful persuaded Aunty to go to, a neat tip about storing plastic shopping bags, investing in bitcoin (SUPER exciting), benefits about having a C-corporation, more health and healing posts (Aunty has been procrastinating about writing Uncle’s Battle about cancer, hospitals and options), and an overdue life changing post about Mari Kondo’s “Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” book in practice.

btw, Happy New Year everyone!!!  Please turn off the news and avoid reading about events that upset you.  Take care of yourself, your home, and your loved ones.  Be safe and snug.  Only do the things that you want to, be with who you like, and embrace each day as a new start filled with hope, goodness, and possibilities!

How to remove sticky residue labels from jars

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Aunty loves to collect empty glass bottles and keep their lids. However, most labels that come with those bottles are too branded so Aunty likes to remove their identity by removing labels.

Goop Off or lighter fluid was the solution of choice. However, the toxic fumes and the danger of ignition bothered Aunty’s sense of environmental goodness. Searching on wonderful Google, Aunty found Cheryl at ThatsWhatCheSaid, and her super simple, cheapo and effective way to remove the sticky residue that some labels leave after the paper or plastic is peeled off.

Super simple:

Equal parts of baking soda and vegetable oil. Mix to a paste, apply to the bottle, wait a few minutes, then scrape and wipe off.

It works wonderfully well!

Aunty uses a short plastic fork in a disposable cup to mix, then uses the same fork to apply and also to scrape after sitting time. A paper towel then wipes up the gunk. Sometimes a 2nd application may be needed. Then, wash the bottle and Voila! A naked wonderful bottle.

It doesn’t seem to work with the non sticky type of glue. But that’s okay. Aunty will use the toxic stuff for that – later.

Thank you Cheryl, for your great tip!

Monster house – let us stop them on Wednesday!!!

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*** Update!  By a unanimous vote, the monster houses will be stopped, but it will take some time before the details are worked out and it becomes law.  We are all so happy, and it was Trevor Ozawa who really started the ball rolling because so many people in his district called and begged for help.  

Aunty recently got an update about the bill to stop the monster houses.  The council might vote and decide on zoning and permitting criteria this Wednesday, December 6 at City Hall.  The agenda is a pretty full one, so the Resolution 17-276, CD1 pertaining to the monster houses will probably be discussed a little later, perhaps even after the lunch break.  The meeting begins at 10:00 am, and live feed can be accessed on the Honolulu.gov website, under the “event calendar”, click on the “City Council – Live meetings”.  This will allow viewers to see the actual meeting in real time and get a better idea of when the resolution 17-276 will actually be heard.

Written testimonies can be submitted online.  Oral testimonies (1 minute in length) can be done by either registering online, at the door, or after others have testified about their opinions about monster houses, yea or nay.

Here is some info that Aunty received about the process:

Councilmember asked that I send you a copy of Resolution 17-276, CD1 relating to monster homes.  This resolution will be up for adoption at this week’s December 6th Council meeting at Honolulu Hale.  We anticipate that this resolution will be adopted by the City Council and will require the Department of Planning and Permitting to start the review process on the bill attached to the resolution.

We hope that you will be able to come down to Honolulu Hale to testify in person, but if you are unable to do so, please submit written testimony.  I have provided the link to both the resolution and Council agenda for your reference.  The resolution is listed on page 17.

Resolution 17-276, CD1: http://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-201637/Replacement%20sheet.pdf

Council Agenda: http://www4.honolulu.gov/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-201875/120617%20Council%20Agenda.pdf

Here are the instructions on how to register to speak and/or submit written testimony;

SPEAKER REGISTRATION

Persons wishing to testify are requested to register by 10 a.m. as follows:

a. On-Line at http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html;

b. By faxing to 768-3826 your name, phone number and subject matter;

c. By filling out the registration form in person; or

d. By calling 768-3819 or 768-3814.

Persons who have not registered to testify by 10 a.m. will be given an opportunity to speak on an item following oral testimonies of the registered speakers. Each speaker shall not have anyone else read their statement and is limited to:

a. three-minute presentation on Public Hearing, New Business and Sunshined items;

b. one-minute presentation on all other items.

WRITTEN TESTIMONY

Written testimony may be faxed to 768-3826 or transmitted via the internet at http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html for distribution at the meeting.

If submitted, written testimonies, including the testifier’s address, e-mail address and phone number, may be posted by the City Clerk and available to the public on the City’s DocuShare Website.

Thank you for your support.

Let’s show up or send in testimonies to preserve our neighborhoods!  The last time Aunty went to testify, she was only 1 of 2 local people – outnumbered 10 to 1 by foreign builders, investors, and their support groups.  Let’s stop the monsters BEFORE they take over, okay?  Please?

Thanking you in advance,

Aunty

TV Aunty and Monster Houses

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Honolulu, Hawaii news, sports & weather – KITV Channel 4

(Aunty on TV at the 2:30 time frame)

Some things really bother Aunty.  Some are small kind stuff, like personal issues such as age spots on her face.

One big thing that really bothers Aunty is when our Hawaii paradise is under attack.  You know the words to that song by Joni Mitchell, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.  They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.”

Those lyrics are so sad – bulldozing away wonderful mango, avocado, lychee trees and old houses – with an asphalt parking lot.  Imagine this happening to your neighborhood: contractors come in, remove all of the trees and put up a monster house with 20+ bedrooms with the minimum amount of setback allowed.  That is taking away paradise in a worse way than a parking lot.  In fact, a parking lot would be far more welcome because these monster houses do not build with enough parking on the lot for a potential 20+ cars.

Recent news articles and news reports have brought these eyesores out for our view.  Aunty feels so bad for the broken hearted residents of Koko Drive, where a monster house has invaded their quiet street with a massive 16 bedroom 3 story house, and another one soon on its way, with 16 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.  These are not houses.  They are apartments.

These monstrosities have to be stopped.  Thankfully, our district’s councilman, Trevor Ozawa (808-768-5004), is introducing a bill to change the current regulations, and councilwomen, Ann Kobayashi (808-768-5005) and Carol Fukunaga (808-768-5006) are asking for a moratorium on the permitting and construction of these huge houses.

However, we all need to get involved for these measures to be passed.  Show up at your neighborhood board meetings.  Call the mayor’s office (808-768-4141), call your city councilperson, send in testimonies.  It could happen to you next door, so what you do today will affect your piece of paradise in the future.  Go to the public hearings at City Hall.  Aunty testified at the November 16 meeting.  We locals were very underrepresented, and most of the testimonies were by foreign contractors and their representatives who are opposed to changes in the regulations to limit building size in residential neighborhoods.  Their reasoning was that what they were doing was actually good for Hawaii.  Ha!

Please get out and reach out to whoever you can grab.  Otherwise, our residential single family home neighborhoods will turn into a high density apartment housing like Makiki.

Aunty is on a mission, not just for herself, but to protect our fragile island paradise.  The next City Council meeting on zoning will probably be in December.  Aunty will be there, hopefully with smaller bags under her eyes.