What's Up Hawaii?

   Aloha everyone! Hauoli Makahiki Hou! That's Happy New Year in Hawaiian! I hope you are all well and enjoying the New Year. It has been a very cold one here. Not the 80 degree temps our President was enjoying while on vacation. I'm sure all has quieted down some now that he has left Hawaii. People gave from there hearts and the Salvation Army has exceeded its 2009 campaign raiser collection. Also the Koyo Water Bottling Plant has an interesting story on the fresh water they bottle.

                              *Salvation Army Exceeds Red Kettle Goal*

   The Salvation Army on Oahu announced Thursday that it, too, exceeded this year's fundraising goal. Capt. Mark Merritt, the Kahului Corps Maui coordinator says that "it's amazing given these tough economic times".  His office considered the tough financial climate on Maui, where foreclosures and bankruptcy filings are soaring, decided to set the 2009 fundraising goal below the $125,000 raised in 2008. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends here on Maui.

   Between the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, volunteers and Salvation Army staff rang bells near red kettles at 17 sites - a dozen between Kihei and Kahului plus two first-time locations Upcountry and another five spots in West Maui.

   Bell ringers said that they saw more dollar bills than coins being placed into the red kettles. "We were shocked. . . . People just opened their hearts up," Merritt said. He suspected that the financial troubles experienced across the state were hitting home with donors. "Almost every one of us knows someone who is struggling. . . . I guess people figured they'd give even more."

   The nearly $158,000 raised in a month's time represents approximately 7 percent of the Salvation Army's 2010 budget, according to Merritt. The money will be used throughout the year for youth programs and social services including rental assistance, utility payments and food boxes. Merritt said that needy families won't have to choose between buying food or paying for their electricity bill.

                *Koyo USA: Largest Deep Sea Bottling Plant In The World*

   All over the world one of the biggest problems is the lack of fresh drinking water. Although most of our planet is made up of water, only roughly three percent is fresh and only about one percent of it is drinkable. One local company doing their part to bring us more of this disappearing and precious resource is Koyo USA. In 2002, Koyo USA made a $60-million investment in building a water processing plant and bottle manufacturing facility. It produces 600 bottles per minute with the capability to produce 750,000 bottles per day. They claim to be the largest deep sea bottling plant in the world.

   From 3,000 feet below the surface near the Kona Coast, comes the deepest deep-sea drinking water in the world. Not only does it go deep, it also goes healthy. It is not your average bottle of water, it's a health drink, it's got minerals and no contaminants.

   The deep sea water used for Mahalo Bottled Drinking Water is not only cold, it's very old. It takes up to 2,000 years for the water to travel all the way to a special "water rejuvenation zone" just off the coast of Kona. From there, it's pumped into an ultra-modern processing facility, where excess sea salt is removed. It is then tested for purity and content. They blend the small amount of salt sea minerals back in to supplement the bodies need for these trace elements that we can get from water that deep.

   Koyo USA also uses the water to cool its building, which sits in a hot lava field. The Natural Energy Lab park has a pipeline that goes through. All the tenants use the water in some way shape or form, growing lobsters and algae. It is a completely unique product in the world. Koyo USA primarily sells its water to Japan and other parts of Asia. It can also be found in the U.S., as it's the first 100 percent deep sea drinking water approved for sale here.

   Well, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! I hope you all have a very happy one and that each year is better than the last. I hope you all enjoy your week. I'm getting older this week, but that doesn't bother me. ;-) I figure the older I get, the better my life has become. Until next time, Mahalo!

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Aloha,

Di