Sunday, June 10
HIADA / ADs shoot down playoff expansion Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Paul Honda)

Saturday, June 9
HIADA / Wrestling issue weighty matter for football players Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Paul Honda)

ILH decision clears up classification questions Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Paul Honda)

Friday, June 8
HIADA / ADs to vote on expanding state football playoffs Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Paul Honda)

By Paul Honda
paul@hondareport.com
Sunday, June 10, 2007

I saw goats this week. Four goats.

Perched near the long stretch of highway between Kailua-Kona and Kawaihae, they were in search of anything green. A merciless drought in South Kohala has left the lava fields brown and beige, and so the goats move closer to the roadways. There, they find more kiawe trees — the only source of nutrition and moisture for miles upon miles.

So I saw two on Friday while driving back from HIADA, and two more on Saturday morning. Young goats. Old goats with long goatees. But it was sad to see, on that Saturday morning drive to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, a downed goat near the Kailua-bound lane. It may have been a nightingale — one of may donkeys descended from the earliest coffee farms of upslope Kona Palisades and Holualoa.

It was sad to see, but that happens sometimes on West Hawaii roads. Animals inadvertently cross the path, and both they and humans are affected. I've seen one such accident site before, in the pre-dawn hours on the upper road (Mamalahoa Highway) while en route to Hilo for a photo shoot and interviews with east-side football teams. A goat had gotten onto the road and caused an accident, killing the driver. It was a morbid, incredibly tragic scene as we waited for police to control traffic in the dark.

One thing about returning to the place where I lived for nearly a decade is that so many things stay the same. There's more traffic, more malls, more stores. But the high cost of living is still there. A plate lunch at my favorite diner is still a buck or two higher than it is in Honolulu. Try $8 to $9.50 for a regular plate.

Gas there is $3.56 per gallon. Kyle Galdeira, one of my fellow sportswriters at the Star-Bulletin, notes that gas in Seattle is nearly 4 bucks, so it's all a matter of perspective.

As for HIADA, things were a bit more optimistic. One AD had this insight about the speed at which proposals went through committees this year: the group as a whole is getting younger, so there is less lobbying, less "politicking" than before. Another AD noted, though, that there were simply fewer high-voltage issues, particularly a lack of Title IX/gender-based proposals on the table.

Both may be true. It was just nice to see democracy, even in a bureaucratic format, in action. For those who aren't familiar with the layout of the three-day conference, it goes something like this.

Thursday, June 8
Starting at 2 p.m., the assembly of athletic directors meets in a large ballroom at the Hapuna Prince. Beverages (coffee, tea, water) keep them going before they break into their committees at 5:30 p.m. Those groups met in separate rooms to hash out the pros and cons of the proposals on their lists.

By 7:30, or earlier as was the case for most, they're done for the night. In this case, many of the issues at hand were discussed and proposals were either panned or passed. Quite a promising start for both ADs and media who are just trying to beat deadlines.

For the ADs, dinner awaited.

Friday, June 9
No rest for the weary. ADs were back in committee by 8 a.m., meeting in assembly before finishing any leftover business. A few measures were revisited, but for the most part, the decisions of the night before stood. The exception was a change regarding a proposal to move the boys soccer tournament to Oahu permanently.

By mid-afternoon, my story is done. I also finished up a story about the ILH's move to establish exact enrollment criteria for classification. That's the beauty of HIADA. Business is being handled, but in the backdrop, the relaxing setting is perfect for touching base with so many ADs, many of whom are sport coordinators for their leagues.

There are a ton of ADs who go off to enjoy a round of golf — South Kohala is home to some of the premier destinations in the world — but there are a lot of ADs who don't golf at all. Judging from their smiles, they were having a nice time with the afternoon and evening break. After 10 months of working 6-day weeks, they certainly earned it.

Saturday, June 10
By 8:30 a.m., the assembly was together in the ballroom for the vote on every proposal that 1) drew approval in committee, or 2) was defeated in committee, but visited the assembly due to "minority report." In other words, still up for approval.

By 10:30, the men and women of HIADA were done. Pau. Finished. It was an interesting 2 hours, and with each passing conference, the formalities and results become more and more interesting. Blaine Gaison heads the process with authority and finesse, while both retired and current ADs like Richard Townsend handle the vote counts. The vote counts. Doing it by sight (voters raise their banners up) has to be the toughest part of the process, especially when one side of the ballroom is covered with mirrors. But that's another story.

Some ADs hung around, maybe even went golfing again. Others headed to the airport to return to their home islands. After all, 48 hours is a pretty long time for anyone in this line of work.

For me, the fact that resorts always seem to have electrical outlets nearby is a blessing. Being able to sit there near the process and type away to my heart's content was as good as it gets.

Epilogue
The HIADA approvals will now move on to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive board, which meets on Tuesday. I've seen approvals arrive at HHSAA and get shot down in minutes. I've also seen rejected items come up for discussion at HHSAA, and that's when things get really interesting. The process is powerful and enlightening, and I dare to venture that it's much more entertaining than what a reporter might see at the Legislature.

Good Eats
Chicken Stir Fry, Kona Mix Plate. At $8.25, this was still a good deal. It's as good as I remember from my many visits there in the 1990s. I gained weight there back then, eating their chicken katsu more often than I really should have. I also lost weight eating there by choosing the chicken stir fry and tossed salad instead of mac salad.

Maui Fried Chicken, Kawaihae. I forget the name of the convenience store/gas station in Kawaihae. You can't miss it. Driving north next to the harbor, it is at your immediate left as you go up the road toward Kohala. Brendan Shriane, the erstwhile West Hawaii Today sportswriter, turned me on to this treat.

Maui Fried Chicken may be on a different island in my case, but it is light, crispy and basic. Salt and pepper are in the chicken skin, lightly battered, and according to Brendan, pressure cooked. The chicken is juicy thanks to the pressure-cooking (if that's a fact). That's why it wasn't overly done in both of my visits to the store. Service was also great. Very friendly.

The best deal is the 2-piece snack, which also comes with a big potato wedge (fried) for just $2.79. I'll be back sometime in the future, no doubt.

Not enough
There was a lot for me to do, not just with HIADA, but with the Star-Bulletin All-State Baseball selections, so I was working my laptop and cellphone nonstop from sun-up to sundown. That left me almost zero time to see old friends, but there's always next time.

As for down time in Kailua-Kona (sorry, I didn't get over to Kona Mauka or anywhere else), thumbs up to some places we visited by night.

Parrot's Lounge, Kona Bowl. Danny Kim is still the bartender, and if you like (love?) singing karaoke, this is a pretty nice, air-conditioned, carpeted space that wasn't too crowded on Friday night. They have locally-made beverages from Kona Brewing Co. on tap.

Ohana III, Alii Drive. This is a newer place (for me, anyway) that is near a whole slew of restaurants and bars that popped up in the location at the start of the decade. Outback Restaurant and Ocean's bar is nearby. This is the spot that has a night-time beach volleyball court under the lights. Cool.

Ohana III has karaoke and more of that tasty Kona Brewing Co. stuff on tap. That gets served in a big, wide glass. With a little nudging, some of Brendan's friends can really belt it out on those chick songs, no question. I hadn't heard "Eternal Flame" in ages.

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