Hawai'i puts 2001 in past
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Many of the visitors and O'ahu residents who celebrated New Year's at the Aloha Tower Marketplace were treated to various entertainers throughout the evening.
By Lynda Arakawa and Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writers
Hawai'i was more than ready to bid adieu to 2001 last night with celebrations at restaurants, bars and neighborhood parties.
And there was a last-minute rush for fireworks permits so a joyful noise could be made.
This past year was filled with "amazing events," said Curtis Kono, a 49-year-old golf course superintendent, as he stood in line with his 3-year-old son for balloon animals at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.
"That was a shocker," he said of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "It was hard to believe. But you just continue with your lives and move on."
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Kono and his family spent the early evening at the Marketplace before heading back to their Mililani neighborhood for a party.
Ulysses Liaina, 10, of Honolulu, soaks his hand in ice water after burning it playing with fireworks. But that did not stop him from lighting another sparkler. Liaina celebrated New Year's with his family at his grandmother's home in Mayor Wright Housing.
"You can't live in fear," he said. "You just have to continue with what you enjoy."
Many others said they were also hoping the new year would help put many of 2001's tragic events behind them.
Next year "I would like to watch television and not see the words Osama bin Laden," said Kailua resident Kandi Kashiyama, as she sat with her friends at The Big Island Steakhouse.
Kashiyama, a clothes designer, said she feels distanced from the the major events that have happened in the past few months. But she also said: "I'm really lucky. I feel very fortunate."
Pat Mannia, visiting from England, said she was afraid to fly after Sept. 11. But that didn't stop her from getting on a plane with her family and flying to Hawai'i for the holidays.
"Life must go on," said the homemaker, wearing a black sequined top and a pink paper tiara at Kapono's. Her husband, son, daughter and granddaughter also wore party hats. "We are very fortunate."
The rush was on for firecracker permits yesterday as hundreds of Honolulu residents rushed to get permission to buy up to 5,000 firecrackers each for New Year's celebrations.
About 1,016 new permits were sold by 2 p.m. yesterday, bringing the total at that time to 4,472.
That was still significantly fewer than the 6,427 permits sold for last New Year's Eve.
But scores of people were lined up at satellite city halls yesterday afternoon still trying to buy permits.
Permits can be purchased at any time of year, but there has been an 11th-hour rush since the law went into effect two years ago.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
City spokeswoman Carol Costa said sales of permits stopped when the satellite city halls closed at 4:30 (with three shopping center satellites closing at 5 p.m.), and clerks closed doors even if persons were still lined up to buy permits. The lines were made worse because many auto owners were meeting month-end deadlines for auto registrations.
Kelly Ngo, 7, of Palolo Valley, plays with fireworks while her mother Tuyet Dang talks with a neighbor.
"It seems like many people are finally realizing they have to have permits to buy firecrackers," Costa said.
The permits cost more than firecrackers in some stores, where customers could buy a package of 5,000 firecrackers for under $21.
The permit system was created two years ago because of complaints that firecrackers on New Year's Eve — traditional in Asian cultures to frighten evil spirits and bring good luck — were being used in such quantities that noise and smoke were creating health problems.
Under the law, firecrackers could be purchased until 9 p.m. yesterday, but could be lit only between the hours of 9 p.m. yesterday and
1 a.m. today.
The city had collected more than $110,000 from sales of the permits by 2 p.m. yesterday. The money will go into the general fund, Costa said.
By 7:30 p.m., a smoky veil had already covered Palolo Valley as families celebrated in their yards with bright sparklers and fireworks. A few groups of people were setting fireworks off at Palolo Valley District Park.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Still, families at the housing complex on Ahe Street said the smoke was nowhere near what it was last year.
Fireworks burst over Honolulu Harbor ringing in the new year.
People in the neighborhood usually start popping fireworks a couple of days before New Year's Eve, but this year they started just yesterday evening, said Loan Nguyen, an 18-year-old University of Hawai'i student, as she and her mother watched her 10-year-old brother light "bloom flowers" in their yard.
Meanwhile fireworks boomed in the neighborhood and the street was lit with bright sparklers.
Because of the year's events, Nguyen said she can't really watch news anymore and that "Christmas didn't feel like Christmas for me."
"Next year I hope it will be more peaceful and that everything will be much better," she said. "I should be more grateful for what I have."
Jamie Rodrigues, visiting her boyfriend's family's house down the street, echoed Nguyen's wishes. But she added: "There's always a reason to celebrate. There's always a reason to be with your family and welcome the new year in a good way."
With a cigarette lighter in her right hand and a punk and morning glory sticks in her left, Rodrigues watched her two children and a young cousin play with sparklers.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
"As soon as the sun goes down, it's on," she said, laughing. She said she spent about $50 for "morning glories, whistling cones — just the sparkling, loud stuff for the kids."
Robert Mennie, left, Kirbie Mennie, center left, and Reece Mennie pose for a family picture taken by Keeley Mennie at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. The Mennie family is visiting from London.
By 10 p.m. yesterday, firefighters had been kept busy chasing down smoke calls and putting out minor brush and rubbish fires, but property damage caused by fireworks reached only $250, said Capt. Kenison Tejada, HFD spokesman.
Most of the damage reported before 10 p.m. was to a $200 gate that burned when fireworks were ignited next to it, he said.
There were 106 emergency calls to the Fire Department from 12:01 a.m. to 10 p.m. yesterday, Tejada said. Because most calls traditionally come in shortly after midnight, Tejada said he suspected the total calls for New Year's Eve would be close to last year's 132.
The Fire Department averages 70 calls in any given 24-hour period.
