StarBulletin.com

Brief asides


By

POSTED: Monday, June 01, 2009

;[Preview]  New Hawaii Farmers Market Showcases Local Farmers
 

Local farmers hope that the new farmers market at the Neal Blaisdell Center will help support local produce.

Watch ]

 

GET FRESH

Can't get enough of the farmers markets

Go out and buy some Hayden mangoes, strawberry papayas or Manoa lettuce.

And while it might be more convenient at times to go to a warehouse-type store for one-stop shopping, don't overlook your neighborhood farmers markets.

These hard-working folks are up at the crack of dawn setting up their booths, after working long hours in previous days tending to and harvesting crops.

In addition to established spots around town, a new farmers market selling locally grown fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants opens Wednesday, from 4 to 7 p.m., at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

For fans of farmers markets, it'll be another venue—and excuse—to buy local and get fresh ingredients for the dining table. For newbies to the market scene, know that it's a good thing for the ailing state economy to support local businesses.

 

GENDER BENDER

Thanks to women, men have it easier

Could it be that the feminists of the 1970s liberated ... men? It's hard to escape that thought after reading “;The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,”; by two Wharton School economists (one male, one female), who tracked a rising gloom among American women, despite the fact that they've grown richer, healthier, better educated and more in control of their own lives over the past 35 years. U.S. men are now happier than women, and while the researchers don't conclude why, it's likely not much of a mystery to any working mother. Workplace advances, besides improving women's job opportunities, also ended the heavy expectation men had faced to be the sole family breadwinner. Less burdened equals more content. Meanwhile, stressed-out working moms (the kids don't take care of themselves, you know) have learned well that balancing career and family is not about “;having it all”; but “;making it work.”;