BUY A BRICK

Mill fans seek funds

The Maui folks trying to save the Pioneer Mill Co. smokestack have the right idea: Bring the community together, brick by brick, to preserve an island landmark. While the $300,000 needed for the project is a large sum in total, fundraising seems less daunting broken down into $100 chunks, which is the cheapest price for a single brick. Surely a few thousand folks can cough up at least that much each to restore one of the most recognizable symbols of the Valley Isle's plantation past.

ROAD WOES

Relief for Makakilo drivers on the way

Ever since the sugar-cane fields near Barbers Point were turned into downtown Kapolei, Makakilo motorists have been forced to crawl through the Kapolei main street in order to reach Farrington Highway and progress to the Leeward Coast.

Finally, a westbound ramp from Makakilo Drive to H-1 is being targeted to open in 2011, creating a quick trip to Farrington and the newly-added Costco and Kapolei Commons. For Makakilo residents, the single ramp will be a great improvement.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Dentists descend to beautify beach

It was, figuratively speaking, a huge brush-and-floss job after a weekend binge of sweets and treats. Leave it up to a core group of dentists, plus family and friends, to render the job spotless.

An estimated 30,000 revelers descended on Ala Moana Beach Park for Saturday night's big July Fourth fireworks show, leaving trash and debris in their wake. On Sunday, some 170 Hawaii Dental Association dentists and their people fanned out for the cleanup job as a public-service project. Within hours, they'd scoured the grass and sand and plucked rubbish from rocky cracks and crevices, leaving the beach park sparkling clean—and maybe even a tad minty fresh.