Our top issues

1. Condition and upkeep of properties along Kahala Avenue. The board is looking at new ways to cite those owners who let their properties go. One avenue that can be used now: If they have too many infractions and are behind in paying the city back on the fine, we can actually lien the properties.

That's a course we're looking at, if there are lots of complaints from neighbors. So that's a good thing: the city having the ability to foreclose.

2. Vegetation grown along the beach. There's a bill in the Legislature, House Bill 1808, that addresses the whole problem of overgrown vegetation. It's a measure that applies to shorelines that really started with our area. That's going along well.

The bill would require private property owners to ensure that transit areas and public transit corridors abutting or adjoining their lands are kept passable and free from human-induced, enhanced or unmaintained vegetation that interferes with transit.

It would allow the state to issue notice to landowners who fail to do this, and if any landowner fails to remove the obstruction within 21 days of notice, the department could elect to impose fines or remove the obstruction to allow public access. The cost incurred for the removal of the obstruction would be charged to and against the landowner.

3. Safety in the area of Kahala Nui, and around public schools. There were issues of speeding and on changing the crosswalks so that they're marked better. The police are watching the schools more closely. We're hoping to enforce the 25-mph limit better.

4. Triangle park and supporting the name change. This pertains to the park on Kahala Avenue at the bottom of Diamond Head; it's now officially Operation Red Wing Medal of Honor Park. Operation Red Wing is the name of the operation in Afghanistan in 2005 where 19 soldiers and sailors, including Pearl Harbor SEALs, were killed.

5. Kapiolani Community College growth. We are in strong support of Kapiolani Community College's overall five-year plan on expanding the campus. We're very supportive of KCC and the new buildings it's going to put in. The college is an excellent neighbor.

SO SPECIAL

Prime real estate

We have a very diverse area (Waialae-Kahala) with some of the priciest real estate on Oahu, along with some more typical residential areas.

We have the Kahala Mall, which is a popular destination for many around the island, and, of course, our beaches are a draw.

We have a very fiscally responsible board that hates to spend money. We always have lots to give back to the city.

Facts & figures

>> Waialae-Kahala features many well-kept, pricey beachfront properties. It includes some of the most expensive real estate in Hawaii.

>> In 2006, a typical price for a tear-down house in Kahala was $1.4 million to $1.7 million, with beachfront sites going for substantially more.

>> With Diamond Head Crater looming nearby, the area includes the Kahala Resort and Hotel, Waialae Country Club,  and public schools including Kahala Elementary and Kalani High.

>> Kahala literally means amberjack fish; Waialae means mudhen water and is said to be named for a spring.