Don & Sylvia Leutz

REALTOR-ASSOCIATES, Licensed in Hawaii, Nevada and California.

Kauai View is posted every quarter on this website... if you no longer wish to receive this newsletter via email... please write us at:  Leutz@Inreach.com

KAUAI VIEW

SANCTUARY OCEAN COUNT AT HAWAII HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE PRESERVE
 

The Sanctuary Ocean Count is an annual event that places volunteers at various shore locations around the Big Island, Kaua`i, O`ahu and Kaho‘olawe. Participants count the number of humpback whales that they see and record the types of whale behaviors that they witness. The collected data helps to develop an important database of information on humpback whale populations and distribution patterns around the Hawaiian Islands while also educating the community about humpback whales and the Sanctuary program. If you are interested in participating in the 2004 Sanctuary Ocean Count or if you would like to learn more about the annual Sanctuary Ocean Count project, click here. Or visit http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov to view continuing updates.  To sign up for Kauai's Whale Watching Team, call 808-246-2860.

Kauai's Coastal Walk-Bike Path to be Extended

The Kauai County Planning Commission held public hearings in November on Phase Two of Kauai's planned 23-mile coastline pedestrian and bicycle pathway.  Contracts for the 4.3 mile section should be ready to award in April, according to a spokesman for the Kauai Public Works Department.  The construction costs are estimated at more than $7 million, and will be mostly paid for through federal funds.  Plans call for a 12 foot wide pathway to improve an existing asphalt road, cane field haul road and former cane haul bridge.  There will be pavilions, comfort stations and park areas at Lihi Park and at Kealia Beach Park. 

Phase One of the bike path has been completed, consisting of a 2.3 mile section of trail at Lydgate Park.  Phase Three, a two mile section connecting Lydgate Park to Kapaa is still being planned.  A public meeting has been scheduled for January 9th to allow residents to give input and ideas.  A fourth phase of the trail involves a four mile section of coastline from the Ahukini area to Lydgate Park.  This section will go through a 400 acre area being proposed for upper end residential development.  The owner of the property has proposed a bike path as part of of the proposed project and is working together with county planners on the project. 

Phase Five of the project would connect Ahikini to Nawiliwili Harbor, a distance of about 8 miles.  Phase Six would extend the northern end of the path from Kuna Bay to Anahola.  When complete, the entire 23 mile coastal path is expected to cost nearly $30 million dollars. 

Kauai's North Shore is home to several pairs of Nene.  You can usually see them at Kilauea Point Lighthouse and sometimes in nearby Princeville, where we spotted this pair.  Nene's were facing extinction in 1951, with just 30 known birds left.  While it's still the world's rarest goose, thanks to intensive preservation efforts, nearly 1,000 Nene's can now be found on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.  The Hawaiian Goose still still listed on the Audubon Society's Watch List. 

Nene pairs are believed to mate for life.  The breeding season lasts from November to June when each pair produces two to five white eggs.  The baby goslings hatch after 30 days and learn to fly in 11 to 14 weeks. 

You can learn more about the Nene (pronounced Nay-Nay) at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, where you will also see a variety of other native Hawaiian Birds.  And by the way, this is one of the best places in the world to go whale watching this time of year.  Wildlife experts are usually on hand to point out the latest sightings and you can get a close up look through the complementary telescopes. 

Kauai Business Optimism on an Upswing - 

Kauai's economic conditions have improved markedly over the past six months, and even better times are on the way.  This is the view expressed by 39 participants in the most recent Kauai Business Conditions Survey.  More than 70% of surveyed business persons report an improvement in overall economic conditions as well as conditions within their own industry.  Fewer than 10% say conditions have worsened.  Firms were equally optimistic about prospects for the next six months, with 68% saying general business activity on Kauai will rise, 32% seeing unchanged conditions, and no respondent expecting lower economic activity.

The Kauai Business Conditions survey is conducted for the County of Kauai by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.  This is one element of a program to improve economic information to support public and private sector decision making.  Read the full report online at http://www/uhero.hawaii.edu.   

Fanny Mae Raises the Roof in Hawaii

Fanny Mae, the federally-sponsored company that is the largest U.S. home mortgage lender, has decided to raise the maximum amount it will lend in Hawaii to more than half a million dollars.

The new mainland limit is $333,700, effective in 2004, but for Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the new limit will be $500,550. 

The limit is roughly equal to the median price of an existing single family home on Maui, and a little above the median price on Oahu, where it was measured at $495,000 in the last monthly report by the Honolulu Board of REALTORS. 

 Limits for multi-unit loans will also rise in 2004, to $640,725 for two-family homes, $774,450 for three-family homes and $962,475 for four-family homes, representing a 50% jump above mainland limits.