For a long time a number of developers have threatened to turn the gorgeous bluffs overlooking Sunset Beach and much of the North Shore of Oahu into gated gentleman farmer communities, accompanied by the requisite super-upscale mini-malls for the latte swilling arrivistes. Now, I'm all in favor of gentrification if its creative, interesting and accessible to all. What had been proposed for Sunset Beach and the Pupukea Highlands, alas, was none of these. So I was very glad to hear that one of the largest parcels in play had been taken off the market -- permanently.

Kudos to the Trust for Public Land! This is a rare win-win-win. The Japanese landowner got a decent price for the 1,100 acre parcel that would mostly have remained conservation lands. The public gets a nature preserve off the Kam Highway. A bunch of entities formed a hui to buy the land, including the Army ($3 million),, the state of Hawaii ($1 million), NOAA ($1.9 million), the National Park Service ($600,000) and the North Shore Community Land Trust ($200,000). It's nice to see the spirit of "Save Sunset Beach" lives on and now we can peel off those really ugly yellow bumper stickers.

—Stuart Y., 01/16/07