Let's give blame where blame belongs.

The bankers are partly at fault by giving loans and mortgages to people who were not qualified to buy properties which were overpriced.

The blame also goes to the realtors who were happily pushing these overpriced homes and making big commissions. They should have realized that the prices could not be going up forever. Even now realtors still think that Bishop Estate lessees should be paying the inflated 1990 real estate prices or even worse, what they think prices would be 10 years from now. (Who knows what it will be worth!)

Judging by some articles in the Star Bulletin, even the newspapers seem to be disappointed that real estate prices are coming down. If the laws of supply and demand would be working, the prices should come down even more. But banks, realtors, Bishop Estate, and speculators are trying to prevent this. It is time now to think of a house or apartment as a place to live in--not to speculate on.

If people don't have to spend more than half of their income on housing they would have more money to spend on other things and the economy would improve.

Martin Wyss The Swiss inn

I just received a call from my bank's manager advising me that he just deposited the first $50,000 of DBEDT's $200,000 loan to Horizon.

Several months ago, Dr. Naya asked me "what can I do to help?" Since that time Dr. Naya and his staff, namely John Chock, has been the difference between the life and death of the company. They have been very supportive and helpful in every way possible, guiding me through the loan process until we arrived at a successful conclusion to my application. Under DBEDT, we have also been accepted as an Enterprise Zone business which will give us some additional financial benefits.

We'll start to build back our business to again become an asset to the State and the community.

I want to also thank you for your support.

Sam Kaufman, President Horizon Industries, Inc.

Well, we've been hearing all about the "year 2000 Bug." So, what's the big deal? So some computer reports don't know what day it is, so what?

Our lives are run, more than we expect, or even want to know, by computers.

So, imagine, if you will:

It's a Saturday. You get up a little late. For some reason, the electric alarm clock didn't go off. The ceiling light doesn't come on, either. Looks like HECO has had another power outage. Well, open the front door and get the morning paper. Funny, it's not here yet. I'll call the newspaper office and complain. Nuts, even the phone is out. Well, I'll drive down to the convenience store and get one. Why won't the car start? I just replaced the battery last month, and it's dead already?

I'm only a few blocks from the office, and needed to put in a little overtime today, so I guess I'll walk in.

Why won't my pass-key open the front door? How can I get to work, when I can't even get in the front door? Then I remember the side door, to which I have an old manual key. Of course the elevators are computer run too, and I'm certainly not climbing the fire-escape stairs 33 floors just to find out that I can't accomplish anything anyways, with the power out. (Amazing, how many previously unnoticed computers and computer chips in various control systems have date routines which don't understand "00" to mean "2000.")

Mail delivery is all but non-existent. Turns out the automated mail sorting equipment programs have date routines in them too. Welfare checks aren't being delivered, not to mention state employee's paychecks. Not even private business' employee paychecks. In fact, even though all the banks spent MILLIONS of dollars on fixing the problem before it hit, there may have been a control program that was overlooked. Their programs all work, but the computer itself is shut down, so it is all irrelevant. Nobody has money, those who have don't have access to it.

How will we all eat? Of course, the food chains are shut down because their checkout registers are disabled. Fast food stores are closed because their employees can't figure the cost of lunch for a family of four without their computer. Of course, their entire system is computerized, so lagging math skills are the least of their worries.

How long will this scenario last before someone is desperate enough to break into a store so they can feed themselves and their family. Home food supplies average a few days at best. Larger grocery meat and produce deparments' refrigeration systems are dependent on computer control systems.

Home water supplies are even more short-sighted. And the Board of Water supply relies on computers as well. So, no fresh water, except for customers of the few bottled water companies, and their supplies are sufficient for only a week, at best. The few homes with catchment systems will soon be raided by desperate neighbors.

There aren't enough police to cover all the rioting, looting and vandalism. The governor will probably call in the National Guard. But even the backup communications system is dependent upon computers.

Intercontinental airplane flights were mid-ocean when their navigation systems shut down. Other flights were unable to power up because ground power systems were not functioning. All airline scheduling was disabled, not to mention shipping schedules, ships' navigation systems, city traffic systems, police and military communications systems, satellite communications systems, satellite tracking systems, military fire control systems, military tracking and intelligence systems, the entire IRS system (not that we'll miss that one), ALL government entitlement systems (welfare, social security, housing, civil service payroll, military payroll, factory manufacturing control systems, etc., etc., etc. For that matter, what manufacturing, production, control process from a fast food store to an automobile plant, does not rely on computer?

Maybe the President will realize that we've got a problem and send help. Fact is, he has already envoked Executive Orders in place for decades, and ordered FEMA to shut down all communications, all transportation, all means of food production, and forcibly relocate entire segments of population as work forces--well, there really wasn't much to shut down, after the year 2000 hit.

The preceding scenario is already in place, with Drop Dead Date of 12/99(19)99. The only question is...how much of it will we be able to clean up in the next 26 months? If we don't fix it, it WILL DROP DEAD!

Year 2000 is fast approaching and businesses across the state are waking up to the enormous risks they face in grappling with the "millennium computer bug." To assist the community in addressing its Year 2000 risks, Bank of Hawaii has organized the Honolulu Year 2000 Users Group and set up a Year 2000 hotline to field questions from the community.

"Early on in its Year 2000 project initiative, Bank of Hawaii has approached the issues from a business-risk standpoint as it impacts not just Bank of Hawaii but its business partners, corporate clients and service providers as well," explained Bill Valuet, Bank of Hawaii's Year 2000 project director. "All of us are in some way dependent on other businesses for critical products or services. So, even when we do our job right to become Year 2000 compliant in time, we still assume a degree of risk if our business clients and vendor fail to address their Year 2000 problems. In working toward Year 2000 compliance, the implications are shared; your problem becomes my problem, and our problem can be a problem for you. Realizing that it benefits us all to address these issues together, we invited a few chief information officers in the business community to join in a discussion of Year 2000 project plans."

The Honolulu Year 2000 Users Group was born out of that initial meeting with chief information officers. It was established earlier this year as a forum for information professionals to discuss Year 2000 issues and roadblocks, and offer solutions. Since then membership has grown through word-of-mouth to include information professionals from retail and commercial business and financial sectors, city and state government, and the health-care service industry. Bank of Hawaii extends an open invitation for all businesses in the community to participate in the Honolulu Year 2000 User Group.

The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at Bank of Hawaii. An agenda is sent out in advance to members informing them of the time and place of the next meeting. The discussion topic for October's meeting is "Change Management-Going Forward into Year 2000." The group will discuss how to integrate new code and new applications into production systems, how to keep new systems and acquisitions compliant, and how to put gatekeepers in place to stop growing the problem.

For more information about the Honolulu Year 2000 User Group, contact Nancy Downes, Year 2000 communications administrator via telephone at 537-8381 or email to ndownes@boh.com.

In addition, community members may telephone Bank of Hawaii's Year 2000 hotline at 538-4978. This hotline has been set up to receive questions concerning Year 2000 issues. Questions will receive follow-up responses in an appropriate timely manner.