Topic of the Week: Changing Hawaii

Save Kaimana Beach

What to do about the War Memorial/Natatorium on Kaimana Beach, an unlabeled hazardous collapsing eyesore that's confused tourists and annoyed locals for 25 years? The one that will cost untold millions to rebuild from scratch? How about moving the historic facade inland, providing proper labeling and plaques for the memorial (and possibly building a stage, volleyball court, or other socially useful development around it), restoring the beach (creating an ideal natural swimming channel), and adding restrooms? What's better - a closed, monolithic single-use high-maintenance structure, or an open, mixed-use, environmentally friendly living memorial? People forget about the future: raze the Natatorium now, and if future citizens of Hawaii want to rebuild it, let them, but only when there's enough money and better, more efficient engineering technology than exists today: