Income Diversity

For a small island, Kauai has significant differences in residents' financial holdings. We have always known it was a very expensive place to live, with those in such occupations finding it difficult to meet basic housing requirements, but I decided to to investigate a little more. 

We often walk down to Hotel 1, which I know is very high-end. I did some online research and found that the cost for a room per night is over $1,000. 

We like walking there because it is close, and their coffee shop has a great ocean view. Coffee is $8 per cup, and for some strange reason, a cappuccino is only $7. 

You enter the Hotel 1 from the top as it stretches down the cliff to the beach below. I find it a strange experience hanging out there, wondering about the people sitting around me in the coffee shop. No, I will be paying with my card and not putting my $8 cup of coffee on my room.

At the opposite end of the continuum are all of the homeless people. I understand that being homeless in Kauai and Minneapolis would be a very different experience in February, but I do wonder how they cover the cost of their food. There is no panhandling or people standing at stop signs with signs asking for money. The following image is fairly common. I would guess you can't live on the beach, but you see lots of tents and car "camping" on the other side of roads across from beaches,

According to my AI query:

Kauaʻi’s homeless population increased to 523 individuals in the 2024 Point In Time (PIT) Count, a 7% rise from 2023, according to the Bridging the Gap report. The count, conducted on January 22, 2024, found 464 unsheltered individuals(89% of total) and 59 sheltered individuals (11%). Unsheltered homelessness among single individuals rose to 370, while unsheltered family households decreased slightly to 22.

Key trends include a growing number of individuals with serious mental illness and chronic substance use, with 123 and 105 people identified in these subpopulations, respectively. The increase is linked to the end of pandemic-era protections, rising housing costs, and limited affordable housing. Despite this, shelter capacity has improved, including upgrades to Kauaʻi’s primary emergency shelter in 2022.

Support services are provided by organizations such as the Mana`olana Emergency Shelter (19 beds), Transitional Shelter (8 units), and the Kauaʻi County Housing Agency, which coordinates a Continuum of Care (CoC) with nonprofit partners. Advocates emphasize that actual numbers may be higher than the official count, with estimates ranging from 800 to 2,000 homeless individuals.

Kauai Coffee

We always stop at Kauai Coffee to take a look at the massive plantation and buy some coffee.  Before we came this year we had been reading online that the plantation had been having difficulty renewing its lease and was in danger of being sold. The size of the coffee farm and the infrastructure costs for all those trees and the watering system made it seem unlikely you would invest that much money without owning the land. This was evidently not the case and I was anxious to actually be there and ask about the situation. It turned out to reveal nothing I did not already know, and the workers evidently knew little or were told not to discuss the situation. I did a little AI investigating and their reticence might have been due to concern for their jobs as it seemed a new owner might be taking over.

Kauai Coffee Lease

**Kauai Coffee Company** faces imminent closure as its land lease with **Brue Baukol Capital Partners (BBCP)** is set to expire on **March 28, 2026**. The lease, covering approximately 3,100–4,000 acres of coffee land in Kalaheo, has not been renewed, leading to the issuance of **WARN notices** to all 136 employees, with terminations scheduled to begin March 14 and conclude by March 28.

BBCP, a Colorado-based investment firm that acquired the land from Alexander & Baldwin in 2022, stated it intends to **retain all employees** and continue coffee operations under new management, but has not yet finalized a plan. Despite ongoing negotiations, the company has no path forward without a lease extension, and Kauai Coffee’s leadership remains hopeful but uncertain about a resolution.

The farm, the **largest coffee grower in the U.S.**, has been a cornerstone of Kauai’s agricultural heritage and tourism since the 1980s. Local officials, including Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and Kaua‘i County Council Chair Mel Rapozo, have expressed concern over the impact on employees and the community, emphasizing the need for stability and continued agricultural use of the land.

I did purchase some coffee. I like a peaberry when available and I knew they sold this type of bean. The cost was $37 for 10 ounces so I am saving it to drink with visitors yet to arrive. 

Nourish Hanalei

I  try not to repeat past posts, but Nourish Hanalei offers such impressive views (and food) I had to make an exception. We also ate our first Acai Bowls of the trip. The Acai berry grows on the Acai Palm which used to strike me as strange as it is very different from a coconut. 

Joe Cool

 I seldom wear sunglasses because I avoid the sun and my infrequent use makes purchasing a prescription pair kind of expensive. I have a pair somewhere that is now two prescription updates behind so I am no longer certain where they are. I recently had cataract surgery and as a consequence I can see fairly well without glasses.

I decided to purchase sunglasses because the bright sun in Kauai can be a nuisance and without prescription the cost is low. I bought them myself without supervision and Cindy said I purchased what she expected - whatever that means.

Perhaps you remember Snoppy as Joe Cool. I would provide a comparison, but I am told the Peanuts characters are copyright protected. It also occurred to me that Joe Cool might apply to Joe Biden. If so, Joe and I do have certain qualities in common.

Big Waves

We have had strong winds now for a day or so. Yesterday, the news reported sustained winds 20-30 with gusts to 60. Cindy saw Nenes trying to walk past the condo and a couple were flipped around. They did not seem to understand they could get behind a wall and escape. That would have made a great video, but I was too slow to react. It was intense. Today the sun is out, and the winds are calm, but the waves are as high as I have seen them.

It is difficult to capture large waves in a way that conveys the power and size. Video helps because it provides more of a context. I took this image outside our condo over the small inlet that appears in many of our photos.