Websurfing on the Big Island

Aloha!

We've all heard the suggestion that we should shop local in order to boost the Island's economy. Well how about the idea of surfing local? Web surfing, that is. Here are some local websites to check out.

Big Island Video News. Sure you can get news from the online print versions of West Hawaii today and the Tribune-Herald, but pictures, especially moving ones, are worth a thousand words. Surf over to http://www.bigislandvideonews.com to catch up on a wide variety of island news from this easy-to-navigate site.

Craigslist. We all know we can buy and sell and give things away at this ultra-utilitarian and free online flea market. I can't begin to count the number of items I have bought and sold on craigslist. But the site goes beyond that. There is also a Community section at upper left on the page after you go to http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big. There you will find info on lost+found, rideshare, childcare, classes, etc. As always caveat emptor - buyer beware. There are plenty of scams on craigslist and unscrupulous people.

County of Hawaii. For local government info and resources, point your browser to http://www.hawaii-county.com. You'll land on the site for the County of Hawaii. At the County's site you can look for jobs, get the HeleOn bus schedule, find out about camping sites, access maps, etc. You can also email various County departments with your questions and concerns.

Big Island Weekly. Like this print magazine? I sure do. The tone of this publication is more hip than the daily newspapers. The shakas and stink eyes always seem right on the money with regard to current events. Right on the home page you can access the weekly surf report, the tide calendar, after work fun (pau hana), a calendar of events that includes a lot of alternative lifestyle activities (not just the usual parades, etc.), and more. The magazine's URL is http://www.bigislandweekly.com.

Google Earth. OK, so this is not local per se, but you can have some real fun checking out various parts of the Island from satellite imagery. You have to download the software for your computer from http://www.google.com/earth/index.html. (I know, I'm cheating a little by asking you to do more than just plug a URL into your browser.) Once you install the software, you can punch in an address or location and zoom in. Then you can stroll around the island, checking out your favorite spots. Pretty sweet!

Hope you find some useful and interesting info from these websites. With all the web resources out there, we've got the whole Island at our fingertips.

Wishing you akamai computing!