I flicked on the television and saw a bunch of extremely relieved, happy people congratulating each other. We should have a
toast to isle tourismI thought peace had been achieved in the Middle East or maybe the Russian space station Mir had gone 24 hours without something breaking.
But no. They were celebrating the fact that the Honolulu Liquor Commission had granted a liquor license to the Hawaii Convention Center.
I feel I'm relatively up to speed on the issues of the day, but I must have missed something. Was there a serious question about whether the city would allow alcohol to be served at the new convention center?
Apparently there was. In fact, people who live near the convention center managed to convince the liquor commission to limit liquor consumption there to indoors. Alcohol can't be consumed on the massive roof-top facility. This is stupid.
But first let's talk about how dumb it is to even consider making a convention center at a major resort city dry.
We learned from the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams" that "if you build it, they will come." So Kevin built a baseball stadium in a corn field and the ghosts of dead baseball players dropped by to play.
What if Kevin had built the baseball diamond but then posted a sign saying, "No Baseball Playing." Not only would "they" not come, they'd stay away in droves.
So we spend millions of tax dollars to build a convention center with the idea that if we build it, "they" will come. "They" are tourists and professional groups who want to combine partying and business at one of the most beautiful locales in the world. As much as the return-to-prohibition crowd hates it, partying among adults often involves alcohol. It's legal. And just about any large group coming to Hawaii for a convention, other than the International Teetotaler Society, is going to want to drink. It helps them relax. It makes them happy. It makes them capable of listening to long, boring speeches when they'd rather be at the beach.
Were we actually considering not allowing drinking in the convention center? It is just another sign that many people in Hawaii still have not come to grips with the fact that our major industry is tourism.
SO, thank goodness the liquor commission granted the license. But conventioneers still will not be allowed to drink on the rooftop. If I were coming from Minnesota in the dead of winter to Hawaii, I think it would be wonderful to enjoy a mai tai on the roof of the convention center while watching the sun set. Isn't this what we are actually trying to sell to tourists?
But convention center neighbors are worried that rowdy, drunken party-goers will be keeping them awake after Waikiki rolls up the sidewalks at 10 p.m. You can bet they'll be whining if they hear a peep of noise coming from the center, even if the noisemakers aren't drinking.
I don't get it.
We congratulate ourselves for keeping the Pro Bowl from leaving. We congratulate ourselves for allowing smoking in cocktail lounges. We congratulate ourselves for allowing alcohol consumption at what is supposed to be our premiere tourist facility. Next, we'll be congratulating ourselves for finally realizing that all the movie theaters in Waikiki shouldn't be destroyed. Or maybe we'll congratulate ourselves for not arresting tourists on sight at the airport when they get off the plane.
The fact is, tourists don't come to Hawaii to get healthy. They come here to party. Either we are going to have to accept that concept and embrace it -- much the way Las Vegas, San Diego and most of South America has -- or find another way to finance the state.