On the 11th Day of Gate-Mas...

Pictured above is the infamous Green Monster that was put up on L'Orange Place in Kailua a little over four years ago. Only one couple on that block opposed it: Bob and Trudy Moncrief, who are on the left side of the photo. Sadly, Bob passed away last year while that gate remained locked, keeping out neighbors, fishermen and visitors. He said it went against the spirit of aloha, and for speaking out publicly against the gate, the Moncriefs were ostracized by the other L'Orange homeowners (some are mainland people who care little about Hawaii's customs or traditions).

The silver lining though was it brought Kailua residents together. On the night of the first Neighborhood Board meeting at which the L'Orange gate was discussed, Bob stood up and said he lived on that street... and he was adamantly against it. Before he sat down, someone asked me to get a list of names and email addresses so we could organize our own meeting. There were eleven of us that signed up that night.

Within a couple of months, our list grew to over two hundred and Beach Access Hawaii was born. From there we went on to form a statewide coalition that now includes thousands of supporters for our cause. Although the gate at L'Orange is still there, Bob and Trudy Moncrief continue to serve as inspiration for others who are fighting to protect public beach access throughout the islands.

Mele Kalikimaka, Bob! We miss you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although Bob Moncrief has passed away, we can still be thankful for what he and his wife, Trudy, have stood for in the fight to preserve public beach access. The photo above of them was taken a couple of years ago in front of the L'Orange Place gate that led to the creation of Beach Access Hawaii.

The Moncriefs were the only homeowners on that street who opposed locking out neighbors and visitors from using the beach path at the end of their "private" lane. It should be noted that the residents don't mind having public services such as trash pick up, utility trucks and mail delivery using this "private" road... services their tax-paying neighbors subsidize.

One block over, Namala Place also has a gate -- and that one IS a public street, which our taxes go towards the upkeep. Yet they get away with locking out neighbors because the beach access is situated on a strip of "private" land between two houses. They also have street lights and public services paid for by the people they want to keep out. You can drive and park on the street that our tax dollars pay for, but you can't use the gate.

Meanwhile, Kalaheo Avenue continues to be dangerous for pedestrians and bike riders who must literally go out into the street to get around the dirt and debris, along the section from L'Orange to the only public access for over half a mile at that end of the beach. The City has been notified repeatedly, yet hasn't done a damn thing to rectify the situation.

I suppose we should be thankful that no one has been hit by a car... yet. Mark my words, it will happen.

Aloha, Bob...

About a hundred people attended Bob Moncrief's memorial service at Lanikai Beach on Sat., Oct. 2, and many more who could not be present were there in spirit, because his life impacted and inspired people all over the islands.

In addition to his contributions to the public beach access movement, he was active in protecting Hawaii's environment for decades. But more than that, he was a good man... and also something of a rascal when he was younger! Friends and family shared a number of funny stories about Bob as a kid, who grew up to be a scrappy young man, then matured into a loving father.

I wanted to share some of my impressions about Bob at the service and tell everyone how he and his wife Trudy inspired me to co-found Beach Access Hawaii. To be honest though, I kept choking up just thinking about it and didn't think I could convey what I wanted to say in words. So I'll just keep it simple: Aloha and mahalo, Bob. We'll miss you, but you won't be forgotten.

And thanks to those who have made generous donations in Bob's memory to Beach Access Hawaii. We'll continue to promote this cause because of people like Bob and yourself.