The sale of an oceanfront estate that belonged to the late Jim Nabors closed earlier this month for $12 million.  Nabors was best known for his role as Gomer Pyle on "the Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle USMC".  * Kapalua Golf's Plantation Course, will temporarily close on 2/11.  It will undergo a multimillion-dollar enhancement project aimed at revitalizing the 27 year old sports facility.

          

According to Michael Foley, a coastal engineer at Oceanit, a new type of artificial reef design that uses concrete with natural materials, instead of old cars and tires, could be proposed to the West Maui community later this year as a way to combat coastal erosion. Foley, who grew up on Maui, gave a talk at the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council on a novel solution to our beach erosion. It's a highly technical complicated system, but basically the shallow reef will cause waves to slow down, change wave height and shorten wave length, even cause waves to break.  The reefs may also change the direction of approaching swells.  That's important because waves that approach at an oblique angle may transport sand away from the beach.   A reef that rotates waves so they approach parallel to the coastline may prevent longshore sediment drift. * A slate of new laws took effect in the Islands at the 1st of this month.  Some of the most significant: Pesticides containing the chemical Chlorpyrifos have been banned, Foam food takeout containers have been banned, a new law Fines owners of fake service dogs, Employers can no longer ask about salary history, and Motorcycles have been given the OK to drive in the shoulder lane in designated areas.