The liquidation of Aloha Airlines continues.

The defunct airline’s court-appointed trustee Dane Field has already sold Aloha’s profitable cargo division, its contract services unit and their receivables for more than $20 million.

And last week the carrier’s main investor Yucaipa Co. bid $10 million of the debt owed by the airline to acquire the legal claims against go! airlines’ Phoenix-based parent Mesa Air Group.

Jim Wagner, Field’s attorney, said after a court hearing last week that Field plans to sell another $10 million to $15 million for remaining aircraft frames, engines and aircraft parts.

That would bring the total haul to somewhere between $40 million to $46 million for the defunct airlines assets.

Aloha’s break-up value is just a fraction of the $215 million in assets that the company listed when it filed for bankruptcy protection on March 20.

That loss of value gives you some measure of how much more a living company, its employees and its goodwill is worth to a community than a mere shell of a corporation.

Hawaii’s real estate market was softening, the U.S. economy was battling recession and the state had just seen its largest-ever mass layoff.

The failure to approve a multi-billion dollar mass transit system on Oahu dominated local headlines for weeks.

Sound familiar?

That was 1992. It was the beginning of the longest and deepest economic downturn in state history.

Some local policy makers will tell you that things are very different today. They pat themselves on the back and say that the economy has made a lot of structural changes and is better able to weather the financial storms that hit our shores.

I’m not entirely convinced by that.

The shutdown of Aloha Airlines — whose impact on the local zeitgeist was similar to that of the 1992 closure of Hamakua Sugar — is worrisome.

High fuel costs are affecting that moves from car sales, shipping costs, air fares and visitor arrivals.

The financial turmoil in the credit markets probably won’t have as big an impact here as the collapse of the 1990s Japanese investment bubble but it definitely will be felt by the local real estate sector. (Vulture investors — who made millions off of the 1990s recession — are beginning to lick their chops.)

I suspect we’re at one of those critical economic junctures where the policies we adopt now will have long lasting impact. It would be tragic if we allowed history to repeat itself.

It’s back to the drawing board for the sale of the Galbraith Trust lands.

On Tuesday, the Bank of Hawaii Corp. called off a deal by Canadian developers Dennis Blain and Phil Archer to buy the 2,100 acre Central Oahu parcel for $40 million. (See)

The bank now has to relist the property and may have to hire a new broker, which could take months and could add hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.

The bank may end up having to settle for less than $40 million due to the softening economy.

But the delay also provides more time for state and city lawmakers and local community leaders to buy and preserve the agricultural lands.

The new sales effort could get a boost from a measure passed by the Legislature this year that allows owners of ag lands to convert 15 percent of their acreage into new housing development.

The bill, which is awaiting Gov. Linda Lingle’s signature or veto, could result more than 300 acres for new housing, which vastly increases the value of the Galbraith Estate lands.

People familiar the Galbraith Estate said the previous deal collapsed on Tuesday after Blain and Archer asked for a 60-day extension to see if the ag bill gets signed and to review its potential impact.

They also say that Canadian group is trying to find a way to revive their bid.

Either way, it looks like any sale won’t be completed until the end of the year. This means further delay in the termination of the trust and further delay in the distribution of its assets to the 600-plus beneficiaries of the estate.

And now a disclosure.

On Sunday, I wrote a story about truck and SUV sales tanking. (See:) The story quoted a number of dealers, truck owners and even an urban planner about the slowdown in big-car sales now that gasoline has risen above $4.00.

The story included an anecdote about a Salt Lake resident who could only get $8,000in trade-in value on a 2004 Dodge Ram truck that she bought for $30,000 and still owed $18,000 on her car loan.

If there was a theme to the story, it would have been: “Who in their right mind would buy a truck or SUV when gas prices are so high?

I did. Two weeks ago, I bought a used Honda Passport from a local car dealership. I didn’t intend to buy a car, let alone an SUV. If fact, I just went to the dealership to see what kind of prices they were offering.

Plus, my 1990 Mazda (One of my friends used to kid me that “Miata” means “piece of #@&!” in Italian) had major transmission problems that would cost more to fix than the car was worth.

Call me a contrarian but since I live about a mile away from my work and drive an average of about 4 miles a day, I’m not going to feel the car’s 16 to 18 miles per gallon fuel mileage the same way a Mililani commuter would. Plus I’ve also decided to walk to work at least once a week to save on gas.

If prices for large trucks or SUVs are being discounted, buying one might make sense for someone in similar situation. I just hope I don’t regret the purchase when the price of gasoline rises above $5 a gallon.

The dog is in the house. Or he’s at least looking for one.

Duane “Dog” Chapman, whose popular reality television show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” is back on the air after a six-month suspension, is now on the hunt for a new home.

Chapman and his wife Beth have looked at several multi-million dollar properties in the east Honolulu area in recent weeks, local real estate people said.

The Chapmans own a home in Denver but rent in Hawaii, where they plan to raise their two young children, said Mona Wood, Chapman’s spokeswoman.

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“Here is home for them,” said Wood. “They really want to find a long-term” residence.

In November, A&E Television Network suspended Chapman’s show — one of its highest rated — after Chapman used the n-word when referring to his grown son Tucker’s African-American girlfriend. The private call had been recorded and Chapman apologized.

A&E announced last month that it would resume the show’s fifth season on July 16 and Chapman has promise to watch his words.

The new season includes a “swear jar” at Chapman’s Da Kine Bail Bonds on Queen Emma Street to which Chapman has to contribute each time he swears.