Hawaii Travel News 02/18/2011

The Hawaii Tourism Authority will debut the very first Hawaiian language greeting message today.  The 40 second greeting will be played every 30 minutes throughout the Honolulu International Airport.

I had no idea Roseanne was living on the Big Island! Apparently she lives on a macadamia nut farm on the Hamakua coast.

A controversial proposal to tax sugary sodas and other beverages appears to be close to death at the legislature.
But a 50 percent increase in the alcohol tax is still alive.

Nightlife in Honolulu is always changing, and the little pocket of nocturnal trendiness that is downtown Honolulu has recently found a few new additions.

I saw this first on the nightly news… Amazing!

This article captures the dilemma of most visitors who want to attend a luau while in Hawaii. I'm in agreement that for locals, a "baby's first luau" is the most authentic you can find, but authenticity shouldn't necessarily be your only criteria when choosing a luau if you are looking to enjoy it.

A creative use for wana (sea urchins) to help keep harmful seaweed from overcrowing the coral reef in Kaneohe. Interesting!

Tia Carrere's win at the Grammy awards has sparked lots of controversy in the Hawaiian music community. Many believe she won on name recognition in a category filled with serious local recording artists – she doesn't even live in Hawaii despite being born here.

A whaling ship sunk in the 1820s was discovered in waters northwest of Hawaii, revealing artifacts of whaling in the Pacific.

Maui has had some crazy weather this week – flooding on South Kihei Road, a funnel cloud, and this huge sinkhole in Waiehu.