Hawaii news roundup: Pico Iyer’s Obama encounter; USS Arizona visitors center; Princess Cruises additions

Time magazine ran an interesting piece by author Pico Iyer, who recounts a day in 2006 when he and Paul Theroux ran into Barack Obama at a burger shack in Hawaii. See “My close encounter with Obama in Hawaii.” Iyer predicts that the multicultural president-elect, with “his name, his face and his issues,” will bring a currently out-of-tune America “back to the globe.”

How will Hawaii benefit from a locally born president in the Oval Office? Rob of the Beat of Hawaii blog brings up this question in a recent post, exploring how Obama’s presidency might affect tourism, education and the economy on the islands.

Pearl Harbor Construction on a new visitors center for the USS Arizona Memorial got its start with a groundbreaking on Wednesday, assisted by elderly survivors of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, reported the Associated Press. The center is scheduled to be completed by December 2010, and will replace the current “sinking” visitors center.

Cruise news Princess Cruises has added Hawaii-bound voyages to its schedule this season, which runs through April 1, 2009. Departing from Los Angeles, the 14-day trips on the Golden Princess will stop at Honolulu on Oahu and Hilo on the Big Island, as well as at ports on Kauai and Maui, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

Air/hotel deal Hawaii vacations have recently become easier on the wallet. Through Pleasant Holidays, you can get a three-night stay and round-trip airfare from Los Angeles for as low as $349 per person (pre-tax). See Jane Engle’s post for more details.

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Barack Obama and his daughters on vacation in Hawaii; Marco Garcia / Associated Press]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 11:06 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Hawaii, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.