Hula Planet:What To Do In Hawaii

Aloha Friday Photo: No Rain = No Rainbows Edition

Today’s gorgeous Aloha Friday Photo comes to us from my friend Dave from Oahu. Here’s Dave’s story about this photo: I park a few blocks away from work because I like/need the walk. On this day it was raining so I decided to walk straight to the car instead of walking down the beach but changed my mind.  I was thinking that if the sun were to come out, it would create a rainbow in the direction of Diamond Head. Sure enough! As soon as I got to the beach, the sun came out made a perfect, sunset rainbow over Diamond Head! Woo Hoo! :^) As you can see from the photo, Diamond Head is still brown. Due to the fact that we get more rain in the Winter, it should start turning green pretty soon. I like the rain out here. We typically don’t get a huge downpour. The vast majority of the time the rain is more like scattered but heavy mist which is perfect for producing the amazing rainbows that Hawaii is so famous for. No Rain = No Rainbows!  ;^) I’m glad Dave decide to walk down the beach instead of straight to his car, aren’t you? Mahalo Dave! © Go Visit Hawaii – Republication of this entire post is prohibited without prior permission. Using extracts of less than 100 words are permitted with full attribution and link back to GoVisitHawaii.com .

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New High Definition Waikiki Webcam

Watch outrigger canoe paddlers muscle through the Waikiki surf. Whether you’re heading to Waikiki, just got back, or day-dreaming of watching that blue surf gently roll to the golden sand beaches of Waikiki – you’ll be captured by this new high definition Waikiki webcam provided by the nice folks at Ohana Beach Rentals Hawaii . What sets this Waikiki webcam apart from others is that it’s in high definition and offers a unique perspective from atop the fifteen-story, oceanfront  Diamond Head Beach Hotel & Residence . From that position, the webcam offers 180-degree vantage point for the HD Surf & Sunset Camera that has been pre-set with 18 top surf spots, swimming locales and coastal view planes for viewers to choose. Use of the HD Surf & Sunset Camera and viewing of its images over the web is free to the general public. One of the most impressive features however is the ability for the web user to take control of the HD Surf & Sunset Camera to freely pan, zoom-in and zoom-out, and change viewing points of the device. Due to the HD surf camera’s high-quality 1080p video capturing capabilities, images are crisp, colorful and quite impressive when viewed on a personal computer – especially with a high-speed internet connection. To take control of the camera, viewers are put into waiting queues. Once a user receives control, they have a two-minute time span to control the device via the on-screen control tabs. What’s cool is that an advanced zooming feature has been added to the control panel allowing a user to use their mouse pointer to draw a box around a particular object or image area to immediately zoom into a desired location on the screen. As a user waits in a queue, they can view the live video stream as it takes place. At some nearby locales to the Diamond Head Beach Hotel & Residences, you can zoom directly into the water to see close-up and amazing surfing action, ocean events and beach activity. At other long-distance locations, you can see impressive crescent views of Waikiki Beach (as far as the Hilton Hawaiian Village) and coastal images as far as Honolulu Harbor to Ewa. Some of the popular pre-set viewing points include:  B one Yards Surf Spot  Castles Surf Spot  Old Mans Surf Spot  Publics Surf Spot  Rice Bowls Surf Spot  Suicides Surf Spot  Tonggs Surf Spot  Diamond Head Ocean Vista  Hawaiian Sunset Coastal View  Waikiki Beach Close-Up  Waikiki Beach Wide Shot  Fireworks Waikiki (evening fireworks on Friday nights and special holidays) Aside from all of the surf and ocean activity, web viewers can also see some impressive evening activities when the camera goes into its evening grayscale mode – especially on Friday nights as the Hilton Hawaiian Village presents its evening fireworks extravaganza . On New Years Eve and July 4th holidays, you’ll be able to watch the fireworks from the convenience of your computer. For more information and to view Ohana Beach Rentals Hawaii’s HD Surf & Sunset Camera,  visit www.OBRHI.com . © Go Visit Hawaii – Republication of this entire post is prohibited without prior permission. Using extracts of less than 100 words are permitted with full attribution and link back to GoVisitHawaii.com .

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Improvements coming to Diamond Head, Honolulu train gets nod from feds, ignition interlock becomes law, rats panic parks, more Hawaii news

The state has started its much anticipated improvements to Diamond Head State Monument, including a new park-like pathway to the entrance to the Diamond Head trail and a new second trail down from the crater's summit. A civil rights group is exploring the possibility of an economic boycott against Hawaii Business Roundtable members who supported a letter from the organization's executive committee urging a governor's veto of House Bill 444, the civil unions measure. A final environmental study of Honolulu's planned 20-mile, elevated commuter rail line picked up a key federal endorsement and now goes to Gov. Linda Lingle for her review. Full speed ahead, maybe. The Federal Transit Administration has given the City's rail transit project the green light to proceed. The Hawaii Republican Party is accusing national Democrats of a "flip-flop" because they're now supporting Colleen Hanabusa. Drunken drivers will have to get ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles starting in January as the state tries to prevent repeat offenders from threatening the safety of other motorists. Locked out? By prohibiting any consumption of beverage alcohol, ignition interlocks punish responsible guests and threaten your business.(AT ISSUE): An article from: Cheers The state’s goal of laying an interisland undersea cable to carry energy from Molokai and Lanai to Oahu took a big step forward last week with the announcement that a California contractor will soon begin an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project. Helicopters Dropping Poison: Coming Soon To A Forest Near You? Downtown Honolulu is just 30 miles away, but in remote Kahanahaiki, it feels like 3,000 miles. Staff Sgt. David Flowers stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan on May 11, 2009. Fi refighters made "good progress" this weekend against a brush fire burning for a week above Maalaea, but it still remains 90 percent contained and not yet extinguished. The Kaua‘i County Council recently passed a bill to allow wastewater fees to gradually increase over the next few years. A federal Bankruptcy Court judge approved yesterday the potential sale of Hawaii Biotech Inc. and set a July 19 auction date for the financially troubled company that is conducting clinical trials to produce vaccines for dengue fever and the West Nile virus.

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SURFING HAWAII: PERFECT DIAMOND HEAD WITH JAPANESE SURFER GIRLS

SURFING HAWAII DIAMOND HEAD PERFECT WAVES WITH JAPANESE SURFER GIRLS. SUMMER 2009 GO-NAMINORI BY KIRBY FUKUNAGA

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Honolulu Diamond Head Hawaii

Image taken on 2007-12-23 14:17:03 by Sheepback.Cabin.

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Libraries closing for furloughs, elections chief resigns, Hawaii soldiers headed to Afghanistan, more

Workers at the state's public libraries will take 15 furlough days a year for the next two fiscal years, closing libraries on those days starting Dec. 16. Kevin Cronin, the state's embattled chief elections officer, informed the state Elections Commission yesterday that he intends to resign at the end of the year. President Obama's announcement on Tuesday of a troop surge in Afghanistan comes as Hawaii's Army National Guard prepares to send a unit to the war-torn country. Despite working for nearly two years to eliminate "illegal camping" at Kapi'olani Park, the city finds itself grappling with another homeless encampment there. On the Diamond Head end of Waikiki next to Kapiolani Park, a disabled Laura Lambertson pitched her tent for the night Monday on a strip of land between the sidewalk and Kalakaua Avenue, along with scores of other homeless people. As many as 1,275 new bed-and-breakfast homes could be established on Oahu under certain conditions intended to allow true homeowners to take in additional income to keep their properties. Hawaii's two U.S. senators, Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, are in strong support of President Barack Obama's plan to add 30,000 troops to the Afghanistan war. But Hawaii's two House members, Reps Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono, questioned the plan. Oahu law enforcement officials arrested a man they said conned Hawaii banks out of $130,000. Hawaii County farmers who have lost crops to vog and sulfur dioxide emissions can continue applying for low-interest loans from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering more low-interest loans to Hawaii Island farmers whose crops are suffering from the vog, declaring the county as a primary natural disaster for a second time in less than 18 months. A three-day land and air search for Hana residents Carl and Rae Lindquist ended Monday when Maui firefighters conducted a 2-hour search of a streambed and a shoreline near where the couple's battered sport utility vehicle was found Saturday morning. A lawsuit filed in state court demands efforts to widen Kuhio Highway through Wailua be abandoned until an environmental impact statement is completed.

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