The city’s debt has surged to an estimated $3 billion, up from $1.89 billion owed in fiscal year 2000.

HONOLULU (AP) _ High winds buffeted the state yesterday, causing electrical power outages, toppling trees and igniting brush fires. Hawaiian Electric Company says some 77-hundred of its customers on Oahu were without power for part of the day. Continue…

California investors have bought the Kauai Village shopping center in Kapa’a, and plan a major renovation of the 110,000-square-foot complex that is anchored by Safeway and Longs Drugs. Continue…

Kauai Garden Island News Feb 4 2007 5:24PM GMT Continue Here…

Teen ‘zines, dress sellers, even high school newspapers are hawking the dreaded Prom Checklist, detailed enough to make even the most obsessive teenager feel inadequate.

Hawaii quarter designs under scrutiny
[email protected] KING Kamehameha I might have sway over the islands, but at least one mainland organization has nixed him from Hawaii’s commemorative quarter. Last month, the U.S. Commissio…

(ARA) – Does shopping in New York or L.A. leave you with a “been there, done that” feeling? Do theme park thrill rides leave you yawning rather than screaming? Have you seen so much of nature’s wonders that you wonder what could possibly be left to do or see on your next vacation?

MANAGER/ COOK IMMEDIATE OPENING 
at Brazoria County Juvenile location. Institutional cooking experience preferred but not required. Competitive wages, Direct deposit, 401K, & vacation pay. Must pass background check and pre-employment drug screen.

A sampling of Snohomish County readers’ letters, faxes and e-mails.

Everymom: When is perfect attendance taken too far? 
Sudden tummy aches arise when its time for my daughter to clean up or go to bed. And there has been at least one morning when shes woken up with one. Im pretty sure it was a case of wanting to watch the end of Caillou before getting ready for pre-school, as opposed to a true tummy ache.

CCNMatthews – Geordie Mark, IOCG Geologist on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at 11:10 a.m. (Pacific Time) at the Westin Bayshore Hotel, Vancouver. Cash Minerals will also be featured at the Roundup Core Shack event that takes place on Wednesday, January 31 at the Story Continues Here

Associated Press ROCK ISLAND, Ill. » A soldier from Hawaii is accused of taking a $50,000 bribe to steer a food service contract to a Kuwaiti company, according to an indictment unsealed yesterda…

Hawaii’s newest import will be the avian flu — for research. Despite some resistance from residents, the state Board of Agriculture yesterday voted 6-1 to allow the University of Hawaii to import the deadly virus for research and preparation for localized detection.

Tax cut on basic foods faces opposition 
HONOLULU (AP) _ Eliminating taxes on basic food items like peanut butter, juice and eggs may not be such an easy sell to Hawaii lawmakers. It sounds like an attractive benefit for average consumers to make essential food items tax free.

Reuters India – MUMBAI (Reuters) – Berggruen Hotels, a new venture backed by U.S. investment firm Berggruen Holdings Inc., will invest $100 million in a chain of boutique budget hotels in India, it said on Monday. At least 38 hotels, branded Keys, will be launched

Carlson added 78 hotels in ’06, plans accelerated growth in ’07
Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal – Carlson Hotels Worldwide announced Monday that it added 78 hotels and resorts to its five-brand portfolio in 2006, and it has plans to continue expanding in 2007. The company ended the year with 938 hotels operating in 70 countries. Its brands