Hawaii

HONOLULU — Thousands of runners are training for the Honolulu Marathon, which is in three weeks.

KITV’s Dick Allgire met a 90-year-old great-grandmother who is training to set a world record.

Gladys Burrill is in training for her fifth Honolulu Marathon.

In 2003 Burrill saw the fireworks at the start of the marathon from her lanai, and thought: “How exciting! I should do that.”

So she trained in racewalking and now she’s going for a record.

“Well, I plan to break the world record for women between 90 and 94 years of age,” she said.

She hopes to finish the marathon in eight hours and 30 minutes.

Gladys is nicknamed the Glady-ator.

“Oh, it is exhilarating, even though back about a mile you get kind of weary, when the finish line gets in sight it’s so exciting,” she said.

Burrill has been a pilot, she’s climbed Mount Hood and has 22 great-grandchildren. (Read the full post about ‘Marathoner, 90, Trains For Record’…)

HONOLULU — Warning signs were posted Sunday after thousands of gallons of sewage spilled out of manholes in several areas across Oahu.

This weekend’s heavy rains are being blamed for the overflows from Nuuanu to Kailua.

Fishermen cast their nets in Kaelepulu Stream at Kailua Beach, where fish are plentiful right after heavy rains.

“Usually, when there’s heavy rains, they open the mouth of the river to relieve the water, and when the high tide comes in, the fish smell that fresh saltwater and they come out,” fisherman Curtis Chung said.

But the heavy rains also caused three sewer manholes to overflow, including one at Keolu Drive and Hele Street.

More than 4,000 gallons of sewage spilled onto the streets and emptied into drainage systems and into Kaelepulu Stream.

“When the tide goes down in the brown water, you can see it coming back because the fresh water is going out,” Chung said.

Warning signs in English and Japanese advised the public against fishing and swimming in the area. (Read the full post about ‘Sewage Spills Into Streams After Rains’…)

WASHINGTON — From Honolulu to the District of Columbia’s historically black neighborhoods, Americans who had let many presidents pass them by are clamoring for a chance to be a part of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

There are lengthy waiting lists for tickets to the inauguration and balls. Hotels have filled up as far away as West Virginia.

Obama spent a fair of amount of his youth in Hawaii, but island residents have one of the most expensive trips ahead of them if they want to attend the inauguration.

One six-night inauguration travel package goes for $3,299 per person.

And the state’s inaugural ball has sold out, but there will be a similar event held in Honolulu.

Estimates for the size of the inauguration crowds on Jan. (Read the full post about ‘Americans Rush Plans For Obama Inauguration’…)

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s biggest banks continue to make money even as their mainland counterparts are drowning in a sea of red ink.

Island institutions including Bank of Hawaii, American Savings Bank, Central Pacific Bank and First Hawaiian Bank have been able to withstand the nation’s mortgage meltdown.

The four banks are weathering the financial storm by avoiding subprime lending, maintaining their conservative practices and keeping in mind the region’s long-lasting economic downturn in the 1990s.

That’s when the Japanese financial bubble burst and so did all the frenzied, speculative buying by international investors that inflated real estate prices in Hawaii.

Banks and other lenders that purchased or made bad mortgages by the billions got away from the fundamentals. (Read the full post about ‘Hawaii Banks Profitable In Shaky Market’…)

HONOLULU — A woman who claims she is Hawaiian royalty has been sentenced to five years for abusing three children in her care.

Prosecutors argued 52-year-old Rita Makekau deserved 41 years behind bars, but Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall imposed the lighter punishment.

Three victims said in written statements that they were beaten, starved and threatened with death over four years.

Makekau declined comment other than to stress she should be called “Her Royal Highness” because she considers herself the “Royal Minister of Foreign Affairs” for a Hawaiian sovereignty group.

She plans to appeal the case, arguing that as a Native Hawaiian she is not subject to the jurisdiction of state courts. (Read the full post about ‘Oahu Woman Gets 5 Years For Child Abuse’…)

There’s no other way of putting it: Writer-director Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” is epic in every sense of the word. But while the film is a breathtaking trip Down Under, Luhrmann, the genius behind the hit musical “Moulin Rouge,” knows that the film isn’t a slam dunk by the virtue of its beauty alone.There’s much more to it than that, and he’s challenged by trying to boil it down to a couple of words.”We’ve seen the film with audiences and we know that there’s a connectivity, but selling a film like this — communicating it — is not an easy thing for Fox or any other studio to do,” Luhrmann said in a recent @ The Movies interview. “People are in for broad comedy, passionate romance, action and drama all in one package. (Read the full post about ‘‘Australia’ Emotional Trip Home For Director’…)

Listen up!

Class is in session.

We here in Professorville hope you’re having a dandy holiday weekend. As you’re heating up those turkey and eggs, here are a few things I’m thankful for — and a few things that are simply terrible. In other words: thanks, turkeys.

Thanks: Main Event Mafia
I have to tell you, TNA has been a train wreck for way too long. Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Sting, Booker T and Scott Steiner working as a group may get it on track again. This new heel group gives the promotion focus as it tries to make stars out of the TNA Front Line, the younger stars who used to populate the X-Division. Kudos for this fine effort. (Read the full post about ‘Professor Wrestling: Thanks, Turkeys’…)

LONDON — A 1911 hospital payroll sheet is giving support to the argument that The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” was a real person.

Annie Mawson wrote to Paul McCartney in 1989 asking for a donation for the Sunbeams Music Trust charity.

A year later, she got a letter containing the document, which shows a scullery maid’s signature of “E. (Read the full post about ‘Document Claims Eleanor Rigby Real Person’…)

‘Australia’ (PG-13)(out of four)

A cast of thousands with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman at the center makes “Australia,” an almost three hour long movie, an epic, for sure: yet the film also feels like you’re being taken hostage for the evening.

“Australia” is a journey that visionary filmmaker Baz (”Moulin Rouge”) Luhrmann wanted to make, but would the expensive film be something that moviegoers would enjoy or merely endure?

That’s a matter of opinion. From the onset, the complicated story takes time to figure out. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Far Away ‘Australia’ Has Ups, Downs’…)

HONOLULU — Saturday’s downpour didn’t stop many Oahu residents from going outdoors.

Some were state road crews making sure water continued to flow freely out of storm drains.

But others were regular weekenders determined to have a good time.

Nuuanu Pali is at home in the rain.

So were visitors on Saturday at the lookout, huddled under umbrellas and buffeted by wind.

A sign that explains the sights of the panorama is titled: What can I see from here?

The answer on Saturday was not much, and even less if your glasses are fogged up as Waikiki resident Diana Reyes’ were.

“I love it here. (Read the full post about ‘Oahu Residents Venture Into Downpour’…)