Sulfur Gas Closes Volcanoes National Park

Sulfur dioxide levels have reached the closure level in the summit area of the park.

Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando has ordered the closure of the park until further notice.
"Our primary concern is for the health and safety of visitor and employees," Commander Joe Molhoek. " We're in close contact with the National Weather Service and look forward to favorable winds by week's end."
For the safety of everyone, park operations have been curtailed and park rangers are in the process of closing the park, inlcuding Kilauea Military Camp and Volcano House Hotel.
There is no immediate threat to anyone's safety. National Park Service emergency responders will remain on duty until further notice. The park will reopen when favorable winds return.

Halema'uma'u Crater Show

Aloha!

Halema'uma'u Crater has been quite active this past week. Maybe Pele, the goddess of fire is unhappy after two airlines shut down their services without much notice to its passengers?

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park reopened after the trade winds carried away the sulfur filled air that caused about 2,000 people to relocate to Hilo.

I have walked atop this wonderful landmark on the Big Island and it is something you will always remember. If you are planning a vacation to Hawaii, try to visit the Volcanoes National Park.

Maui Mike

http://www.lovemyhawaii.com/

Keeping The Aloha Spirit

With all the bad news lately it get harder and harder to stay positive! People losing their retirements, businesses closing down, energy prices keep rising, not to mention tax time.

All this negative stuff can really get you down. But I have always been a positive thinker and a fighter. We all need to pray and hope for a brighter day and work at keeping our spirits up. It takes Aloha in our lives to keep us going when things get up down.

I'm lucky I have experienced Hawaii where people from all over the world have come together as one sharing Paradise. Hawaii too has its problems but overall they somehow to keep the Aloha spirit alive and when you come to the islands you can feel this where ever you go.

This intangible thing called Aloha needs to spread throughout the world. It will make for a better tomorrow for everyone.

The next time you down, visit my site and click on one of the players you can find on the home page and island pages. Just look at the images and enjoy the Hawaiian music. It will give you a lift like it does to me and I'm the one who put it together. Not to sell you something, but to share with you the Aloha Spirit that I come to love.

Maui Mike

http://www.lovemyhawaii.com/

ATA Airlines Files For Bankruptcy

Today, ATA Airlines announced that it has ceased all operations, cancelling all current and future flights. There are an estimated 9,600 ATA ticket holders in Hawaii who will need to rebook on other airlines to return to the mainland over the next week or two. Most ticketholders are on Oahu and Maui with smaller numbers on Kauai, in Hilo and Kona.

ATA is instructing its ticket holders to contact other airlines to rebook. Those airlines are not required to accept ATA tickets and passengers may be required to purchase one-way tickets to return home. A list of those airlines is provided below.

Many accommodations and airlines have already extended generous special considerations to passengers affected by the termination of Aloha Airlines’ passenger service earlier this week.

I sure there will be more offers available shortly from the other airlines to assist in this very sad week for people who travel to and from Hawaii.

Aloha Airlines Ends Service

"This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii," said David A. Banmiller, Aloha's president and CEO. "Despite the grounds well of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action."
"Unfortunately, unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business, bringing to an end a 61 year old company with a proud legacy of serving millions of travelers in the true spirit of Aloha," said Banmiller. "We realize that this comes as a devastating disappointment to our frequent flyers and our loyal business partners who have supported this company for many, many years."
The unfair competition mentioned is "Go Airlines" that currently run flights between islands for $49 per seat one way. Their advantage is they use smaller aircraft reducing the ever growing fuel costs.