Hawaii

The life of Darrin Bunker, described by family members as an enigmatic loner, has taken a perplexing twist after his sailboat was found bobbing off Hawaii last weekend with no sign of him. He had left Dana Point Harbor three months earlier, bound for San Diego. The 30-foot vessel, damaged by fire and its mast broken, was found drifting off the Kauai coast on Sunday by fishermen. It was still stocked with provisions and Bunker's laptop computer was still aboard.

Visitors are flocking to witness the spectacular eruption at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano despite summit explosions, toxic fumes and partial closures at the national park. Nearly 9,000 people a day are touring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on average this year, a 2.5% increase over last year, when the volcano's 25-year eruption was much more peaceful, said Cindy Orlando, the park's superintendent. "Everybody's coming.

Snickers is only 8 months old. But the cocker spaniel already has spent three months adrift on a 48-foot boat and survived four months on a tiny Pacific atoll where his owners had to leave him behind when they were rescued by a cargo vessel that wouldn't allow the pup on board. Now Snickers is in Honolulu, rescued by cruise ship workers, the Humane Society, an airline, and others who have united to find him a home.

With a heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes, pleasing environmentalists but leading opponents to note the island chain's already high home prices. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle signed a bill this week that requires the energy-saving systems starting in 2010. She said the law was "another important step in our long-term plan for energy independence in Hawaii." Hawaiian Electric Co.

'Mom, Dad, can I get a tattoo?" That's a hot-button issue for many parents. They panic at the thought of their teenager being inked -- scarred! -- for life at a still tender age. If, however, the question is posed in Hawaii, the parents' reaction may be quite different. In the 50th state, tattoos are part of the culture, having been introduced centuries ago by early voyagers from other Polynesian islands. Today, tattoo parlors are just about as prolific as souvenir shops.

The technique of applying tattoos with an electric needle is relatively new. For centuries, Hawaiians used a cruder -- and far more painful -- method. A sharpened bone or shell was tied to a stick and then dipped in ink made from the kukui nut. The point was then hammered against the body to impregnate the skin. The pain was, understandably, intense. "It's, like, 10 times worse than having it done by machine," says Keeaumoku Kapu, whose chest bears a tattoo applied the traditional way.

Hawaii will switch to digital TV faster than the rest of the country to make way for an endangered, volcano-dwelling bird. Most of the state will switch to digital TV on Jan. 15, more than a month ahead of the Feb. 17 nationwide mandatory conversion deadline. Federal wildlife officials recommended hastening the transition so that the Hawaiian petrel's nesting season on the slopes of Maui's Haleakala volcano wouldn't be disrupted by the destruction of the old analog transmission towers nearby.

The sun beat down on the basin as I inhaled one last whiff of sage-filled air before vanishing through a hole in the ground. Palms sweating against the steel handrails of a sheer vertical ladder, I dropped deeper and deeper into the cool underworld until at last I hit the glossy ground, fumbled for the flashlight strapped to my hard hat, and switched it on. Its beam penetrated the darkness, illuminating a small segment of a seemingly endless labyrinth of lava tubes.

President-elect Barack Obama worked out at the fitness center of a Marine Corps base in Honolulu on Sunday, the first full day of a 12-night vacation on Oahu, his final getaway before he takes office Jan. 20. Though Obama is expected to spend considerable time with family and friends, aides say he is still doing transition work while on vacation, including receiving national security briefings each day.

A thunderstorm knocked out power throughout the Hawaiian island of Oahu after sunset Friday, forcing President-elect Barack Obama and his family to spend the night at their seaside vacation home in the dark as winds swept in from the ocean. The street lights outside Obama's compound in quiet Kailua started to shut off about 6:30 p.m.