Honolulu

Got time for a quick getaway to Hawaii at the end of November? Pleasant Holidays has a three-night stay plus airfare from Los Angeles to Honolulu starting at $299 per person. The deal: The window period for this deal is short, but it’s a good value if you can make the dates work. The cost is based on double occupancy and includes three nights at the Castle Ocean Resort Hotel near Waikiki plus airfare from Los Angeles. (The package holds if you are flying from San Francisco.

Honolulu ? In the latest sign of Hawaii's struggling economy, the inauguration of Honolulu's new mayor will be three days late because a public employee furlough kept the county clerk from certifying the election in time. Mayor-elect Peter Carlisle is to be sworn in on Oct. 11 rather than Friday, as originally scheduled, because the earlier date falls on one of the county's 24 annual furlough days, instituted due to budget constraints. A court ruling recently held that furlough days ?

USC today VS. ST. MARY'S When: 2 PST . Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu. On the air: TV: ESPNU; Radio: 710 Records: USC 6-4, St. Mary's 10-1 Update: USC faces St. Mary's in the second round of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic. St. Mary's advanced with a 78-67 win against Northeastern. The Gaels are led by senior center Omar Samhan (21.8 points, 12 rebounds a game), and guards Matthew Dellavedova (13.6), Mickey McConnell (11.8)

USC today VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN When: 2 PST. Where: Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu. On the air: TV: ESPNU; Radio: 710. Records: USC 5-4, Western Michigan 4-4. Update: USC has won three in a row going into the first round of the inaugural Diamond Head Classic. Western Michigan returns three starters, led by senior guard David Kool (21.5 points). The winner will face Northeastern or St. Mary's on Wednesday. Also in the eight-team field are Nevada Las Vegas, Southern Methodist, College of Charleston and Hawaii.

Les Keiter, a longtime sportscaster who was known for his radio re-creations of San Francisco Giants games for New York listeners in the first few years after the baseball team moved to California, died Tuesday at Castle Medical Center near Honolulu. He was 89. Honolulu television station KHON, where he had been a sports anchor for many years, reported that Keiter died of natural causes and had dementia.

It's hardly the triumphant return to the United States that South Korean pop superstar Rain had hoped for. The popular singer-actor, dubbed the "Justin Timberlake of Asia," arrived in Hawaii on Monday facing two lawsuits stemming from the cancellation of dates on his 2006-07 North American Rain's Coming tour. Rain's legal troubles follow his attempts to break into the U.S. market and build the kind of loyal fan base here that has eluded other Asian performers.

For more than 50 years, Kimmel-Meehan has tended to the fine clothing needs of generations of men from its storefront on Montrose's picturesque Honolulu Avenue. Founders Gale Kimmel and Howard Meehan are long gone, and soon their store will be too. On Thursday, the landmark haberdashery launched a going-out-of-business sale with all merchandise marked 40% to 80% off.

On the kind of day where Tom Pernice Jr. kept his head down to battle the wind and rain, he looked up just in time to see his final shot disappear into the hole for an eagle Friday that gave him a seven-under-par 63 and a share of the lead in the Sony Open at Honolulu. Tadd Fujikawa, the 18-year-old who turned pro after his sophomore year in high school, secured his first PGA Tour check by ripping two shots onto the green at the par-five ninth for a birdie and a 69.

Skip the frigid temperatures in Washington, D.C., and celebrate the inauguration in Hawaii later this month when President-elect Barack Obama's hometown of Honolulu marks the historic occasion with aloha spirit -- and a spate of parties. The biggest celebration will take place at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, site of the official Aloha Inaugural Ball sponsored by the Hawaii Democratic Party. The Jan.