Obamas experience Hawaii blackout

Washington Post, December 28, 2008

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. Friday, and the president-elect's estate lost power about an hour later, not only inconveniencing the future first family but raising potential hazards for his security detail.

Utility crews restored power to the property around 6 a.m. Saturday, and by midday electrical service was back for many of the island's 900,000 residents and thousands of tourists, whose high-rise hotels stood mostly dark save for some tiki torches. The Hawaiian Electric Co. had restored power to 94% of its customers by late afternoon, a spokesman told the Associated Press.

Staying at the compound with his wife, Michelle, their two daughters and the families of several close friends, Obama spent the night in the dark. Three power generators were quickly delivered to the estate, and a utility company offered a fourth, but Obama instructed the operators not to fire them up, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said in an interview.

"They did not turn any of them on. . . . Obama politely declined and said that he and his family were going to go to bed," Hannemann said, adding that the family turned in around 9:30 p.m. "I used that admonition on the radio to tell all our residents to follow the lead of the president-elect and get your families tucked away, and hopefully by morning power will be restored."

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt issued a statement saying, "The Obama family is grateful for the offers of assistance from local officials," but declined to offer further details.

The question of whether the Obama family slept without power provided plenty of fodder for residents here. On KSSK-AM radio, one host asked, "I wonder if because the president-elect is staying here we've made national news? . . . On little ol' Oahu!"

The blackout prevented printing and delivery of the Honolulu Advertiser on Saturday, but the newspaper still produced an online edition. The banner headline: "POWERLESS."

Meanwhile, just beyond the Obama estate's stone and lava-rock wall, Secret Service agents and Honolulu police officers labored through the night to maintain security for the president-elect.

The home's outside lights were not working, nor were the street lamps along the narrow two-lane road leading to a guard shack in front of the house.

To find their way, officers resorted to flashlights and glow sticks, Hannemann said.

Local authorities were prepared to bolster Obama's security detail outside the compound, and military personnel at a nearby Marine Corps base were in position should an incident require Obama to move, authorities said.

"They could move him very quickly, if they had to, to the Marine base; and he's on a peninsula, so it's very easy to secure," said Ray Lovell, a state civil defense spokesman.

But that turned out not to be necessary.

"At the request of the Secret Service, we dispatched one extra Honolulu Police Department vehicle, but that's all that we did," Hannemann said. "We didn't need to do any additional beefing up. . . . I was assured by HPD, in consultation with the Secret Service, that security was more than adequate."

It was the first time all of Oahu had lost power since Oct. 15, 2006, when a 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook the Hawaiian Islands and knocked out power for up to two days. Oahu is the state's most populous island.

Honolulu International Airport operated on emergency generators, with fights delayed up to several hours, the Associated Press reported. Some incoming passengers were kept on planes for extended periods.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii, arrived for a 12-day vacation with his family on Dec. 20.

Obama and daughters cause stir on Hawaii outing

Reuters, Dec 27, 2008

Barack Obama, trying to enjoy the last semblance of normal life before he becomes U.S. president on January 20, caused a commotion when he took his daughters to a shopping mall in Hawaii on Friday.

It made for a surreal scene -- the president-elect, daughters Malia, 7, and Sasha, 10 and family friends eating at a table at the mall watched by a crowd of onlookers and surrounded by anxious-looking Secret Service agents.

The agents struggled to hold back people trying to get closer to snap pictures of Obama eating a tuna and melted cheese sandwich and the girls enjoying shave ices, a local treat made from finely shaved ice and fruit syrup.

Earlier, as Obama strolled through a mall parking lot, dozens of onlookers swarmed around, snapping pictures and cheering while Secret Service agents tried to keep a protective screen around the soon-to-be first family.

In interviews since his election on November 4 Obama has said he wants to maintain some degree of normal life for his daughters. He has also said he fears becoming isolated and losing touch with the world outside the White House "bubble."

But family outings such as Friday's are likely to become rare after he enters office and the already strict security measures that surround him now are intensified.

Obama has kept a low profile since arriving on the Hawaiian island of Oahu for a 12-day holiday with his family on December 20. Apart from two golf outings and daily trips to the gym, he has remained sequestered in his beachfront holiday villa.

Media travelling with him have been barred from approaching the heavily guarded house, whose access road has been blocked. That did not stop one enterprising paparazzi photographer from snapping Obama shirtless on the beach earlier this week.

Obama spreads grandmother's ashes in Hawaii

NECN.com, December 24, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama's trip to Hawaii was more than just a holiday -- he also spent time at a private memorial service for his grandmother on Tuesday.

Madelyn Dunham helped raise Obama when he lived in Hawaii as a boy. The 86-year-old did not get a chance to see Obama win the election, as she passed away just two days before November 4th.

Obama attended the service in a small home that had been converted into a church.

After the service, he and his family members scattered her ashes off the cliffs into the Pacific.

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