For families: Hawaii times four

Along with news of war and gas prices and all the other reasons to feel blue on a Monday, the Star-Advertiser also delivered this little nugget of happy talk yesterday: Hawaii is king of the hill where family escapes are concerned.

So says Travelocity, whose recent review of bookings included four isle locales on its Top 10 list of families’ summer getaways. OK, Hawaii’s top-ranking site was Honolulu at No. 3. But with Maui, Kauai and Kona clocking in the fourth-, fifth- and seventh-place spots, respectively, the message gets stronger: Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii. Not a bad sign for tourism.

Need a bike, rent a bike

The great thing about pilot projects is they let the slow-moving government try out new ideas and get comfortable with them before making a big commitment. The Hawaii B-cycle bike-rental program, officially kicking off Friday in Kailua, is one example.

Here’s hoping it all goes well, because having short-term use of a bike might be helpful elsewhere on the island. Say, someplace town-side of the tunnels, when traffic around the rail project starts to get dicey?