Hawaii

The Hawaiian honeymoon will be wonderful - especially after the torture of your dithery mother's wedding plans and the reception with loudmouth Cousin Bruno. Although you'd like to, you can't just skip the ceremony. It wouldn't be proper. But you can let professionals plan your wedding in Hawaii and leave Bruno back home. More than 150 couples get hitched every year in the private tropical gardens of the Damien Waring Estate, not far from Waikiki. The oceanfront landscaping, with its amazing flowers, tropical birds and waterfalls, was designed as a background for photographer Waring's wedding portraits.

Hurricane Fernanda veered away from Hawaii and headed harmlessly out to sea, leaving residents breathing easier after causing only minor damage along the islands' scenic beaches. Weather forecasters lifted a hurricane watch for the entire island chain and declared the threat all but over. "It was definitely a close call and now we're elated to see Fernanda leaving the neighborhood," said Tim Craig, lead hurricane forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Honolulu.

King Rice hit a driving scoop shot at the buzzer last night to cap a 10-0 run in the final minute and lift North Carolina (No. 7 AP and UPI) over James Madison, 80-79, in the opening round of the Maui Classic in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Tar Heels will meet Villanova in a semifinal tonight. James Madison led, 79-70, with 1 minute, 15 seconds left after a free throw by Fess Irvin. That was the Dukes' last point as North Carolina nailed a long jumper, two three-pointers and Rice's dramatic shot for the win. Steve Hood, a transfer from Maryland, led James Madison with 32 points, William Davis had 20 and Irvin, a transfer from Louisiana State, had 13. Kevin Madden led five Tar Heels in double figures with 19 points.

Staying at Hawaii would have been the easy choice for June Jones. It was the challenge of rebuilding a tattered football program that led him to take the coaching job at Southern Methodist, which stumbled to a 1-11 record this season. "Where you are now excites me because the only way is up, and I am good at going up," Jones said yesterday in Dallas. The introduction of Jones at a booster-packed press conference ended the nation's longest college coaching search this year.

The television is always on in Herman Frazier's office here so that he can keep up with what's happening on the mainland, but he doesn't stay glued to it for long. There are constituents to meet, commercials to make, deals to be done for the University of Hawaii's athletic department. "You have to understand that the people here have true feelings," Frazier said. "They love this state. They love this university. And you just can't come with outside ideas and think you know it all. You've got to be able to work with the people and work it all out. " For the last three years, Frazier, 50, has done just that as Hawaii's athletic director, putting down roots thousands of miles from his native Philadelphia while trying to build up the only game in town in his new state.

Cheryl Ford scored 21 points as No. 6 Louisiana Tech cruised past Hawaii, 85-58, yesterday in Tulsa, Okla., to advance to the Western Athletic Conference championship game. The Techsters (28-2) dominated even though Hawaii's defense smothered Ford until the second half, when she scored 17 of her points. Trina Frierson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Amisha Carter and Amber Obaze each added 14 points. April Atuaia and Kim Willoughby each scored 12 for Hawaii (14-13)

Camden High dropped a 74-62 decision to St. Bernard (Calif.) in the semifinal round of the fourth annual Iolani Prep Classic last night. The loss ended Camden's 31-game winning streak and prevented coach Clarence Turner from posting his 400th career victory. Turner, now in his 17th year at Camden, has compiled a 399-51 record, a winning percentage of .887. Denny Brown, a 6-foot-5 junior, scored a game-high 28 points to pace Camden (1-1), which never recovered from a 31-23 halftime deficit.

They return from the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui as new members of the U.S. national junior swim team, but they don't have the perfect tan. Senior Christian Sprang of St. Augustine and junior Samantha Edwards of Woodstown spent a week in Hawaii competing in a variety of open-water events. Both Sprang and Edwards met the qualifying times for the national team in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter races. As part of this team, they will swim in international competitions as representatives of the United States.

Oh, boy. At this rate it's looking as if the sun may never come out for Mayfair's Joanna Pacitti. Joanna, you'll remember, was tapped in a national search to play Little Orphan Annie on Broadway. Then producers dumped the 12-year-old in favor of understudy Brittny Kissinger, 8, a month before the curtain went up. This being America, Joanna sued Macy's, the company that sponsored the nationwide Annie search, and then got on with her life: She recorded versions of "Tomorrow" and "Maybe" that are available over the Internet, did some summer theater and a ton of talk shows, and still dreams of singing on Broadway.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Shiloh Baniaga homered and allowed three hits Sunday to lead Waipahu, Hawaii, over Toms River, N.J., 3-1 at the Little League World Series. The loss was the second for Toms River National and eliminated the New Jersey team from the championship tournament. Ty DeSa added a solo homer in the fifth for Hawaii. One of the shortest players on the field at 5-foot-2, the 12-year-old Baniaga mixed his fastball and off-speed pitches to keep New Jersey off balance.

Back in 1981, when Connie Majka went on a Hawaiian vacation with her mother, she packed some predictable baggage. "I expected a Wildwood with palm trees. I'd seen the Elvis Presley movies," she recalls. "It looked fun. " Fun it was, and also life-changing. For it was on that trip that Majka saw her first native Hawaiian hula dancer, a large woman who performed with such grace, "she seemed to be floating on air. I knew instantly: I want to do that. " In the years since, Majka has studied hula and the Hawaiian culture both there and here.

Breathe in the heavy fragrance. Listen to the crash of the Pacific surf. Close your eyes and imagine you're in Hawaii. But the extravaganza of orchids and heliconia that will dazzle you at the Philadelphia International Flower Show beginning Sunday has little to do with the native Hawaiian landscape. "It's not really Hawaii plants," says Warren Wagner, the Smithsonian Institution's chair of Pacific botany. "What you'll see at the Flower Show is what the typical tourist to Hawaii sees - nearly 100 percent nonnative species.

For weeks, we've been flooded with sun-soaked teasers advancing the Philadelphia International Flower Show, which starts Sunday and has a Hawaiian theme. But one story line's been missing. Who knew the mayor of Honolulu is a Jersey boy or that its first lady hails from Doylestown? Meet Peter and Judy Carlisle, tropical transplants, shown here in September 2010, after he was elected to finish out the previous mayor's term. (He resigned to run, unsuccessfully, for governor.)

Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino will appear on the Feb. 20 episode of "Hawaii Five-0. " Victorino will guest star as a business executive on a company retreat, CBS said in a press release. Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time, appears s a Hawaiian history buff who helps Five-0 investigate the murder of a man dressed as a Hawaiian NaKoa warrior found in the jungle near the site of a historical war reenactment.

The United States is a big place with much to see and do. What's buzzing for travelers this year? Lonely Planet editors have put together a list of the top spots on the travel radar this year. To see their reasoning, visit lonelyplanet.com. 1. U.S. Virgin Islands 2. Hudson River Valley, N.Y. 3. Cincinnati 4. Four Corners Region, Southwest United States 5. Culebra, Puerto Rico 6. California Gold Country 7. Boulder, Colo.

Shipley basketball player Isaiah Baker still remembers the party. He was about 13 years old, and it was the first time he had seen kids drink alcohol at a party. Some of them became rambunctious. Baker grew so uncomfortable that he wanted to leave. He called his father to pick him up. Jimmie Baker had to be smiling on the other end. This was more proof that he had raised his son properly, that his son would not follow in his nearly fatal footsteps. Three decades earlier, Jimmie Baker was a record-setting forward in college before his career was derailed by drug and alcohol use. Isaiah Baker, a standout player and perhaps a better student, learned from that experience.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Joe Paterno once told Michael Robinson, who quarterbacked Penn State to a Big Ten championship in 2005, that he would be a Pro Bowl running back or fullback some day. "And as God is my witness," said Robinson, one of the speakers at Thursday's public memorial for Joe Paterno, "three hours ago I got off a plane from Hawaii - because I've been voted to my first Pro Bowl. " Now a fullback for the Seattle Seahawks, Robinson finished a Pro Bowl practice in Hawaii on Wednesday and traveled all the way to State College to speak at the memorial for his former coach, 85, who died Sunday.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii - This is how Twitter wars can start. But, thankfully, when more than 140 characters are available, the comment Seahawks safety Earl Thomas made about Eagles running back LeSean McCoy after yesterday's Pro Bowl practice can be explained in the proper context and understood with proper perspective. "He's like a Pop Warner running back," Thomas said of McCoy, his teammate on the NFC squad. But wait, there's more. It's meant as a compliment. "I say that because he's very quick," Thomas added.

LA QUINTA, Calif. - Mark Wilson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Humana Challenge on Sunday, beating Robert Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner by 2 strokes in a dramatic dusk finish to the wind-delayed tournament.   Champions Tour KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii - Dan Forsman won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, closing with a 3-under 69 for a 2-stroke victory over Jay Don Blake.   European Tour GEORGE, South Africa - South African Branden Grace beat his more experienced countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in a playoff to win the Volvo Golf Champions.