WHAT A BLAST

Let the fireworks begin

A 61-year-old Windward tradition will live on, thanks to a whopping $42,000 raised in just one week. Kailua's annual Fourth of July fireworks show had been in danger of fizzling out after the Kailua Chamber of Commerce couldn't pull off organizing it. But thanks to the hustle of the grassroots group Save Kailua Fireworks and to community generosity, enough is coming together. Sit back and enjoy the show, Kailua.

LIVABLE, LIVABLE

Lucky you live Honolulu

If you're a Honolulu resident, congratulations: You are living in the only U.S. spot to make the top 25 list of the “;world's most livable”; cities, according to a Monocle Magazine survey featured in the Financial Times newspaper.

Yes, despite our budget woes and struggling economy, we came in at No. 11. Zurich, Switzerland, was tops, followed by Copenhagen, Denmark, then Tokyo. Among the quality-of-life accessors: salaries, school performance, health-care costs, tolerance, culture and late-night eating. Well, there it is: Must be all those late-night ramen spots and 24-hour Zippy's that put us over the top.

SENIOR POWER

Aging well: 65-and-older population to triple

Hope that ohana house holds up.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the world's 65-and-older population will triple by 2050, from 516 million now to 1.53 billion then. In the United States, that age group will more than double by midcentury, rising from 39 million to 89 million. Now, less than 8 percent of the world's population is 65 or older; by 2050, that share should reach 16 percent.

Currently, there are four countries — Germany, Italy, Japan and Monaco — with 20 percent or more of their population 65 and up. By 2050, more than 100 countries may have at least one-in-five people in this age group. Declining fertility rates and rising life spans are responsible for the shift.