'TIS THE SEASON

Holiday festivities hold charm

Go ahead, channel your inner child. 'Tis the season for it.

Holiday parades abound, so if it's been a while since you've enjoyed the marching bands, carols, pageantry and dashing for Santa's tossed candy, check one out. And with downtown now ablaze with Honolulu City Lights, young and old alike can soak in the atmosphere. The lights around Honolulu Hale came on Saturday, marking the event's 25th anniversary. There's no admission cost—and in these tight economic times, that's quite a gift.

OBAMA ALERT

Fool me once, it's my fault ......

If President Barack Obama does return to his home state for the holidays, as has been reported as likely, it's a sure bet that security will be airtight. The last time he visited Oahu, regular folks were able to snap photos of him sharing shave ice with his daughters, walking on a Kailua beach and catching waves at Sandy's. But that was before a celebrity-seeking couple managed to crash a state dinner, raising questions about his security. The Secret Service isn't likely to make the same mistake twice.

CANDID CAMERA

Local Web site rats out Chinatown produce market

To view an amateur video of rats cavorting at a produce market in Chinatown, go to local blogger Larry Geller's Web site at www.disappearednews.com.

As reported in the Star-Bulletin Friday, the video raises concerns about sanitation in the area's food stores, as well as whether vector control specialists with the state Health Department are doing their job. High gross-out factor—but still fascinating to watch, accompanied as it is by narration that remarks on what fun the large, apparently quite healthy rats seem to having. “;They look happy; they're not even bothering to eat. They're scampering around, they're jumping, they're playing,”; the voice-over says. It's almost as riveting as the Disney movie “;Ratatouille.”;