FLAME ON!

The dark side of candles

Candles are cool, but is there anyone left out there who doesn't realize they also are extremely dangerous?

Seriously, candles can burn your house down. It happens often, like just this past Monday when an “;unattended candle”; wreaked havoc at a Haleiwa home, causing $80,000 worth of damage. Luckily, the home's two residents escaped the fire. If you're a fan of candles, use every precaution to make sure they don't get out of control. Losing your home—or your life—just isn't worth it.

TEXT YOUR GIFT

Compassion in the high-tech age

In the wake of the Haiti earthquake tragedy, donating a few dollars to help many on the brink of life or death has never been easier. On a cell phone, texting “;HAITI”; to 90999 will send $10 to the Red Cross; texting “;HAITI”; or “;QUAKE”; to 20222 sends $10 to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. At Costco, you can debit a donation to the Red Cross at the check-out line.

In Haiti, more than 200,000 are estimated to be dead, 250,000 in need of urgent aid and 2 million homeless.

ONLY NO. 2?

H-1 freeway earns dubious distinction

The Highway to Hell runs through Honolulu.

So says The Daily Beast, a Web site, which ranked Lunalilo Freeway (H-1) the second worst among the 75 most congested roadways in the United States.

The freeway was congested 347 hours a week, with the biggest bottleneck eastbound between South Vineyard Boulevard and Ward Avenue. That .82-mile stretch alone was congested 36 hours a week, according to the Web site.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic is a nightmare throughout urban America, and it's no different in paradise.