Where will Obamas stay next time they visit?

In that rarefied real-estate market dealing in multimillion-dollar beachfront mansions, surely a few agents are cogitating: Are the Obamas coming back for Christmas, and if so, might they want to rent my place?

Possibilities were thrown open this week by the news that the "Winter White House" in Kailua where the Obamas stayed for two Christmases running has been sold. The seller’s rep, Joel Cavasso, said it’s still unclear about the plans of the buyer, Glenn Weinberg, pictured, or whether the mansion is still available for rent.

But it’s a safe bet that others are buzzing about it, too. Developer and broker Donald Eovino, who specializes in such luxury places, said if the Obamas go shopping for new vacation digs, he’ll certainly take the call.

Big Island praised for boosting ‘parks and play’

Has the Big Island become one big playground? That seems to be the message of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit group dedicated to saving play, naming Hawaii County as tops in the nation as a Playful City USA community.

The organization cites the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation building four new park playgrounds, renovating two others, creating two concrete skate parks and installing wood features in a third skate arena — all of that since May of last year. The improvements are consistent with KaBOOM!’s view that "parks and play are more important than ever.".