Bowling’s back in Kailua, for old and young

The owners of the venerable Pali Lanes bowling alley in Kailua have just signed on to stay open for another five years, through 2017, and are continuing with renovations and marketing changes they hope will reenergize the place for new customers of all ages.

Especially younger bowlers — the future of bowling.

Co-owner and general manager Art Machado, 72, said he recently spent $20,000 on a new lighting and music system for "Rock-it Bowl" nights, hoping to lure customers ages 15 to 23. That group, he said, likes "music, lights, video games and having fun with friends," and, lo and behold, his move so far has been paying off.

"It’s become very popular," Machado said. "There are nights when we have to kick them out (at the 1 a.m. closing)."

More stories about Obama and marijuana

President Barack Obama acknowledged in his own book, "Dreams From My Father," that he smoked marijuana occasionally while at Punahou School, but a new book to be released later this month goes further.

The book, by David Maraniss, reveals that Obama’s group of friends was called the "choom gang," and that "choom" was a verb meaning "to smoke marijuana." Some of the members were teammates of Obama on the school basketball team.

"When they were chooming in the car, all the windows had to be rolled up so no smoke blew out and went to waste," Maraniss wrote. "When the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling."