Grandfather’s legacy burns bright in Hawaii

George Cleveland remains proud of his grandfather’s repudiation of the U.S. overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom and says he has received "real flame mail on blogs about how I’ve been brainwashed by these evil left-wing" people of Hawaii’s Pacific Justice & Reconciliation Center.

The grandson of President Grover Cleveland is in Honolulu to help honor Queen Liliuokalani’s Sept. 2 birthday and the 150th anniversary of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii. George Cleveland said he is "obviously pleased" that his grandfather "took the stance that he did in attempting to get the overthrow overthrown."

Cleveland is taking part in free events held by the Cleveland-Liliuokalani Education Project through Tuesday. See details at http://bit.ly/QLcwk1.

A bigger and better Aulani, for a price

It won’t quite be a whole new world, but just one year after opening, Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Ko Olina will get bigger and presumably better.

The major expansion, to start Sept. 10 and finish in mid-2013, will coincide with the final build-out of the resort, officials said. Among the additions at the Hawaiian-themed beachfront facility: a third pool, splash zone featuring faux tide pools and rainbow water jets, two food stations, larger lawn area and more retail space.

All those wonderful amenities don’t come cheap, of course, and viewing current room rates online might bring on sticker shock. But hey, what do you expect for the pleasure of being in the Happiest Place on Earth-West?