The 4th Annual Mauka to Makai Expo Attracts Over 2,600!

In celebration of Earth Day, the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services presented the 4th Annual Mauka to Makai Environmental Expo this past Saturday at the Waikiki Aquarium. The FREE expo showcased the efforts of more than 30 city, state, federal agencies and private organizations to preserve and protect Hawaii’s environment, with an emphasis on the island’s unique water resources and storm water runoff pollution prevention from mauka to makai.

Sponsors of the event were the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services – Storm Water Quality Branch and the state of Hawaii Department of Health – Clean Water Branch, Polluted Run-off Control Program.

Fun For The Whole Family

Activities included hands-on educational displays, picture taking with Apoha the oopu and friends, water pollution prevention games and activity books, natural resource arts and crafts, and storytelling about Hawaii’s environment. Water-related arts and crafts were also available for keiki. The first 500 families who entered received a free native Hawaiian plant.

Earth Month Clean Water Teen Video Contest

The winners of the City’s annual Earth Month Clean Water Teen Video Contest were be announced for the most creative, original, and fully-produced 30-second video promoting clean water awareness. Sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services, Lex Brodie's Tire Company, GeoTech Solutions and KHON2, the Teen Video Contest is dedicated to finding a new generation of talented teen filmmakers with unique ideas, energy, community connections, and meaningful storm water pollution prevention messages to meet the City’s clean water goals and objectives. Video categories are sedimentation, nutrients and automobile fluids.

Moi Release

With the help of Mayor Peter Carlisle, school children from neighboring Waikiki Elementary School teamed up with the Waikiki Aquarium and Expo title sponsors to release moi, raised by the Waikiki Aquarium, in the waters behind the aquarium within the Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District.

About the Department of Environmental ServicesThe mission of the Department of Environmental Services is to protect public health and the environment by providing effective and efficient management of the waste water, storm water, and solid waste disposal systems for the City and County of Honolulu. For more information about the Department of Environmental Services and upcoming programs, please visit www.cleanwaterhonolulu.com.

About the State of Hawaii Department of Health—Clean Water Branch, Polluted Runoff control Program
The mission of the Department of Health is to protect the public health of residents and tourists who recreate in and on Hawaii’s coastal and inland water resources, and to also protect and restore inland and coastal waters for marine life and wildlife. For more information about the Department of Health, visit www.Hawaii.gov/health/.

About the Waikiki Aquarium Founded in 1904 and administered by the University of Hawaii at Manoa since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium is located on the shoreline of Waikiki Beach next to a living reef and across from Kapiolani Park. The Aquarium – third oldest in the U.S. – showcases more than 500 marine species, and maintains more than 3,000 marine specimens. Public exhibits, education programs and research focus on the unique aquatic life of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific. For more information about the Waikiki Aquarium, including membership, please visit www.waquarium.org.

Conference brings in thousands of people and millions of dollars

More great coverage on the American of Neurology Conference taking place this week at the Hawaii Convention Center. Click on KHON2's link below for more info and video!

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Conference-brings-in-thousands-of-people-and/ja-__NFiwU6UzyQjBMK4kA.cspx

More Than 9,000 Expected to Attend American Academy Of Neurology Meeting

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY ANNUAL MEETING
EXPECTED TO TOP INITIAL FORECAST BY MORE THAN 2,000 PARTICIPANTS

HONOLULU, HI — Pre-registration for the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) 63rd-Annual Meeting at the Hawai‘i Convention Center has toppled previously expected attendance by more than 2,000 attendees.

The world’s largest gathering of neurologists will be held April 9-16 at the Center, including a multi-faceted schedule with major public and neighbor-island events. The conference is expected to draw more than 9,000 attendees, well above the 7,000 initially forecast, making it one of the Center’s largest events in 2011. That translates into more than $42 million in state revenue, with the Center’s hotel partners benefiting from 72,360 room nights.

“The aloha spirit we have experienced in Hawai‘i and at the Hawai‘i Convention Center is the standard by which we set all other meetings,” said Catherine M. Rydell, CAE, Executive Director and CEO of the American Academy of Neurology. “This conference will feature our most in-depth specialty and subspecialty programming to date, including seminars on Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, child neurology, movement disorders and brain imaging.”

Participation is expected from 93 countries, and will include world-class research on the latest advances in the areas of diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

More than 3,000 abstracts of scientific studies were submitted for the conference, of which more than 2,500 were accepted for presentation, making for AAN’s largest, most comprehensive science program ever.

“This major conference helps us realize a benefit both in Honolulu and for our neighbor-island partners,” said Joe Davis, SMG general manager of the Hawai‘i Convention Center. “Once again, this places the state at the epicenter of breakthrough medical research and studies.”

Other major medical conferences at the Hawai‘i Convention Center in 2011 include the BMT Tandem Meetings in February; the American Psychiatric Association’s 164^th annual meeting from May 14-18; and the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) annual meeting from Oct. 22-Oct. 27.

To kick off the conference on April 9, American Academy of Neurology Foundation is hosting its first-ever Brain Health Fair, a free public event open to anyone interested in learning how the brain works, as well as people with neurologic disorders and their caregivers, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. The family-friendly event will feature free helmets and fittings for children, Q&As with experts, activities, health seminars and videos from the Neuro Film Festival, as well as free food for the first 1,000 registrants. Register online at www.brainhealthfair.com.

In addition to the events in Honolulu, AAN is also hosting a special Neuroimaging Conference at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island April 16-17. Attendees will learn the latest about current technology from an international field of experts.

“We are pleased that the American Academy of Neurology has selected the Hawai‘i Convention Center for its 63^rd Annual Meeting, which will bring in more than 9,000 attendees from 93 countries,” said Mike McCartney president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA). “The HTA, together with the HCC, remain committed to marketing Hawai‘i as a global meeting destination and will continue to capitalize on the interest in our state as we prepare to host the 2011 APEC Leaders’ meetings in November.”

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 22,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system. For more information, visit www.aan.com.

SMG markets and manages the Hawai‘i Convention Center under the direction and support of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), the state’s tourism agency. The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority was created in 1998 to ensure a successful visitor industry well into the future. Its mission is to strategically manage Hawai‘i tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with the state of Hawai‘i’s economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, community desires and visitor industry needs.

What's on tap for Earth Day? Check out the video!

Tim Steinberger, Director of the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services was on Sunrise this morning promoting Earth Day and the City’s Mauka to Makai Expo at the Waikīkī Aquarium this weekend.

Aston Hotels Continues to Help Agents Sell Hawaii with Pride!

http://www.travelagewest.com/travel/hawaii/Info/Aston-Hotels-in-Hawaii/

Best things to do in Honolulu - Oahu

Iolani Palace is ranked 6th on US News & World Report's list of the best things to do in Hononlulu. Click below and read on!

http://travel.usnews.com/Honolulu_Oahu_HI/Things_To_Do/

Honolulu hosting Asian studies conference

Pacific Business News - by Linda Chiem, Pacific Business News                       

 

Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 2:52pm HST - Last Modified: Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 3:00pm HST

 

Approximately 4,400 Asian studies scholars and academics from 65 countries will be in Honolulu during the next four days for the Association for Asian Studies and International Convention of Asia Scholars first-ever joint conference at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Conference organizers say the number of attendees already pre-registered for this event — 4,400 — has exceeded expectations.

There is no denying that Hawaii is already starting to feel the pinch from fewer visitors traveling to the Islands, especially from Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

So, conference organizers and SMG Hawaii, which manages the Hawaii Convention Center, are banking on the goodwill that these 4,400 attendees will spread while they’re here. Hotels, which already have seen bookings slide and room reservations canceled, are surely grateful for the business.

And the trickle effect, even if just for the next four days, could soften any other impact to come in the slower travel months of April and May.

The conference is expected to generate more than $20 million in revenue, and hotel partners will reap the benefits of more than 35,000 room nights.
The association last held its annual meeting in Honolulu 15 years ago, but because of how much it has grown since then it’s being held at the Hawaii Convention Center for the first time.

“The level of interest and number of panel session proposals we received this year were far beyond expectations,” said Michael Paschal, executive director of the Association for Asian Studies, in a prepared statement. “Much of it was due to the jointly organized structure of the conference, but also no doubt to the draw of the location, as many participants will bring their families and stay beyond the days of the conference.”

Read more: Honolulu hosting Asian studies conference | Pacific Business News