Rental business earns travel award
The Maui-based Tropical Villa Vacations has been named a Silver Award winner in Travel Weekly's 2012 Magellan Awards, according to an announcement.
The company specializes in luxury home and villa rentals and is one of only two villa rental agencies worldwide to be named in the 2012 awards, and the only villa agency award recipient in Hawaii.
Travel Weekly magazine is a leading resource for U.S. travel industry professionals, the announcement says. The magazine sponsors the Magellan Awards each year to honor the best in the travel industry. Award winners are selected by a panel of judges made up of top names in the U.S. travel industry.
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Minimums for health care set
HONOLULU - Hawaii has set minimum standards for health care insurance plans that can be sold in Hawaii under new federal guidelines.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the minimums at a press conference on Monday. Abercrombie says the minimums will help Hawaii lead the nationwide health care transition.
The minimums include things like ambulance services, hospitalization and prescription drugs. The guidelines will take effect in 2014.
Hawaii is among the states that bet correctly that the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold Obama's law. The high court ruled in favor of the law in June.
U.S. Census data from 2010 show 7.7 percent of Hawaii residents are without health insurance. That's the second-lowest rate in the country behind Massachusetts at 5.5 percent.
