Tourism Decline Jolts MECO
June 15, 2009 3:25 am > MAUI TODAY, > Maui Yesterdays |
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National Smile Day
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Ano: Weirdly quiet PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY — I no got nais: Quiet HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “The plain is quiet; not even the hoot of an owl is heard.” HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY — “I was walking down the street wearing glasses when the prescription ran out. ” (Steven Wright)
TODAY: Maui Electric Co.’s sales, measured in kilowatt-hours, are down nearly 10 percent this year, a drop that tracks closely with declining visitor arrivals. More >
June 15th, 1985: A four-week United Airlines strike ends and today is the first day flights resume to the islands. The estimated loss of business during the four weeks exceeds $100 million, statewide. The low traffic and quiet found throughout Maui during this period has yet to be matched. Perhaps as much as 50% fewer tourists plagued this island. But these days, fuel prices and airline turmoil – the loss of ATA and Aloha Airlines – is beginning to have a similar effect on island tourism.
EVENTS ON THIS DAY – June 15th
- -763: (BCE) Assyrians record a total solar eclipse event on clay tablet
- 1215: King John reluctantly sets his seal to the Magna Carta at Runnymede, in England, thereby granting his barons more liberty
- 1389: Battle of Kossovo: Turks defeat Serbs, Bosnians
- 1752: Ben Franklin goes kite flying in a thunderstorm and discovers electricity
- 1775: George Washington is named Commander-In-Chief by the Continental Congress
- 1836: Arkansas becomes the 25th state
- 1876: Sara Spencer (R) is the first woman to address a U.S. presidential convention
- 1934: The Great Smokey Mountains National Park is dedicated
- 1940: France surrenders to Hitler
- 1944: U.S. forces begin the invasion of Saipan in the Pacific
- 1956: John Lennon (15) & Paul McCartney (13) meet for the first time
- 1977: Spain’s conducts its first free elections since 1936
- 2003: A jury in Houston convicts accounting firm Arthur Andersen of obstruction of justice.
- 2005: The autopsy on Terri Schiavo is released, backing the contention of her husband, Michael, that she was in a persistent vegetative state.
- 2006: A divided Supreme Court made it easier for police to barge into homes and seize evidence without knocking or waiting.
BORN ON THIS DAY – June 15th
- 1330: Edward, the black prince, prince of Wales
- 1843: Edvard Grieg, composer
- 1888: Maria Dermont, Dutch novelist
- 1922: Morris K Udall, (Rep-D-Az)
- 1932: Mario Cuomo, (Gov-D-NY)
- 1941: Harry Nilsson, singer/songwriter
- 1946: Jim Varney, actor
- 1954: Jim Belushi, comedian/actor
- 1963: Helen Hunt, actress
- 1964: Courtney Cox Arquette, actress
- 1969: Ice Cube, rapper
- 1973: Neil Patrick Harris, actor
- 190: Denzel Whitaker, actor
DIED ON THIS DAY – June 15th
- 991: Empress Theophanu
- 1073: Emperor Go-Sanj? of Japan (b. 1034)
- 1768: James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
- 1934: Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b. 1857)
- 1968: Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b. 1925)
- 1993: John Connally, American politician (b. 1917)
- 1996: Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- 2002: Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwon-Do (b. 1918)
