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Dre Kalili, Deputy Director of Harbors for the Department of Transportation, discusses the cruise industry; cruise passengers talk about the Green Fee's tax on cruise passengers.

Akamai, for smart, is one of the first Hawaiian words many people learn. It also means "clever, expert, skillful." If you see someone doing something very clever, it's okay to say Akamai ʻoe or you're very smart.

Many of our visitors to Hawaiʻi come from Japan, and we call them kepanī. It is, as you may have guessed, a transliteration of the English word Japanese.

Today’s Hawaiian word of the day is one of the most commonly used of Hawaiian words, lani. It means "sky, heaven, or heavenly," and can also mean "spiritual." Lani is part of many proper names, such as Leilani for “heavenly lei.”

Hiapo means "firstborn." It is used often in Hawaiian to describe the eldest child, the firstborn. Like many cultures, there is a special significance attached to being the firstborn, or hiapo, in a Hawaiian family.

We hear the word tūtū used so often, but many of us not know that kūkū is another perhaps more traditional pronunciation for today's Hawaiian word. It means "granny, grandma, grandpa," or any relative or close friend of your grandparents' generation. You can say kūkū kane for grandfather, or kūkū wahine for grandmother, but kūkū by itself will always suffice.

Wahiawā is one of those beautiful Oʻahu place names that is so often mispronounced. It means "place of noise," for the rough seas could be heard all the way to Wahiawā.

Although kōlea has many meanings, the most common perhaps is as the Hawaiian name of the Pacific Golden Plover - a bird that arrives in Hawaiʻi in August or September, and returns to the Arctic in April or May.

Hōkū means "star," and is often used in names such as Hōkūleʻa, the star of gladness, or Nā Hōkū, the local recording industry awards program. Be sure to include the stresses, for it takes on a different meaning if you do not.

Nūpepa is another Hawaiian word that comes from the English word newspaper.