SATURDAY SCOOPS
Great grad gifts

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Radio alarm clock: This Timex triple-alarm clock radio wakes with a choice of AM/FM radio, buzzer or nature sounds. It will set three independent alarm times and wake sounds. Stores up to 18 radio stations in memory. It's $28 at Costco. Faux lei: Contact Mellie Enos, 262-8382, who makes ribbon, satin and specialty yarn lei, $25 to $60, or Ernestine Spence, 373-9427, spence@hawaii.rr.com, who makes specialty yarn lei beginning at $35. Check school and roadside stands on graduation day. Hawaiian jewelry: Traditional and long-lasting graduation gifts at Royal Hawaiian Heritage Jewelry. Prices vary. (800) 843-8533. Money: Many grads say the thing they can use most is money. That way you're assured they will buy something they need for college. Or you can hope, anyway. Rice cooker: Part comfort, part necessity (many grads report sticky-rice deprivation on college campuses), the rice cooker also can be used for steaming vegetables and, at a pinch, in a crowded dorm room, for storing socks. Long's Drugs outlets have cookers beginning at $16.99. Leatherman Wave pocket tool kit: Screwdriver, wrench, bottle opener, corkscrew, file, knife and a whole lot more, depending on the model. Tools range from $40 to $80 at Sports Authority and Costco. Book bag: Canvas book bag, from a range at Eddie Bauer, $20 to $40. Playing cards: Even if they don't play card games now, they might when they find themselves bored in the dorm, with no car and nowhere to go, or waiting through a layover at the airport on their trip home. ipod: The slim music player is lighter than 2 CDs, can hold up to 10,000 songs, and downloads music at blazing speeds. Available for Mac and Windows, iPods start at $249 at CompUSA. Towels: Small luxuries like a cushy set of fluffy towels can help a grad unwind after a long night of studying. Costco sells a set of three towels for $21. Photos by Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's a lot of work," Pahia admits, "... but it's worth it. I like the idea of being able to give a memory of the occasion that can be kept or handed on in the family for others to wear."

Among the gifts for the class of 2004 will be lei that last, especially the ones that include money (it takes about 20 crisp bills to make up a lei, Pahia said).

The lei/money combination assures a memory of the happy day and a practical gift a grad will welcome (a quick poll of 2004 grads rated cash as what they most appreciate).

But also with college life in mind, Greg Turnbull presented a friend's 2003 Mid Pacific grad with a Leatherman tool kit. "It's as handy as pockets," Turnbull said, who's kind of a gadget guy himself. Favorite features (apart from a bottle opener and corkscrew)? The pocket multitool's screwdriver and wrench that came in handy for reconfiguring dorm bunk beds, emergency repair on a bicycle, and securing snowboard bindings last winter, the grad reported.

When Gale Yamada's eldest daughter graduated, they went together to choose a Hawaiian bracelet as her graduation present. "It was more a traditional graduation gift rather than something for college," Yamada said.

This summer, her younger daughter, Shawn, is graduating from Roosevelt High School, and Yamada said she is more likely to opt for a new cell phone. "She'd like one that takes photographs! A bracelet will last forever; a cell phone might not last a year," Yamada laughed.

For many graduates, a pat on the back, a congratulatory hug, a fresh-flower lei and the prospect of summer ahead might be all that's needed to make their day memorable.

But if you're on the lookout for a grad gift, do a little research first. Ask parents for ideas (friends may want to share the cost of a more expensive gift).

And keep in mind ...

• Luggage or a trunk.
• Dry-erase board for a dorm room.
• Guidebook to city they'll be going to.
• Phone card or cell-phone minutes.
• Itty Bitty Book Lite.
• Pizza of the month club (www.clubsofamerica.com).
• Laundry bag.
• Gift certificate for winter-wear store/catalog if they're going somewhere cold.
• Subscription to The Advertiser or an Island magazine.
• Membership in Student Advantage, which offers a discount card for items that students buy; it's good at many major stores (www.studentadvantage.com).

Turtle power at Sea Life Park fest

Sea Life Park is doing its part to ensure our waters will always have honu gracing our shoreline. Sea Turtle Day is tomorrow, with turtle arts and crafts, turtle lectures, turtle feedings, entertainment and a Name the Baby Sea Turtle Contest, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It's all at Sea Life Park to benefit the World Turtle Trust; $24.96*. 259-2577.

'Idol' tour show tickets on sale today

Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco fans, we hope you're early risers. Tickets go on sale at 8 a.m. today for the 52-city "American Idol" tour show coming to Honolulu Sept. 28 and 29 at the Blaisdell Arena. Tickets also available at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Times Super Market; (877) 750-4400; or www.ticketmaster.com.

Olympic hockey 'Miracle' tonight at Sunset on the Beach

Here's a chance to see Kurt Russell starring as coach Herb Brooks in "Miracle," tonight's Sunset on the Beach flick. "Miracle is an inspirational true story based on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, which stunned the Russians and won the gold medal. Tomorrow, Ben Affleck stars in "Paycheck," a science-fiction thriller about a computer engineer who gets more than he bargained for in his paycheck. The live entertainment tonight is by Flipside Flow and the Performing Artist Academy. Tomorrow, it's Na Pu'ukani. Restaurants offering food: Royal Hawaiian Hot Dog & Shave Ice, Imari Bento & Take Out, Leo's Greek Taverna, Three-Star Restaurant, Paradise Water Ice/Funnel Cake, K Restaurant, Time 2 Grind, Bale French Sandwich & Restaurant, Ono Kettle Korn and Mr. Pizza. And there's a Hawaii Made craft fair with more than 16 crafters and artisans.

Kick it up on Maui with Lanai & Augie at soccer benefit

If you're heading to Maui today, here's a chance to support the Excel Soccer Club and have some fun at the same time. In Wailuku, O'ahu radio personalities and the stars of the KHON television show "Jan Ken Po" will be performing today at the Keopuolani Park Amphitheater in a benefit for a Central Maui-based girls soccer club.

Doors open to the "Lanai & Augie's Comedy Shack" at 11 a.m. The KDNN Island Rhythm radio personalities will headline the fund-raiser for the Excel Soccer Club.

Pono, a Hawaiian-music group that recently released a new CD, will open for Lanai and Augie. No Name will play their brand of reggae to close the afternoon.

Tickets are $20 at the door; children 12 and under are free. For more information, call (808) 281-4337.

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Health is order of the day in Waipahu

If you believe healthy youths make healthy adults, get to Waipahu today between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the Teen and Family Health Fair on Mokuola Street, across from the Waipahu Civic Center. The free event features Glenn Medeiros, Dr. Terry Shintani, wheelchair basketball, massages and informational displays. Get fit and taste some great food. 677-6939.