• The Obamas will once again vacation in Hawaii over the holidays this year, but this time it will be a bit more expensive than previous trips.The Hawaii Reporter writes that the President and First Lady’s separate trips to Hawaii (Michelle and the girlsarrived Friday; check out photos of President Obama arriving last year here) as well as the extended stay of the vacation will cost American tax payers nearly $4 million, roughly $2.5 million more than the President’s 2010 trip.The Hawaii Reporter states that the Obamas are not staying at the “Winter White House” (check out video of it here) this year and instead have rented and paid for their own accommodations in the form of a beach front rental on Kailua. The President’s staff and White House Press Corp will be put up at theMoana Surfrider, a Westin resort on Waikiki Beach.

  Kailua is a popular community on Oahu and boasts a beach that was rated as the best beach in the country by “Dr. Beach” in 1998.

  Obama, for his part, has stated that he will postpone his trip for “as long as it takes” Congress to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance, according to the Associated Press.

  Take a look at photos from previous Obama family vacations in Hawaii and let us know your favorites!

  CORRECTION: A previous iteration of this article stated that Kailua is an island of Oahu. It is not; it is a community on Oahu.

  

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• The first family will be vacationing in Hawaii for the Christmas holidays at a cost of at least $4 million to taxpayers, according to a report from the Hawaii Reporter.

  The Hawaiian paper reports that residents living near the beachfront homes at Kailuana Place, where the President Obama and first family have visited annually since 2008, were notified Monday that there will be restrictions on their movements in place for 20 days, from Dec. 17 through Jan. 6.

  The Hawaii Reporter calculated the $4 million cost to taxpayers based in part on the price of a round trip flight to the island on Air Force One, the transport of the president’s support equipment, housing of security and staff and the cost of police to local taxpayers.

  The first family pays for their own rental on the beach, according to the paper.

  The White House Dossier notes that the White House has yet to officially announce the vacation or the president’s travel plans and notes Obama could be in Hawaii on the day the country goes off the “fiscal cliff” if no deal is reached in time.

  The Dossier adds that the vacation could help to add “subtle pressure” the president to reach a deal.

  Author Robert Keith Gray estimated in his book “Presidential Perks Gone Royal“ that last year taxpayers spent $1.4 billion on the first family, compared to the $57.8 million British taxpayers spent on the royal family, The Daily Caller reported in September.

  Last year the Hawaii Reporter estimated the president’s 17-day holiday vacation in Hawaii was more than $4 million as well.

  Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/29/report-obamas-to-spent-holidays-in-hawaii-at-4-million-cost-to-taxpayers/#ixzz2FlBniX3c

• Residents Alerted to Obamas’ Hawaiian Holiday Plans

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/residents-alerted-to-obamas-hawaiian-holiday-plans/123

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