Wednesday Travel Ticker: Erosion worries for Hawaii

Seventy percent of beaches on Maui, Kauai and Oahu are going through long-term erosion, the U.S. Geological Survey says in a study released this week . . . . The average hotel room rate in central London for the Olympic period this summer: $341 a night . . . . Happy 100th birthday to the Beverly Hills Hotel, which celebrates the milestone Saturday . . . . . Newport’s Balboa Bay Club & Resort is hosting its ninth annual celebration of fine food and wine over the Memorial Day weekend with tastings, barbecues and brunches. For tickets, call (949) 630-4146 or visit www.balboabayclub.com . . . . Tickets are now on sale for the 2012 Monterey Beer Festival June 9. Baseball’s Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas will be the event’s MC. For info, click here . . . . A $300,000 bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson was unveiled last week at the Virginia Capitol, the Richmond landmark that he designed himself. . . . Menlo Park’s popular festival of the arts celebrates the best of summer July 21-22, with 250 artists, chefs’ demos and margaritas and mojitos. Admission is free. Info: www.miramarevents.com . . . . Luis Miguel will return to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace (Sept. 13-15) for a sixth consecutive year during Las Vegas Mexican Independence Day weekend. Tickets go on sale Friday; www.thecolosseum.com . . . . Looking to pour it on for Mother’s Day? Consider tickets to Elton John: Million Dollar Piano, at Caesars Palace, www.caesarspalace.com . . . . Or for mothers of a certain age, and possessing a healthy sense of humor, there’s Menopause the Musical, which follows four women confessing their experiences to songs from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s . . . . The Airline Passenger Experience Assn., a network of airlines and other travel-related busineses, is looking for feedback on your summer travel experiences. For more info, go to www.apex.aero . . . . A new 70-passenger ferry is serving Alaska’s Inside Passage. For more info, visit www.rainforestislandsferry.com . . . . Travel quote of the day: “English, who needs that? I’m never going to England” (Homer Simpson).