SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hawaii's meticulous tourism records are thick with minus symbols, the basis for a projected state budget gap of $1.23 billion that Governor Linda Lingle says is a "fiscal crisis" that cannot be closed with spending cuts alone.
While strains of "Mele Kalikimaka" greet tourists, Lingle's proposal this week to balance Hawaii's budget over its two-year cycle ending in June 2011 lacked similar Christmas season cheer because visitor numbers and spending are weak, Georgina Kawamura, Lingle's director of budget and finance, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
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