Niʻihau anglicized as Niihau is the westernmost and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaiʻi. It is 17.5 miles southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is 69.5 square miles. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot, the Hawaiian stilt, the Hawaiian duck; the island is designated as critical habitat for Brighamia insignis, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. The United States Census Bureau defines Niʻihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of Lehua as Census Tract 410 of Kauai County, Hawaii, its 2000 census population was 160. Elizabeth Sinclair purchased Niʻihau in 1864 for $10,000 from the Kingdom of Hawaii and private ownership passed on to her descendants, the Robinson family. During World War II, the island was the site of the Niʻihau Incident: A Japanese navy fighter pilot crashed on the island and terrorized its residents for a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor; the people of Niʻihau are known for their gemlike lei pūpū craftsmanship and speak Hawaiian as a primary language.

The island is off-limits to all but the Robinson family and their relatives, U. S. Navy personnel, government officials, invited guests, giving it the nickname "The Forbidden Isle". Beginning in 1987, a limited number of supervised activity tours and hunting safaris have opened to tourists; the island is managed by brothers Bruce Robinson and Keith Robinson. Niʻihau is located about 18 miles west of Kauaʻi, the tiny, uninhabited island of Lehua lies 0.7 miles north of Niʻihau. Niʻihau's dimensions are 6.2 miles by 18.6 miles. The maximum elevation is 1,280 feet; the island is about 6 million years old, making it geologically older than the 5.8-million-year-old neighboring island of Kauaʻi to the northeast. Niʻihau is the remnant of the southwestern slope of; the entire summit and other slopes collapsed into the ocean in a giant prehistoric landslide. The island is arid because it lies in the rain shadow of Kauaʻi, lacks the elevation needed to catch significant amounts of trade wind rainfall. Niʻihau, depends on winter Kona storms for its rain, when more northerly weather systems intrude into the region.

As such, the island is subject to long periods of drought. Historical droughts on Niʻihau have been recorded several times, one in 1792 by Captain James Cook's former junior officer, George Vancouver, told that the people of Niʻihau had abandoned the island because of a severe drought and had moved to Kauaʻi to escape famine; as an arid island, Niʻihau was barren of trees for centuries — Captain James Cook reported it treeless in 1778. Aubrey Robinson, grandfather of current owners Bruce Robinson and Keith Robinson, planted 10,000 trees per year during much of his ownership of the island. Island co-owner Keith Robinson, a noted conservationist and documented many of Niʻihau's natural plant resources; the island is designated as a critical habitat for the ʻōlulu, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. Aylmer robinsonii, a Pritchardia palm tree named for Keith Robinson's uncle Aylmer Robinson, is an endangered species native to Niʻihau. Several bird species thrive on Niʻihau; the largest lakes on the island are Halulu Lake and Nonopapa Lake.

These intermittent playa lakes on the island provide wetland habitats for the ʻalae keʻokeʻo, the āeʻo, the koloa maoli. The critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal is found in high numbers on Niʻihau's shores. Robinson states that Niʻihau's secluded shoreline offers them a safe haven from habitat encroachments. According to Robinson, conditions there are better than the government refuges of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; when the Robinsons purchased Niʻihau, no monk seals were present, because they lived in the northwestern part of the Hawaiian island chain and Midway islands. They have been relocated to the main Hawaiian island chain by NOAA fisheries over the past thirty years, some have found homes on Niʻihau. Big game herds, imported from stock on Molokaʻi Ranch in recent years, roam Niʻihau's forests and flatlands. Eland and aoudad are abundant, along with wild boars and feral sheep; these big game herds provide income from hunting safari tourism. Prior to the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii under Kamehameha I, Niʻihau was ruled by the aliʻi.

Kahelelani was the first of the Niʻihau aliʻi. His name is now used to refer to the Niʻihau kahelelani, the puka shell of the wart turbans, used to make exquisite Niʻihau shell jewelry. Kāʻeokūlani was a ruler of northern Niʻihau who unified the island after defeating his rival, a chief named Kawaihoa. A stone wall across a quarter of the island's southern end marked the boundaries of the two chiefs: Kāʻeo's land was identified by black stones and Kawaihoa's by white stones. A great battle took place, known as Pali Kamakaui. Kāʻeo's two brothers from the island of Maui and his half-brother Kahekili II, the King of Maui, fought for Kāʻeo, Niʻihau was united under his rule. Kawaihoa was banished to the south end of the island and Kāʻeo moved to the middle of the island to govern. Kāʻeo married the Queen Kamakahelei, a future king of Niʻihau and Kauaʻi named Kaumualiʻi was born in 1790. Kauaʻi and Niʻihau are said to have carried the "highest blood lines" in the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha managed to unify all of the islands by 1795, except for Kauaʻi and Niʻ

Laura Combes was a professional female bodybuilder from the United States. Born on October 19, 1953, in New York, New York, Combes moved to Tampa, Florida in 1966 at age 13; as a teenager she played many sports, including fencing, archery, horseback riding, water skiing, tennis. Combes attended St. Petersburg College Prep School, went to the University of South Florida in Tampa. In the late 1970s, she began lifting weights to rehab injuries to both knees suffered while playing rugby. Soon, she became involved in the fledgling sport of women’s bodybuilding, she won the first NPC Nationals in 1980, won the AAU Ms. America title in 1981. Combes made a dramatic national television appearance that year on the NBC series Real People. After the airing of a taped segment about female bodybuilding in which she had been featured, Combes carried host Skip Stephenson onto stage in front of the studio audience. Combes competed in three professional shows, retiring after a sixth-place finish at the 1982 Ms. Olympia.

Combes authored Winning Women's Bodybuilding in 1983. Laura was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2002. Laura Combes was found dead in her apartment in Odessa, Florida on October 4, 1989, from acute alcohol poisoning. 1979 Ms. Brandon Physique – 4th 1979 Ms. Florida – 5th 1979 Ms. Suncoast Body Beautiful – 2nd 1979 IFBB Best In The World – 6th 1979 Ms. Tampa Physique – 1st 1979 Ms. West Florida – 1st 1979 Ms. Northwest Florida – 1st 1980 AAU Ms. Florida – Overall Winner 1980 AAU Ms. America – 1st 1980 NPC USA Championship – 7th 1980 NPC Nationals – 1st 1981 Pro World Championship – 6th 1981 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 4th 1982 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 6th IFBB Hall of Fame profile Passing away of a The First TITANIC Female Heroine of the World and the United States of America

Right Start is a retailer of children's products. They began in 1985 as a catalog company, based out of Los Angeles; the company was founded by Stan Fridstein, Lenny Targon, Harry Rosenthal who identified a growing market in young first time parents who were looking for expertise and guidance in choosing high quality baby products. The company opened its first retail store in 1991 in Westlake Village, CA. In 1992, they began expanding, opening up their first location in a Rich's department store in Atlanta, Georgia; the Right Start was majority owned by bowling center operator American Recreation Centers, Inc. before it was sold to Kayne Anderson, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, in 1995. In 2000, they withdrew from a proposed initial public offering and began exploring merger possibilities. In 2001, they purchased FAO Schwarz from Royal Vendex Zany Brainy, they changed their name in 2002 to FAO Inc. In 2003, they twice filed for bankruptcy and sold the FAO Schwarz stores in Manhattan and Las Vegas, along with their related internet and catalog businesses in December.

In 2009 Right Start was reopened 9 stores nationwide. Right Start was sold to competitor giggle in 2016. Home page