Jay Nicolas Sario, 31, who lived in Mililani and attended Mililani High, is Hawai'i's first contestant on the hit Lifetime reality show "Project Runway." The Advertiser featured Sario as "one to watch" in 2004 as a student at Honolulu Community College. He continued his education at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles.

Sario is now a visual merchandiser for Gap's corporate offices in San Francisco.

"It was the best birthday gift ever!" Sario said from San Francisco. "They called me on my birthday (June 6) to tell me I was on."

He had been sworn to secrecy until yesterday, when the list of the seventh season's 16 contestants was released.

The show premieres on Lifetime TV on Jan. 14.

BIGGER KIDS NEED TOYS, TOO, OBAMA SAYS

QUANTICO, Va. — Delivering a red Christmas sack bulging with toys, first lady Michelle Obama appealed yesterday for donations for older children for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's annual Toys for Tots program for needy children.

Obama visited a Toys for Tots warehouse near Marine Corps Base Quantico to deliver a portion of the more than 500 toys collected during a White House drive. She helped sort a pile of toys for girls, and appealed for gifts for 11- to 14-year-olds after longtime volunteer and base public affairs officer Wilma Vaughn told her about the shortage of toys for bigger kids.

"If you're 11, you're still waiting for Santa, and you still want to make sure that they have something in the stocking," Obama said.

FOR NOW, IT'S JON AND KATE PLUS WAIT

PHILADELPHIA — Jon and Kate Gosselin will likely ring in the new year as husband and wife as they await a final divorce decree.

A lawyer for Jon Gosselin says the reality TV couple's divorce is not likely to be finalized until early next year.

Mark Jay Heller tells The Associated Press that the arbiter's decisions on custody and finances is "a work in progress." He says the couple has not signed off on it.

The former "Jon & Kate Plus 8" stars, the parents of eight children, are divorcing after 10 years of marriage.

AIDE TO DISCUSS EDWARDS SEX SCANDAL

LOS ANGELES — ABC News will air an exclusive interview next month with the man who once claimed to have fathered the child of former Sen. John Edwards' mistress, the network said yesterday.

ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff's interview with Andrew Young will air Jan. 29 on "20/20." Young was a longtime friend and aide to Edwards, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.

Young will discuss his upcoming book, "The Politician," an account of Edwards' 2004 campaign and the Rielle Hunter scandal, the network said.