Hawaii
HAWAII's Liz Damon called to say, "Hi," the other day. The longtime Las Vegas performer had a stopover in her old hometown en route to and from Japan, where she appeared with Sonny Turner and his "Tribute to the Platters." Liz's group, the Orient Express, performed at various spots in the islands before chugging on to Las Vegas, but it's been derailed for some time now. She and Turner perform in lounges in Vegas, but in Japan they were featured in large showrooms and have an upcoming gig in Amsterdam. Damon also appeared in a high rollers' show at Trump Castle in Atlantic City and got a chance to catch up with sister Etta, who used to do comedic routines with her. Etta is now married to the lead audio technician for Donald Trump's Taj Mahal, and they live 10 minutes from the Boardwalk. Any Hawaii venues in her future? Liz would like nothing better. Any offers? ...
Rod McPhee
LET'S present the March "Fame is Fleeting" award to retired Punahou president Rod McPhee. In the first edition of yesterday's Star-Bulletin, McPhee was pictured with late businessman Hung Wo Ching, the caption reading, "Hung Wo Ching chats with a colleague..." So how's retirement, Rod? ... Curses to the Zagat restaurant survey. For the most part the editors of where to eat in Hawaii focused on all the predictable places: La Mer, Bali by the Sea, Alan Wong's, Roy's, etc., but under "Best bang for the buck" they let the cat out of the bag about El Burrito, the hole-in-the-wall on Piikoi, introduced to me by my Mexican food spy Hector Venegas. Now I'll never get back in ...
SOME time back I mentioned that bathing out must be the new thing in Honolulu since there were no fewer than 12 establishments advertising body shampoos in the sports section. Let me re-phrase that: There were 12 establishments in the sports section advertising body shampoos. Well, you get the idea. I wasn't whistle blowing, but the cops have raided them in a "clean up" campaign ...
IS this too simple a concept for Hawaii legislators to grasp: If the state is in a financial crisis, shouldn't the first thing eliminated be the ridiculous six months of unemployment payments their staffers get after the brief legislative session? It's a perk whose time has come to go! ...
HAWAII'S best known singer of the national anthem, Guido Salmaggi, had to turn down an invite to sing it at the opening day polo game at Mokuleia Sunday. He was particularly upset he couldn't make it because Hawaii is playing an Italian team, and he could have done a double dip with both anthems. But Guido is still at his second home in Sarasota, Fla., and has a few more Chicago White Sox spring training games at which to sing before baseball's opening day ...
SPEAKING of Sarasota - a phrase you don't hear too often - Joe Farrell is usually considered a kamaaina architect since he's been designing projects here since 1961 - things as diverse as the Navatek Ships to the Federal Building and Grosvenor Center. But before Architects Hawaii, Farrell had a career in Florida, and his work there is chronicled in a new book, "The Sarasota School of Architecture," detailing contributions by Farrell and others in humanizing the starkness in modern architecture. It was a preview of designs to come in Hawaii ...
