Hawaii
By Dave Donnelly
Friday, May 17, 1996
He was a wonder at the wheel
WILL wonders never cease? Not only was Hawaii's No. 1 Filipino, Gov. Ben Cayetano, appearing in the big Filipino parade in Waikiki, but there were numerous other colorful folks on view. They ranged from the usual complement of beauty queens to City Councilwoman Rene Mansho, the karaoke queen, plus a Legends in Concert BMW containing look-alikes for Neil Diamond, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. The kicker is that Little Stevie was driving! ... By the way, the real Stevie Wonder was dining at Alan Wong's the other night, and while many diners there took note of him, a couple at another table managed to get more attention. Melanie and Antonio? Brad and Gwyneth? No, the couple getting the ganders was Ben & Gloria Tamashiro, better known as "Harry and Myra" on the Bankoh commercials ...
Mufi Hannemann
KCCN'S Brickwood Galuteria was interviewing City Councilman Mufi Hannemann and asked how come he and Mayor Jeremy Harris seemed to be battling all the time. "Actually, we see eye to eye on most things," Hannemann replied. Galuteria looked surprised, so Mufi added, "He's 6-4 and I'm 6-7." ... Melissa Chang of Professional Communications understands about using words to put the best face on something. She was quite proud of her niece, Emi Chang, when she learned Emi had been selected valedictorian of the Mililani Class of '96. The thrill subsided somewhat when she discovered there are 17 (!) valedictorians in that class. That figure begs the question: Are the students superior at Mililani or are the standards somewhat less than at other schools? ...
ANOTHER explosive Ford: Former Tahitian Lanai waitress Patricia Ford long has been one of the hottest women on the Internet when you can still find photos of her posted. Some have been removed for whatever reason. But now she's selected as "Supermodel for 1996" by Playboy and has been on "Entertainment Tonight" and "Extra" promoting a new calendar and video, produced entirely in the islands. She'll be at the "Made in Hawaii Festival" this weekend at the Blaisdell. Write your own punch line ...
Cruising through France
JUST back from France is Carrie Vann of Sandwich Isles Realty. She spent two weeks in the south of France visiting her son, Michael, an Iolani grad who's a Fulbright scholar. She returned to her office only to find broker Carl Smigelski and his wife packing for their own French excursion, cruising the canals of Burgundy on the barge "Lanikai," owned by Aiea resident Skip Brestle. They'll be joined by other localites such as Rick Ralston of Crazy Shirts and Bugatti fame, plus John & Tiare Finney. Don't look for Finney, who introduced Burger King to Hawaii, to enjoy any Whoppers in France, unless he fishes them out of the ocean ...
Debbie Morikawa
WHEN two of Honolulu's finest strode into the Institute for Human Services, exec director Debbie Morikawa expected the worse - and got it. They put the cuffs on her! She was led off to Tamarind Park where she was placed behind bars until she could raise $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. Debbie had to sit in this "portable pokey," a veritable "Folsom for the Wholesome" as homeless guests from IHS did their best to help raise enough to obtain her release. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank's Robert Fujioka took pity on her, and anted up $200 so she could continue fund-raising efforts on behalf of her own cause ...
Cake walk
SOME people walk to help themselves keep trim, but not those participating in tomorrow's Visitor Industry Charity Walk. Participants will enjoy a myriad of treats at each of 13 checkpoints, including the likes of macadamia brownies and cafe latte (Halekulani), chocolate muffins, Danish and fruit (Hyatt), brownies and ice cream (Ilikai), malassadas and juice (Outrigger), etc. Halekulani G.M. Patricia Tam chairs the statewide event and hopes to surpass last year's total of $710,000 to benefit 200 local charities. Just don't snack after you get home ....
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968. His columns run Monday through Friday. Contact Dave by e-mail at donnelly@kestrok.com.
Hawaii by Dave Donnelly is a daily feature of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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