Hawaii
By Dave Donnelly
Thursday, October 3, 1996
Bike gift registry
a trailblazing idea
IF the following makes perfect sense to you, then you're a proper child of the '90s. If not, welcome to Neanderthal-ville. In what may be a trailblazing move, Jill Cheever Wheatman of The Bike Way on Ward Avenue has started her own "Bride and Groom Registry." She believes hers is the first bike store in the nation to do so. The idea came from a customer, who was entering into marriage with a partner who'd also been married before and they had all the pots and pans they needed. Mulling over what they'd like, they hit upon it - bikes! So they asked Jill to start the registry and the store now has about a dozen couples registered. She now has a kind of tandem registry - one for Christmas. One customer already has registered the bike desired for Christmas and friends and family have been shopping for accessories desired and about two-thirds of the bike itself. Brilliant idea: No unwanted gifts ...
FASHION photog Sri Maiava Rusden, who's glamorous enough to be on either side of the camera, will be doing a shoot with some women for whom shooting is a way of life. She'll be staging a fashion show Oct. 10 at Restaurant Row where top women billiard players are competing for $43,000 in prize money. It's the "Goodwill Charity Pro/Am" and the clothes being modeled are all outfits Rusden found on a series of rounds at Goodwill stores on the island. Some of them, she claims, are "absolutely fabulous." So, too, are the female billiard players. Among those on hand are sultry Jeanette Lee, the Chinese pro known on the circuit as "The Black Widow" because she always wears black. She was 1994 Player of the Year and is angling to reclaim her crown this year from Gerda Hofstatter, the current champ, who's also here. So, too, is Allison Fisher, former European Ladies Billiard Champion. It's a fun way to show off what Goodwill has to offer and fund-raise at the same time. So, bring on the Black Widow ...
Media man of the year
FORMER Star-Bulletin staffer Cornelius "Corny" Downes retired from the paper in 1967 and spent the last 20 years of his working life as information director for the state Department of Planning and Economic Development. Meanwhile, he might not have planned it this way, but what developed was that he's spawned a flotilla of media people. To wit: Daughter Mary is national editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, son Lawrence is copy editor at the New York Times, son Patrick is editor of the Hawaii Catholic Herald and son Stephen is Advertiser graphics editor. Meanwhile, son Michael is director of marketing communications for Adtech, Honolulu; two daughters-in-law are also writers, Mary Kay Ritz for the Advertiser and Nancy Offner Downes for Bank of Hawaii. Another son, Paul, who's mentally challenged, works for Lanakila Crafts, and daughter Margaret works for Petland - not changing bird-cage bottoms! ...
SHOWMAN Jack Cione, who pretty much introduced and popularized lingerie models, strippers and naked waiters to isle audiences, is mellowing in his old age. He now spends much of his time traveling about the world on tramp steamers (no cracks, please) but still oversees one major show event each year, the Pearl Harbor annual Mardi Gras Follies. Cione is auditioning singers, dancers, comics, models or whatever on Oct. 28 and 29 at the Banyans Club at Pearl Harbor ...
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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