An Elvis sighting in Waikiki? Don't be surprised
if you see ElvisThe odds went up astronomically this week when about 450 fans of the King - from Britain, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Norway - descended on Blue Hawaii as part of a jet-hopping tour to pay homage to their idol, who died two decades ago Aug. 16.
But the "20 Years After Memorial Tour" has been anything but morbid for the faithful now congregated at the Pacific Beach Hotel, said Keith Harris of Arena Travel, the English agency that organized it.
"They're having a ball," Harris said yesterday. "They have great parties. They drink their beer, they dance all night, and they go to bed and wake up in the morning and start all over again."
For the uninitiated, Elvis Presley's connection to the islands includes the films "Blue Hawaii" (1961), "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (1962) and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" (1966), not to mention concerts that culminated in a 1973 extravaganza that became the first television show beamed internationally by satellite, seen by 1 billion people in 36 countries.
The Honolulu segment is in the beach-and-luau vein. This is because specific Presley-oriented locales are "always a dubious situation" and difficult to verify, the tour leader said.
"OK, he stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the Rainbow Tower," Harris said. "Some know it, and they'll make their way across there of their own accord. But we don't advertise it, so that the hotel's not inundated with people pestering guests."
It'll be a different story when the tour leaves for Kauai on Saturday and four couples will get married on the Coco Palms Hotel grounds in "Blue Hawaii" style: canoes on a lagoon paddled by "some hunky Hawaiian fellows," a guitar rendering Presley hits, and arches of flowers.
"It's all very romantic," Harris said. "If you're an Elvis fan, of course, it's the ultimate."
Former University of Hawaii student Leilani Florendo needed an article on molecular biology. Unable to locate it at Hamilton Library, she was referred to a medical library at Queen's Hospital, where she found the journal she was seeking. Hawaii Medical Library
to provide consumer serviceHawaii's practicing medical professionals and university students since 1913 have turned to the Hawaii Medical Library - the largest and most current resource of consumer health information in the state.
Beginning Oct. 10, the public, particularly those on the neighbor islands, will be able to tap into the library's array of resources, at no charge, through the Consumer Health Information Service. The medical library is funded by a grant and provided as a service to the community.
"We wanted a way to reach the entire state," said John A. Breinich, executive director of the Hawaii Medical Library, a Queen's Health Systems company. "The Hawaii State Library System is a good conduit to consumers and we encourage the public to use the public libraries. But if they are inadequate, refer to us."
Gov. Ben Cayetano and his family are in Las Vegas, where he will be honored tomorrow by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Southern Nevada for being the first Filipino-American governor in the United States. Nevada Filipino group
to honor CayetanoCayetano will also participate in the Filipino chamber's Asian Pacific Cultural Celebration, a benefit to support the chamber and the Nani Ola Hawaiian Dance Company.
The trip will not cost taxpayers a cent because the tab will be picked up by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, said Cayetano spokeswoman Kathleen Racuya-Markrich.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffPolice arrested a 37-year-old Wahiawa man last night after the alleged armed suspect tried to flee on rooftops. Suspected gunman caught
after an hourlong chaseNeighbors along California Avenue, between Cypress Avenue and Ohai Street, reported hearing gunshots at 8:49 p.m.
Police officers arrived and spotted the man in an alley behind Ohai Street.
The man eluded officers and police chased the man for nearly an hour. Along the way, police said the suspect dropped a bag containing a shotgun.
Eventually, the suspect took to rooftops in the vicinity of Jack-In-The-Box at 11 S. Kamehameha Highway. Police caught up with the suspect after he fell on a roof and hurt himself.
Police said the man had a handgun stuffed in his waistband.
Police are seeking public assistance in determining what Chih Kai Pan did Saturday night before he was shot to death on Tantalus Drive near Puu Ohia Trail. Police seek public assistance
in tracing victim's last hoursPan, 19, enjoyed going to amusement and karaoke rooms in the Honolulu area, police said. Anyone who may have seen him Saturday is asked to call homicide Detectives Michael Tsuda or Stephen Dung at 529-3115, or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Pan was shot twice in the head from close range shortly before 11 p.m., police said.
Pan came to Hawaii three or four years ago from Taiwan, homicide Detective Anderson Hee said, and lived with relatives at 419 Atkinson Drive, attended Kapiolani Community College and was unemployed.
HILO -- Police raided two "crack houses" in Hilo this week. Seven are arrested in Hilo
in raids on 'crack houses'In a 1:45 p.m. raid Tuesday, police arrested Jerod Antonio, 26, and Marcella Antonio, 23, at a Manono Street house.
The two were charged with promoting a dangerous drug (crack cocaine) and possession of drug paraphernalia. They are being held in lieu of $3,000 bail each.
Five people were arrested in a 7:05 a.m. raid on a Kalanikoa Street house yesterday. Police found 2.6 grams of crack cocaine, 20.2 grams of "ice" methamphetamine, two grams of marijuana seeds, as well as paraphernalia.
HILO -- Hawaiian canoe builder Wright Bowman Jr. died of a heart attack which led to a car accident Monday, police said. Bowman died of heart attack
rather than traffic crashThe autopsy results regarding Bowman, 53, of Honolulu, corrected the earlier appearance that the accident killed him, they said.
Bowman was the lone occupant of a 1987 Cherokee which crossed the center line and struck a guardrail on the Hawaii Belt Road a few miles in the Hilo direction from Honokaa about 7:15 a.m. Monday.
In other police/fire news:
Big Isle traffic fatality caused by truck hitting goat
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