Center dedicated
to Sister AgnesTHE Special Education Center of Hawaii (SECOH) let its founder and longtime executive director retire without a farewell party last December, but the board of directors made amends recently when they dedicated the Diamond Head campus to Sister Agnes Jerome Murphy and erected a sign to that effect. Octagenarian Murphy started the nonprofit school for mentally challenged people in 1965. It now has 290 adults in education and training programs at Fort Ruger and Pearl City. It's rumored she enjoys an adult beverage on occasion, as befits a Murphy; so perhaps as a member of the Notre Dame de Namur religious order, she'll find her way to her namesake bar downtown before the UH football team plays the Fighting Irish next month ...
ONE Asian looking model at the U.S. Olympic Committee fund-raiser which brought in over $80,000 at the Ihilani last weekend looked particularly familiar. But when asked if she were from here, she said no, she lived in L.A. Where had I seen her? "My sister and I were on the cover of Playboy," she suggested. Bingo! Her name is Lola Corwin and her sister Morena was a "Playmate of the Month" a few years back and Lola is slated to be one in the very near future. The Internet literate can type Lola's name in "Yahoo" and be connected to a Playboy site where they can see a photo of the two, though be forewarned they're wearing less than at the Ihilani ...
IT looked at first like a tragedy, but it had a happy ending. I'm referring to when singer Keali'i Reichel discovered his RainSong Graphite Guitar case was run over, judging from the tire tracks -- possibly of a tractor. It happened at a mainland airport and though the case was crushed and the back of the guitar badly damaged, the instrument was still in tune and playable! RainSong honcho John Decker was so impressed by this graphic example of the strength and durability of his instruments that he put the guitar on his showroom wall and plans to take it to music industry trade shows. Decker figures what better way to demonstrate why his product comes with an unlimited warranty? ... Sturdy as she goes
QUEEN'S V.P. Duane Walker thinks he's finally come up with a use for the yard-full of plastic flamingos he found, a birthday gift from a pal. He read where a water park in Florida is buying them up to see if they'd attract real birds to their marshes ... Maestro Robert Page and his daughter, soprano Carolann Page, warmed up for their Sunday Honolulu Symphony MasterWorks series by singing the praises of Chef Alan Wong at his King Street restaurant Saturday night. The two create beautiful music at the Blaisdell Concert Hall again tonight, along with the chorus from Japan's Toho College of Music and the Oahu Choral Society, 300 voices in all ...
A GROUP known as "Friends of the Cannon Club" is wondering what happened to the military's promise in June that the club would be renovated and reopened this fall. "No Trespassing" signs have been installled around the chained perimeter of the venerable club. With its unparalleled view of Waikiki, it would make a fantastic site for a public restaurant/nightclub, should the military choose to let go of it. So, too, would the Banker's Club atop the new First Hawaiian Bank Building. I had lunch there for the first time the other day, and made a note to suggest to bank CEO Walter Dods that he could make a bundle operating it as a nightclub after closing hours ... Viewpoints
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.