Another quickie
in paradiseTHE Gas Company's Jim Yates was thrilled when his Big Isle manager, Richard Yorioka, was chosen to be honored by parent company Citizens Utilities of Connecticut for his outstanding community service. Yates' boss, Mike Love -- not the Beach Boys member -- had planned to fly in for a dinner at Nicholas Nickolas to celebrate, but suddenly found himself with a last-minute conflict. He felt that he should be here anyway, since he preaches community service, so he flew in at 2:30 p.m. on the appointed day, spent two hours on business, then headed for the dinner to congratulate Yorioka. By 8:45 p.m. he was on his way back to the airport. Love's final quip to Yates, "I wasn't sure which box to check for length of stay." It was Love's second day trip to Hawaii, both devoted entirely to work. "You keep telling me how much there is to see in Hawaii," he told Yates, "and one of these days I hope I'm able to see some of it."...
ANOTHER playwriting award racked up by Nancie Caraway. Her play, "The Passions of Petra Kelly" is co-winner of the 18th annual Washington Theater Festival literary prize. Don't expect unbridled sexual passion, however. Petra Kelly is founder of Germany's Green Party ... For those who've heard that gadfly businessman F.T. "Bamboo" Opperman has purchased a castle in Scotland, daughter Beth assures it's not true. He's merely visiting the British Isles for a month, and those looking for a free place to stay on future trips can just look elsewhere ...
Dining hither and yon
THE last place you might expect to get a tasty veal chop is at 36,000 feet, but if you've traveled on United Airlines lately, you might find yourself enjoying just that since Sam Choy started designing the cuisine in the sky... Last Friday, Royal Hawaiian exec chef Thomas Wong was guest chef at the James Beard House in New York. With nothing but prominent chefs doing the cooking, the Beard Foundation people who eat at the house regularly must be among the best fed in the country ... Then there's tomorrow night's "Celebrity Fusion Dinner" at Sarento's where chef Donato Loperfido will serve an entire dinner of traditional Sicilian-style cuisine. (You got a problem with that?) Actor Vincent Schiavelli, a devotee of Sicilian cooking, will be at the five-course dinner, a benefit for Easter Seals ...IN Burl Burlingame's salute to the Mighty Mo in yesterday's Star-Bulletin, he ran down a list of other people and things called Mo or Moe, but left out a couple. One was a gent who's listed in the Honolulu phone directory, Otto Moe Beal. And those who watch cop shows on TV will realize he overlooked M.O., as in modus operandi ... Marty Schiller was in Hawaiian Air's first class lounge in L.A. Sunday watching the U.S. Open on TV when a guy walks in and says, "Okay if I change to the U.S.-Iran soccer game?" Eighteen people spoke as one, "No!" ...
Golden gathering
BACK in 1948, it was known as St. Louis College, and members of that year's high school graduating class recently held their 50th reunion. In the class of 187, which the teaching brothers proclaimed was the worst class that had attended St. Louis up until then, was a police chief, an asssistant police chief, a senator, a representative, a priest, 13 retired colonels, six doctors, several principals and educators plus musicians and entrepreneurs. And would you believe -- not a lawyer in the bunch! Doesn't sound like such a bad class to me. The reunion raised $60,000 toward construction of bleachers and a pavilion for the school ...
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: donnelly@kestrok.com.