Inouye loyalist
also unstoppableHIS presence was hardly needed by the unstoppable and unbeatable Sen. Dan Inouye, but the senator's former aide, Henry Giugni, just couldn't stay away from watching one more walkover. He's been involved in all of Inouye's races since 1957. Giugni, who became sergeant at arms of the U.S. Senate after leaving Inouye's Washington office, is now a successful lobbiest in Washington. He's also the shadow of his former self, having lost 65 pounds following a quadruple bypass. Giugni stopped by the Columbia Inn for lunch on election day ...
THEY didn't know it at the time, but when Kauai's Mayor Maryanne Kusaka found herself seated next to former president George Bush and his wife in the first class section of an Aloha Airlines flight to the Garden Isle recently, they'd all be celebrating after the election. Kusaka would be re-elected mayor, and Bush's two sons, George W. and Jeb, were both about to win the governorships of Texas and Florida, respectively. There's even talk of George W. becoming the GOP presidential candidate in 2000. Pundit Robert Woodward, on the Larry King TV show, recalled meeting young George about 10 years ago and saying he seemed like a young kid. I got the same feeling when his father was running for the presidency and he came into the Star-Bulletin, shook my hand and recited by rote, "Hello. I'm George W. Bush, son of Vice President Bush, and I'm urging you to support my father." It was eerie ...
Crazy like a fox
WHILE we mentioned that Jimmy Buffett was wearing a T-shirt when appearing with Walter Cronkite at the launch of "Discovery," it should be mentioned it was a beer-dyed Crazy Shirt ("North Shore Brewing") presented to Buffett by Star-Bulletin showbiz writer Tim Ryan. That thrilled Alii Brewing Co. honcho Jack Brennan. And astronaut John Glenn also has a Crazy Shirt, one with a "Space Cats" theme. It was given to him by Crazy Shirts' K.T. Haase last spring when the mission was announced. Haase got a thank-you note from Glenn which said in part, "I am glad you think I'm one cool space cat." No word on whether he's actually wearing it in space ...IN the middle of a fight scene in "Robin Hood" at the Big Isle's Aloha Theater, Jerry Tracey, was stabbed in the stomach by a real knife. He had to stagger offstage while others improvised. He was taken to the hospital, sewn up and returned in time for a curtain call. What was embarrassing about the unplanned bout of realism is that Tracey had choreographed the scene ...
HAWAII actress Tia Carrere is appearing on the episode of NBC's "Veronica's Closet" tonight on KHNL but you'd never know it from the network promos which refer to her as "Carrera" as in Barbara Carrera ...
Simply Eiffel reproductions
SO what if the Eiffel Tower in Paris is closed due to labor disputes? We're positively awash in tributes to the famous landmark right here in Honolulu. During the French Festival, which runs from Saturday through Nov. 22, you can see at least a half-dozen versions including one made of French bread in the Waikiki Hermes store; a painted tower on the walls of both the Ala Moana and Waikiki Chanel stores; a mini-tower in the French setting the Hilton Hawaiian Village is creating in its Tapa Bar lounge area; edible chocolate towers at Louis Vuitton, as well as a 6-foot replica made of Louis Vuitton luggage; and the largest replica of all in the fountain courtyard of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center which will light up and kick off the festival Saturday night ...
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.