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in high placesDID you know that when Vice President Al Gore boarded Air Force II at Hickam and headed back to Washington, D.C., he read the Star-Bulletin on board? He didn't actually spring for 50 cents to buy one, mind you, but before boarding the plane he asked a Hickam Public Affairs Officer if there was a local paper he could read on the way back home. The Hickam PAO looked around and didn't see one, but rather than disappoint the news-starved Veep, he asked the press group if anyone had a paper. Jerry Drelling to the rescue! The KGMB reporter had a Star-Bulletin in his car, braved the rain and retrieved it, taking a moment to stick his business card inside, hoping (in vain, so far) that he might get a personal call (and interview) from the vice president. And since he hadn't finished reading the paper, Drelling will probably now put the 50-cent charge on his expense report. Good luck! ...
EVER heard "Happy Birthday" sung in Ilocano? Gov. Ben Cayetano did on his birthday. Rey Graulty managed to surprise the governor by enlisting Vicky Cayetano as a confederate and then rounded up some 50 Filipinos with the help of translator and interpreter Leonora Albayalde and others. They surrounded him in Washington Place and serenaded him in Ilocano, Tagalog and Pangasilan ... Swingwood Revue, the '40s music revival group that performs Wednesdays at the Pier Bar in the Aloha Tower Marketplace, is swinging into Waikiki on Dec. 6. That's the day David Paul Johnson is saluting swing at his monthly Full Moon Madness Sunday evening event ...
Wine knot?
EVERYONE who's been there knows how seductive the atmosphere can be around the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, and Steven Olson will be the first to confirm it. He'd just concluded his chores as emcee at the resort's Winter Wine Escape when he realized he'd been seduced into proposing to his longtime girlfriend. She said "Yes," and the two tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony on Mauna Kea's scenic third hole, site of many an oath, few having to do with marriage. Resort food and beverage director Marilyn Zanini, who coordinated the three-day food and wine extravaganza, also arranged for the ceremony for Olson, who co-hosts the weekly wine series, "Quench," on the TV Food Network ...SURE, it's been a little chilly, but that's not reason enough to bring a Coast Guard Icebreaker to the islands, is it? Actually, the Polar Sea, which arrives tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Pier 9 to a "Boat Day" welcome, is merely stopping over on its way from Seattle to Antarctica. You can tour the vessel Saturday and Sunday afternoons ... After HMSA was named 1998 outstanding corporation by Child & Family Service at the Hilton Coral Ballroom, HMSA's Fred Fortin quipped, "I hear it was a very close race. Hopefully, the GOP won't be demanding a re-count."...
Hyundai Krush
THE musical Krush signed to be spokespeople for Aloha Hyundai, but not before owner Bill van den Hurk got each member to drive one of the cars for a few days to see how they liked it. "You gotta like it to promote it," van den Hurk told them. Well, half of the group liked them so much that they purchased their own top-of-the-line models, and the rest are waiting for the release of the 1999 Hyundai mini van. Van den Hurk was delighted, saying, "These guys really put their money where their mouth is." Manager Yemun Chung says it's a kick watching them show up for rehearsals, each in a Hyundai of a different color -- a veritable rainbow of Hyundais ...
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.