Millennium Moments
BEFORE he created his classic tales of the Mississippi River with characters Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, author Mark Twain came to Hawaii. And he loved it. Twain was here
Within days of arriving in Honolulu in 1866, Twain was off to see the Big Island's Kilauea Volcano and Maui's Haleakala Crater, according to "A Hawaiian Anthology" edited by Gerrit P. Judd.
Twain's observations of Hawaii first appeared in articles for the Sacramento Union newspaper, then in his chronicle, "Roughing It." An excerpt:
"As we approached, the imposing promontory of Diamond Head rose up out of the ocean, its rugged front softened by the hazy distance, and presently the details of the land began to make themselves manifest: first the line of beach; then the plumed coconut trees of the tropics; then cabins of the natives; then the white town of Honolulu, said to contain between twelve and fifteen thousand inhabitants spread over a dead level; with streets from twenty to thirty feet wide, solid and level as a floor, most of them straight as a line and few as crooked as a corkscrew."
In 1895, when Twain returned on a worldwide lecture tour, cholera had hit Honolulu. Rather than be quarantined if he went ashore and forego his tour, Twain reluctantly stayed aboard his ship. This time, his trip to Honolulu was recorded from a distance, in his book "Following the Equator."
Media personalities will break into song Sept. 18 and 19 to parody the past year's news during "Gridiron '99" at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Tropics Showroom. Media show to
satirize state issues"With all that's happened here -- Bishop Estate, the City Council, the economy and Legislature -- there are a lot of targets and there's certainly no shortage of material," said Scott Shirai, the show's director.
Diane Ako, Darren Pai, Kim Murakawa, Donalyn Dela Cruz, Vicki Viotti, Susan Hooper, Keoki Kerr, Jodi Leong, Ben Gutierrez, Gordon Y.K. Pang, Catherine Cruz, Cathy Foy, Bill Sage and Shirai are all part of the two-hour show, emceed by Star-Bulletin columnist Charles Memminger. Donald Yap is the musical director.
The show is the main scholarship and internship fund-raiser for the Hawaii chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Relations Society of America.
Tickets for each night are $50 and include an all-you-can-eat pupu buffet.
Special room rates at the Hilton are available, as well as $3 validated parking.
For reservations and information, call 988-4618.
EOC files lawsuit against Safeway
A Kapolei Safeway clerk, in a lawsuit filed in federal district court, alleges he was subjected to constant physical touching and verbal harassment by a supervisor.The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission yesterday, alleges that Safeway first fired clerk Timothy Quitoriano after he complained of sexual harassment. That termination later was modified to a suspension.
Daphne Barbee-Wooten, attorney for the EOC in Honolulu, said her agency will seek compensatory and punitive damages because Quitoriano "suffered emotional suffering and financial losses due to the rampant sexual harassment ... "
Barbee-Wooten said Quitoriano, 30, has been working full-time at Safeway since 1992. She said his supervisor continuously harassed him and touched him between 1994 and 1996.
In 1996, Quitoriano's union, United Food and Commercial Workers, filed a grievance against the supermarket chain. In retaliation, Quitoriano was fired for being late to work, Barbee-Wooten said.
"The market said he was dishonest and missed being on time by five minutes," she said.
The case was taken to arbitration, and Safeway was forced to reinstate Quitoriano a year later.
There was no immediate comment from Safeway.
Haleakala Park to limit visitors for New Year's
WAILUKU -- Fearing an uncontrollable flood of visitors, Haleakala National Park plans to limit the number of people using the park to celebrate the year 2000.Superintendent Donald Reeser said the park will be closed from sunset on Dec. 31 through 5 a.m., except for campers with permits.
The park has three visitor cabins with a maximum capacity of 36 people, and campgrounds at Hosmer's Grove and Kipahulu with a maximum capacity of 50 people.
Reeser said park rangers also plan to limit to available parking spaces the number of people entering the park.
He estimates the parking spaces can accommodate about 1,000 people.
The park is a place for people to enjoy the outdoors, but not necessarily a place to celebrate New Year's Eve, the superintendent said.
"We just don't have the staff to handle that kind of thing," he said.
Reeser said park rangers plan strict enforcement of bans on fireworks and alcohol.
The restrictions follow an earlier announcement about the proposal, inviting the public to comment on limiting the number of people celebrating New Year's Eve at Haleakala.
Reeser said comments received by him indicate people understood the reason for the restrictions.
Gov heads delegation to San Francisco luau
Gov. Ben Cayetano and Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau President Tony Vericella will lead a team of Hawaii people to San Francisco this weekend to promote the 40th anniversary of Hawaii statehood.The daylong celebration begins Sunday with a giant luau for some 3,000 people at 3Com Park, formerly Candlestick Park.
The luau will have Hawaiian music, hula, Hawaii cuisine, fresh tropical flowers and exhibitions of Hawaiian arts and crafts.
There also will be booths to present information on the diversity of activities on the six main Hawaiian islands. A professional baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates will follow the luau.
The first 3,000 fans to enter the stadium will each receive a shell lei.
Cayetano will throw the ceremonial first pitch of the game, while Hawaii entertainer Glenn Medeiros will sing the national anthem.
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and radio station KNBR in San Francisco are sponsoring the event.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Three armed robberies occur in seven hours
Police are investigating three armed robberies during a 7-hour period last night and this morning.The robberies were all within a few miles of each other, but police are not saying if the crimes are related.
The first holdup was reported at 9:30 last night in McCully, police said. Two men, one with a handgun, robbed a woman of her purse at 2230 Citron St.
About an hour later, three men robbed a couple in Kakaako.
The couple parked their car near 535 Cummins St. when they were blocked in by a green pickup truck at 10:30 p.m., police said. Three men exited the truck and demanded money from the couple.
One of the men had what appeared to be a pistol wrapped in cloth.They took two bags from the couple and drove away.
At 4:30 a.m. today, three men forced their way into a massage parlor at 1901 Kapiolani Blvd. The men, one armed with a shotgun, forced the owner of Oriental Relaxation Therapy and four other women into a room while they searched the business, police said.
The suspects then ran off with an undisclosed amount of money.
Suspect sought in murder of Jubilee Lum, 21
Police are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect in the slaying of 21-year-old Jubilee Lum.Lum's nude body was found inside a plastic garbage bag on the ground in front of a trash bin at the rear of Beretania Florist at 12:30 p.m. yesterday, police said. There were no visible signs of injury.
The cause of death had not been determined as of this morning.
Lum, who had no known address, was last seen alive in the Hotel Street area of downtown early Monday morning.
Police are asking people who may have seen Lum, or have any other information, to call Detective Michael Tsuda at 529-3436 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
High-schoolers arrested in attacks on students
Two Oahu high school students were arrested yesterday in unrelated felony cases for allegedly attacking a fellow student.Yesterday, a 17-year-old girl from Waianae High School was arrested for reportedly punching a 15-year-old girl.
The suspect walked up to the girl's car and punched her through the open window twice, police said.
Also, a 15-year-old boy from Aiea High School was arrested when he pushed a 14-year-old boy into a moving car during an after-school fight.
