Hawaii
SIR Elton John has written some very sweet songs, not the least of which was the final selection at his weekend series of concerts at the Arena, "Candle in the Wind." He sang the lyrics about Marilyn Monroe, for whom the song was originally written, but few could hear it without thinking of Princess Diana. True to his word, he will no longer sing the new lyrics about Princess Di after doing so at her Westminster Abbey memorial service ... Sir Elton is also into sweet smelling things. After his concerts he stopped by Sephora at Ala Moana clad in a casual suit Sir Elton shops Sephora
with a Hawaiian print shirt and funky glasses. Elton ended up purchasing "Boi-ing," a concealer from the BeneFit line and some sponge wedges for future touch ups. He also loaded up three baskets full of fragrances, possibly as gifts: "Vice Versa" by Yves Saint Laurent, Clinique's "Happy," Kenzo's "Time for Peace," Givenchy's "Extra-vagance d'Armarige" and Issey Miyaki's "L'Eau D'Issey." ...
HAWAII scored big in Conde Nast Traveler's "Gold List" for 2000, with more than 20 Hawaii properties making the list of "Best Places to Stay in the World," including the Grand Wailea Resort, Mauna Lani Bay, Halekulani and both Four Seasons properties. But the highest Hawaii ratings went to Lanai's Manele Bay Hotel and the Lodge at Koele, No. 1 and No. 2 on the list ... And congrats to Hawaiian Airlines honcho Paul Casey, named by Travel Agent magazine as airline person of the year for the South Pacific, making him one of the magazine's "Giants of Jets." ...
Good morning?
KAHALA Mandarin guests who were awakened around 5:30 a.m. this week by the blaring of an insistent car alarm can thank Jack Samuels for the wake-up call. Here to cover the Sony Open for the Hawaii State Radio Network and numerous mainland stations, Samuels drove his rent-a-car to the porte-cochere of the Kahala to head for the Waialae Press Room, the alarm went off, and Samuels had no idea how to deactivate it. Welcome to paradise ...WAIKOLOA'S Tom Rohr seems to have that magic touch. A couple of weeks ago he booked the Outrigger Canoe Club's private room for a reception to honor his resort's touring pro, Peter Jacobsen, and UH football coach June Jones. The day before the event Jacobsen won the Johnny Bellinger shoot-out, and then drew Jones, an old Oregon golfing buddy, as his partner in the pro-am day at the Open. Rohr swears the fix wasn't in. "My dad used to tell me," he confided, " 'You may not be smart, but you sure are lucky.' " ...
IT began with a conversation on a Hawaii beach, and rock star David Crosby was picked to father through artificial insemination the child rocker Melissa Etheridge and her partner Julie Cypher wanted to raise. This prompted Jay Leno to question her choice of the paunchy ex-druggie Crosby. Asked Leno, "Was Meat Loaf not available? Was Keith Richards tied up?" ...
School spirit
READER M. Wong complains that too often newsmakers are referred to as a "Punahou grad" (like Steve Case) and thinks other schools should get similar recognition. When those folks make news we do. For example, Aiea High grad Joe Moore says his new film, "Moonglow" (premiering Feb. 4) is the first "Irish film" made in Hawaii. It features Milo O'Shea, Joanna Cassidy, Eileen Brennan, plus Moore. He explains: "My mother's maiden name was Flannery." ...
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: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com