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Hawaii
SPACE prohibits mentioning everyone who Emme’s 50th
draws a crowdhelped Emme Tomimbang celebrate her 50th birthday party at Waialae Country Club, but it seems like more of the town's movers and shakers were there than you'd believe. Lots of showbiz folks were on hand, of course, plus politicos from Gov. Ben Cayetano and wife Vicky on down. Jimmy Borges mentioned that he'd played golf with the governor that very morning. "Where'd you play?" I asked. "Ala Wai?" Borges cracked up. They eschewed the city course much in the news of late in favor of Waialae ... Now if Emme wants to feel really old, she should know that Broadway vet Janelle Parrish (who was Cosette in "Les Miserables" at the age of 9) is celebrating her 12th birthday today, skipping between rehearsals for a couple of shows. She'll be sharing the Leeward Community College spotlight with fellow Broadway vet Rocky Brown (from the "Miss Saigon" cast) in Matthew Pederson's "Jammin' Through the Decades" Nov. 9 and 10 and appearing as the ingenue lead in Diamond Head Theatre's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" opening Dec. 1
CAN Hawaii take anymore national publicity? First Mrs. America, then Miss America and now "Ms. All American Woman Plus," a title won in Orlando, Fla., by localite Dolores Mark-Chambers. Besides singing for some 150 weddings a month, this busy lady works for Prevent Child Abuse and will make an appearance Friday at noon for the "Rock-a-thon," part of the "Never Shake a Baby" campaign ... Oh yes, and a leggy young woman going by Cara Michelle, a name that sounds suspiciously showbizzy, is the December "Playgirl of the Month" in Playboy magazine. The 6-2 beauty is from Molokai and there are photos of her on the beach with her horse and as a youngster doing the hula. She was home-schooled, she says, except that the girls' basketball coach talked her into playing one year for Molokai High in the mid-'90s, since she was the tallest person in the school other than the boy's team center ...
Visitors to the East
PHOTOG Linda Ching is back from Beijing, where she attended the opening of her photographic exhibit at the China National Museum of Fine Arts, which closed yesterday. Ching was the first artist from Hawaii to have an exhibit at the museum and was aided by Cynthia Zhou, head of the HVCB's new Beijing office ... Also back is attorney and world traveler Brad Coates, who spent a month cruising around the Far East, including Russia, Japan, Korea and China. He makes several trips a year on Princess Cruise Lines, where he's a life-enhancement lecturer. Coates, who wrote "Divorce with Decency," was happy to find his name still on the office door, thanks to partner Greg Frey and his staff. Coates also is turning 50 and will be guest-hosting the Diana Wylie radio show on KHVH for the next couple of weeks ...
Sea stories
COMMANDER Dan Prince was in Chicago, the Windy City, attending a meeting as commander of the USS Chicago, but flew back in time to join 90 of his crew and family members to see "Chicago," the musical, Saturday afternoon at the Concert Hall ... Newsman Gary Sprinkle was in a kayak accident off Hawaii Kai and had to be rescued by a lifeguard. But relax, Sprinkle fans, it was simply the shooting of a final scene for "Baywatch Hawaii," and he's still a bit bummed that the lifeguard who rescued him wasn't Stacy Kamano ...
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