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Monday, November 13, 2000
By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Behind the brush at Honolulu Hale, a plaque
honors former mayor Frank Fasi.
It's quite an interesting building, from the hidden basements where fraudulent ballots were once hidden away, to the tower where Andy Mirikitani may yet be banished.
But the subject for today is the corner facing the intersection of Punchbowl and King. It's chopped off. It also has a queen-bed-sized plaque that's difficult to read, hidden as it is behind plantings, but if you peer closely, you can make out the name of Frank Fasi.
Fasi? The former mayor and once- and-future candidate? How the heck did he permanently hang his name on a municipal structure?
Here's the deal. That part of the building is considered the "cornerstone" of the structure. It also contains a 1929 time capsule. The big plaque commemorates the coolness of the people who constructed Honolulu Hale, so that the City Council didn't have to keep hanging out in its old headquarters downtown.
In 1979, the 50th anniversary of building City Hall, the mayor's office trailbossed a 50th birthday celebration that included additional commemorative plaques. Since the mayor in 1979 was Fasi, his name was screwed forever to the side of the building.
Remember, this is the mayor who had his private campaign symbol on city construction signs. And just maybe, when the 100th anniversary comes around in 2029, Fasi will be mayor again and add another plaque.
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Tickets are $15.50, $20.50, $25.50 and $40 plus applicable service fees, and are available at the Blaisdell box office, Ticket Plus outlets including Foodland, Sack 'N Save, the University of Hawai'i Campus Center and Tempo Music.
Charge by phone at 526-4400 or go online at www.DisneyOnIce.com. Discounts for groups of 15 or more are available by calling 597-8313.
Featured during the event, themed "Island Artists," will be Rocky Brown, the Filipiniana Dance Co., Tarlac Mutural Club, Ewa Plantation Siners, Rick Trimillios, the Silangan Singers and hip-hop performances by Alex Garcia and his group.
There will also be demonstrations of the Philippines martial art escrima, and parol, or Christmas lanterns, for sale.
Information: 532-8700.
The annual benefit for the Queen's Medical Center will feature the viewing of 25 theme-decorated trees, with handmade gifts and ornaments available for sale and silent auction.
The event takes place 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Ward Warehouse second-floor Kewalo and Kakaako Conference Rooms.
Admission is a $1 donation.
For more information, call 547-4397.
