Hawaii
THE TV at the Honolulu home of Muriel Lum-Pang was tuned to CNN all day on Monday as her daughter, concert pianist Virginia Lum, could be seen all through the day swearing in the new Attorney General of the United States, John Ashcroft. How come? Aside from being an accomplished concert pianist, Lum is also a Department of Justice trial attorney and had been asked to represent the thousands of attorneys in the Justice Department in administering the oath to A.G. Ashcroft. The new A.G.'s wife held three Bibles under Ashcroft's hand while Lum asked him to "solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United Sates of America." Lum's own little attorneys general, Colette, 12, Marielle, 9, and Justin, 7, were on hand and mugged with the new A.G. in his office. As for pianist Lum, she's still tinkling the ivories and will be flying to Portland, Ore., next month to claim the National Piano Competition prize from American Mothers, Inc. On Memorial Day weekend, she and her two daughters (violinist and pianist, respectively) jet to Salt Lake City to perform at Temple Square. Lum-Pang will be flying out for both occasions -- one of the few times the two moms can get together ... Pianist Virginia Lum
seen swearing on TVSPEAKING of good-looking lawyers, Courtney Glaza has joined one of California's top business laws firms, Mitchell, Silberberg & Knapp as staff attorney in their litigation department. Glaza, who was Miss Hawaii in 1994, has decorated her office with koa accents, Hawaiian artworks and tropical plants to remind her of home. And despite the mock wrath of her colleagues, she often eats Spam musubi for lunch at her desk ...
Barenaked Ladies hot
LOTS of cash has been raised by STAR 101.9 disc jockeys though auctions for the Hawaii FoodBank. Of all the items auctioned off, the top price raised so far was $1,500 for an electric guitar autographed by Barenaked Ladies. That's the rock group of that name, and not a description of those who signed it. In fact, there are no women in Barenaked Ladies, just guys who apparently get off saying, "We're Barenaked Ladies." All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the FoodBank as part of its annual drive.YOU have until 8 tonight to visit Neiman Marcus and see the incredible artworks that will be auctioned off at the Contemporary Museum's ConTempo Rarities gala dinner tomorrow. The event is sold out, but you can get a silent auction bid form at Neiman Marcus' concierge desk ...
Murphy's Law
YOU know about Murphy's Law: If anything can go bad, it will. And you know about City Hall, scene of much arm twisting and broken promises. So when you factor Don Murphy of Murphy's Bar & Grill into the mix, you can expect the worst. Murphy was at City Hall with fellow Nuuanu Avenue publicans Hank Tafaasau of Hank's American Cafe and Bryan Uy of Havana Cabana for a meeting with City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura, who represents downtown, about future Nuuanu Avenue night events. Leaving Honolulu Hale, Murphy (stone sober) slipped on the step, took a tumble and broke his arm. He may use the misfortune to take a few days off.
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