Hawaii
WITH Federated Dept. Stores taking over Liberty House and turning it into a Macy's, it's the end of an era and then some, raising some questions. Can a Honolulu Bloomingdale's, also owned by Federated, be far behind? Will Macy's leap into the local Thanksgiving Day parade with the same fervor they do in New York, linking Macy's and Thanksgiving like yin and yang? Will the new Macy's continue the 21-year Breakfast with Santa Christmas production, already a local tradition? Thousands of children visited the special events room at Ala Moana Liberty House with their families to see a Christmas puppet show, eat breakfast, lunch or dinner and visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Local puppeteer Anna Viggiano and her troupe have entertained Isle families for many years ... Macy’s advent may
change isle traditionsFORMER Channel 9 sports-caster Neil Everett, after completing almost a year with ESPN in Bristol, Conn., is coming home for a vacation. Actually, he's combining some time off with attending the annual Dolphin Days Celebration in Kona, followed by a quick trip to Kauai to attend the June 28 nuptials of fellow sportscaster Cara Capuano, whom you may have seen on Sportscenter Monday. She's marrying Stacey Mason Plum, a football coach she interviewed on her first on-air gig in Bozeman, Mont. If meeting a mate is that simple, Everett better watch out who he interviews, though tennis babe Anna Kournikova might not be a bad start. Following Cara's wedding, Everett plans a week in Honolulu "where perhaps our paths will cross at Murphy's." ...
Vegas connection
ISLE adman By Feldman is back from a golf outing in Palm Springs, one that took him through Vegas. While there, he chatted with an old friend of mine, Herb McDonald, who's finally retired. Here's a guy who was in Vegas when it all began with one motel on the strip in the '40s, went on to be G.M. of the Sahara, came to Hawaii at the behest of Del Webb, who'd just built the Kuilima (now Hilton Turtle Bay) and ran it before returning to Vegas and overseeing the construction and operation of that city's convention center. He married Isle entertainer Masako, who was killed a few years back in a highway incident in which she'd stopped to aid a stranded motorist and was hit by a driver who didn't see her on the side of the road. Even though Herb has retired, daughter Kimberly is now working in the hotel/casino business in Vegas ...
Let's play Twister
MOST people we see vacationing in Hawaii come here to relax, but some Isle folks don't seem to subscribe to that -- Honolulu Club G.M. David Shell, for example. Last year he drove a vintage motorcycle across the U.S. and this year he went tornado-chasing. While he never caught a twister, he came close enough for most of us, encountering four violent storms and two tornado "take-cover" alerts. He once found himself in the middle of a "tornadic supercell" and had to hide out in the basement of the county courthouse in Childress, Texas, with 150 local residents. But not, however, before running through the streets filming the phenomenon and getting pelted with hailstones as the sirens wailed. What ever happened to settling down with a book? ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com