Hawaii
FOLKS in the Kahala area thought they'd seen something last year when 400 American flags were erected there to celebrate the Fourth of July. Shelly Campbell had nine family members in town for a July 5 birthday celebration, so she got them to work putting up flags. It so impressed Dee Smyser that she called to alert me to the display. So after dark on July 3, Campbell, her husband Ed and son John Harris set to work, and this year put out 500 flags. Campbell says she couldn't help but think of Dee's late husband, longtime Star-Bulletin editor Bud Smyser, as she walked down his street. An inspired Campbell said, "It is a great feeling when people express the joy at seeing our stars and stripes. So the tradition continues." ... Patriotic Kahala folks
raise aloft 500 flagsTHERE were stars and stripes evident all over town yesterday, most notably at Ala Moana Center which staged a fireworks display last night. But they had nothing over the very impressive Grucci Brothers fireworks show the night before on Sand Island across from the extraordinarily packed Aloha Tower Marketplace. There was a line of cars down Ala Moana hoping to turn left into the Marketplace area for the show, but they had to watch from their cars as the parking area was packed. The fireworks weren't just random displays of light either. There were circles of color sculptures in the sky with a peace symbol visible within them. But nothing topped the red, white and blue circles that went up simultaneously and came down with the letters "U," "S" and "A" also in red, white and blue lights ...
THERE were some fireworks atop Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas the other day when a roofer's propane torch started a fire that ended up costing $30,000 but could have been much worse. ...
No Smoking sign up
ONE of my favorite little hideaways, Havana Cabana, has closed its doors. According to co-owner Bryan Uy, they wanted to bring in a new partner who'd take over, clear up all back rents owed the lessor Hawaii Theatre and sign a new five-year lease for the bar and restaurant. But the amount of money he was offering per square foot was deemed insufficient, so the place will sit vacant until a new operator can be found ...
Versatile Verdi-phile
FAR more than so-so soprano Measha Breuggergosman did the rounds while here to sing the Verdi Requiem with the Hawaii International Choral Festival, also sang with the band at Indigo, wowed the karaoke crowd at Sansei ("Anybody want to follow that?") and dined at the Willows with Dale Noble of both Honolulu Boy Choir and Kamehameha Glee Club fame, and Timothy Carney, artistic director of the Oahu Choral Society and the International Choral Festival. Before flying in to Honolulu, the soprano had grander things on her plate. She dined with Prince Charles in Toronto after a command performance there. Measha notes the Prince somehow finished his entire meal while carrying on a wonderful conversation about his watercolors and music, and "never appeared to be eating." Still, with ears like his, you'd think he'd be a wonderful listener ...-
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com