Hawaii
Away all boats! Yachts
racing here in styleTHERE are 70 yachts, some sleek, sparse and workmanlike, and then there are the Magnificent Seven, the larger and more luxurious vessels, that set sail Friday from the St. Francis Yacht Club in S.F. heading for Hawaii. The seven range upward to the Mari-Cha III, a 146-foot-long ketch, both a racing machine and a luxurious vessel. Smaller boats, which take longer to make the journey, left earlier, though all are expected to end up in the Isles around July 22. The race is called the 12th biennial West Marine Pacific Cup, and you can bet there'll be many a celebratory glass lifted in Isle yacht clubs next week ...
MORTGAGE payments of under $300 a month? No, this isn't a dog house, as those numbers might suggest. It's a brand new house built by Honolulu Habitat for Humanity for families who'd never qualify from a financial institution. The chosen families pitch in to help build the homes along with Habitat for Humanity workers and in return earn a 20-year, no-interest mortgage with payments under $300 a month. One will be dedicated and turned over to the latest family to qualify on Saturday in Nanakuli. It's the 42nd home built by the organization since it was created in 1988. The group's current project is a 45-home affordable housing subdivision in Kapolei, due to start in September, but exec director Jose Villa would doubtless turn thumbs down on calling them Jose Villas ...
Doctor in the house?
THE July issue of Honolulu magazine lists "The 198 Best Docs in Hawaii," as selected by doctors. I'm sure they'll get letters similar to my, uh, gut feeling that Kaiser's Dr. John Falzarano and Dr. Peter Abcarian should be added to the list to make an even 200. If it weren't for operations each performed on me just a month shy of eight years ago, you wouldn't be reading this right now. But somehow these two doctors operated independently on me, and here I am ...FORMER Advertiser columnist Tom Horton, who quit and left in a huff -- he had to turn in his Monte Carlo -- is back on a working vacation with wife Karen from California where they own the Stinson Beach Grill. The two are working here because Tom has become executive editor and Karen contributing editor of Hawaii Hospitality magazine. The Hortons, who've been married 30 years, thus assuring Karen a good seat in heaven, are a great addition to the slick magazine. In the latest issue, he admits his duties at his restaurant mostly involve bussing and dishes: "I can't cook and, to protect the family business, I'm not permitted to wait tables, tend bar or host because I'd have to interact with customers." You think he's kidding? ...
Pacarro-fest
KSSK'S Michael W. Perry and Larry Price have long teased their Hanohano Room producer Sweetie Pacarro about how large her family is. She confirmed it on Saturday's show when she revealed that a Fourth of July reunion of Pacarros at Makaha Resort drew more than 240 relatives. That astounded them but the biggest shock came when she said the furthest family member flew in from Delaware. Both lamented, "There are Pacarros in Delaware?" ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
The Week That Was recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com