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Pete Thompson
comes back strong
after heart attack

Pete Thompson, 55, was named Mr. Fitness at Clark Hatch Fitness Center last month. What makes the Kamehameha and UH grad's selection more impressive than most fitness award recipients is that although he was one of the best-conditioned Hatchers, he suffered a heart attack just after Thanksgiving, 2003. "An artery called the 'widow maker' was 100 percent clogged," Pete said, adding when it's that bad it usually kills you. Pete, director of investments at Smith Barney, was a gourmet who packed 230 pounds on his muscular 5-foot-11 frame. He loved good food, "foie gras, caviar, everything evil," he said. When he was hospitalized with tubes coming in and out of everywhere, he made a vow never to wind up like that again. The fancy food had to go. He and his wife, Sylvia, became vegans, extreme vegetarians, and he now weighs a lean 188. Sylvia, owner of Sunrise Realty, lost 15 to 20 pounds, he said. Pete keeps in shape playing racquetball with fellow Hatchers Al Joaquin, Art Montoya and Eric Rosso. He also runs, surfs, lifts weights, and never eats "anything evil" anymore ...

Lynne Johnson, who chairs the Honolulu Symphony Foundation, is teaching a non-credit Symphony Preview Class at UH starting tomorrow. The four-lecture, Thursday series, 6 to 8 p.m., features famous composers whose works will be performed next season. Call 956-8400 to join the $45 class. Lynne is a doctoral candidate in musicology and is this year's winner of the UH Musicology Award ...

Chefs provide top food for Foodbank benefit

It was a great bargain at $65 for a great cause. The "Great Chefs Fight Hunger" event Friday on the Restaurant Row lawn raised about $14,000 for the Hawaii Foodbank. People gobbled up delicious food from Alan Wong's, Roy's, Chai's, 3660 on the Rise, Ruth's Chris, Sansei, Side Street Inn, Sunset Grill, Halekulani, Hiroshi's Eurasion Tapas, Ihilani, Mariposa, Nalo Farms and Bubbies. Better Brands, Southern Wine & Spirits, JMD, Chambers & Chambers, Paradise Beverages, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Hawaiian Isle Coffee, Hiroshi's and Fiji Water provided beverages. Music was by hard-working singer-emcee Dita Holifield and Redhanded. The event was Sansei Chef D.K. Kodama's idea. He and all who took part deserve a big mahalo ...

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