No moments lost at stadium

UH football fans won't have to worry about missing a big play while they're standing in line at the concession stand, now that flat-screen TVs are being installed around Aloha Stadium. Any spectator ever chagrined to hear a huge cheer fill the stadium just as they went for a hot dog will appreciate the extra coverage — as will the concession workers, no doubt.

The human element can be critical

If Chesley's Sullenberger's landing on a New York waterway was “;the miracle on the Hudson,”; then last week's deadly crash into the same river was “;the curse of a watery grave.”; But that's the trouble with crediting divine intervention when things go right: It downplays the absolutely critical human element. Human error was evident in last Saturday's collision of a small plane and tour helicopter. An air traffic controller was on a personal call and failed to warn the plane of aircraft in its path; the controller's supervisor was outside the building taking a break. The FAA says neither employee caused the crash, but that their conduct was nonetheless unacceptable.

50 years of shopping 'til you drop

As an employee at Ala Moana Center, ever scooped out rock-salt plum at the Crack Seed Center, retrieved Dilly Bars at Dairy Queen, or restocked boxes at Slipper House?

If so, consider yourself among a corps of employees who've worked for one of just 11 of the center's original tenants still there after 50 years. The venerable shopping complex is marking its 50th anniversary, and has seen myriad stores and ventures come and go over the decades.

Kudos to all the original tenants — the eight others are Foodland, Longs Drug, Reyn's, Sears, Shirokiya, Territorial Savings, Watumull's and the U.S. Postal Service — as well as the current ones for forging ahead in ever-changing retail times.