NEWS & NOTES My back pages Couching the news. What is fit to print, and who determines that? Is news of a well-known community member divesting themselves of their petroleum holdings newsworthy, especially when the sale is advertised in The
NEWS & NOTES
My back pages
- Couching the news. What is fit to print, and who determines that? Is news of a well-known community member divesting themselves of their petroleum holdings newsworthy, especially when the sale is advertised in The Garden Island?
The matter came up last week when a furniture-store magnate and her business associates sought to censor The Garden Island from doing a story about the sale.
The exact words to The Garden Island were if we were to do the story we would “never hear the end of it.” I hope that person wasn’t referring to those TV ads. Now that would be punishment.
- Kevin Hurst’s purchase of Vision Properties is pending final approval of members of the state Real Estate Commission, which will meet Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Honolulu. Reports are founder and former owner Ed MacDowell will stay on.
- It’s a good thing Michelle Wie is tall and not wee. She’ll need a lot of body space to showcase all those corporate logos, sort of like a human NASCAR.
- A certain individual making his way through the Circuit Court system has had so many hearings and appearances rescheduled his new middle name is “Continued.”
Mackler gets promotion
- Kaua’i’s own Yvette Mackler of McNeil Wilson Communications in Honolulu has been promoted to assistant account executive for the marketing firm that provides information and news releases about the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau and Hawaiian Airlines, two of the accounts she works on. Mackler is a Kaua’i High School graduate and the daughter of Gary and Clara Mackler of Lawa’i.
Cruise ships calling on Nawiliwili
- Today, Sunday, Oct. 9, the Island Princess, 963 feet long, calls on Nawiliwili Harbor, arriving at 7 a.m. and departing the same day at 6 p.m. On Monday, Oct. 10, the Statendam, 720 feet long, arrives at 7 a.m. and leaves the same day at 2 p.m. The Pride of Aloha, 850 feet long, arrives tomorrow, Monday, Oct. 10 at 7 a.m., and remains overnight, leaving Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. This Wednesday, Oct. 12, the Norwegian Wind, 754 feet long, arrives at 7 a.m. and departs the same day at 5 p.m.
This Thursday, Oct. 13, the Pride of America, 965 feet long, arrives at 7 a.m., and leaves the same day at 6 p.m. Also this Friday, Oct. 14, the Infinity, 964 feet long, arrives at 7 a.m. and leaves the same day at 6 p.m. This Saturday, Oct. 15, the Island Princess, 965 feet long, arrives at 7 a.m. and leaves the same day at 6 p.m.
Rotary service project completed
- Members of the Rotary Club of Poipu Beach (RCPB) announced that their first international-service project of the year has been successfully completed. In March, club members won a matching grant from leaders at Rotary International totaling $5,250 to transfer 40 intravenous pumps donated by officials at Wilcox Memorial Hospital to leaders at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City, Philippines, according to Poipu Rotary mainstay D.Q. Jackson.
Margee Faunce, the immediate past president of RCPB, says, “The grant paid for shipping the pumps, purchasing transformers (since the Philippines uses 220-volt electricity) and purchasing intravenous tubing for use with the pumps. VSMMC is a 600-bed hospital at the center of Cebu island, with a mission to indigent and marginalized patients,” says Faunce.
“It didn’t have any i.v. pumps. Nurses had to estimate fluid rate and medication dosage by counting drops and adjusting clamps. The use of i.v. pumps has enormously improved safety for hospitalized patients, especially children.”
Kauai Rotarians and volunteer medical staff have made several trips to Cebu island in the southern Philippines over the last three years. The main purpose was the Rotaplast (Rotary plastic surgery) missions to repair facial birth defects in indigent children. In addition to more than 400 children with now normal-appearing faces, the added result was multiple friendships between doctors, nurses and Rotarians. “We’ve become such good friends after working in complex situations that we decided to form a sister-club partnership,” says Faunce. “We signed the partnership with the Rotary Club of Cebu Port Center in Cebu City in late March.”
A team of Hawai’i Rotarians will travel to Cebu on Saturday, Nov. 5, lead by Poipu Beach Rotarians, to prepare VSMMC for the arrival of cardiac-monitoring equipment expected to arrive in January as a result of another Rotary Foundation grant. Registered Nurse Jackson will be training hospital staff in the use of EKG machines and defibrillators. “The hospital is very eager to receive this equipment,” says Jackson. “At present, any patient with an uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia usually doesn’t survive. Our focus is medical, but we also have grown to appreciate, respect and enjoy our Philippine Rotary counterparts,” Jackson said. “To that end, we will assess programs by which we can partner over the next five years, for the benefit of our Kaua’i and Cebu residents. Exchange of high-school students is at the top of our list,” he said. For more information on RCPB’s Cebu connection, please call Tom Gross at 332-0844.
Women in Business Roundtable coming
- There are women who have dreams of opening businesses, but may not know where to start. There are women who have existing businesses and want help expanding. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, these women can get some answers to their questions.
That’s the day that the Women in Business Roundtable (WIBR) leaders will feature guest speaker Jane Sawyer of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She will share her personal and professional knowledge with WIBR guests and members. With more than 12 years of economic- and business-development experience under her belt, she will offer her insights and tips on:
- SBA programs and resources to help you start or grow your business;
- Unique opportunities for women in business you may not have known about.
The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the Hukilau Lanai in the Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy in Wailua. Registration and networking is at 4:30 p.m. Pupus and the presentation are from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The cost is $18 per person, which includes pupus. There will be a cash bar.
Space is limited, so participants are encouraged to register before this Saturday, Oct. 15 (no refunds or cancellations after this Tuesday, Oct. 11. To make a reservation, please call 822-7292, or fax name, company name, phone number and e-mail address to 826-6496, along with total number in party, or e-mail debra@writedirection.com
Sawyer is the public information officer and lead business development specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Hawaii District Office. Having joined the SBA in 1993, she is responsible for resource and grants management, marketing and public information for the agency. In addition, she oversees the SBA’s business-development programs and partnerships, including SCORE (Service Corps Of Retired Executives) and the Women’s Business Centers in Hawaii.
Guests pay per event. For those interested in getting involved on the WIBR planning committee, please contact WIBR chair Debra Jason at 826-1846.
Discount resident PGA Grand Slam tickets offered
- Tickets are now available for the 2005 PGA Grand Slam of Golf, taking place at Poipu Bay Golf Course Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 21 to 23. This year, for the first time, officials with The PGA of America are offering a discounted price to kama’aina (Hawai’i residents). The kama’aina discount is available on season tickets purchased before Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The ticket price for the proam tournament, taking place Monday, Nov. 21, is $10. The competition-day tickets, for Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 22 and 23, with play starting at noon each day, are $20 per day. Season tickets provide access to all three days, and are $40 each. Hawai’i residents can purchase season tickets for $20, a 50-percent discount, if purchased before Tuesday, Nov. 1. Tickets to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf may be purchased by calling toll-free 1-800-PGA-TCKT (1-800-742-8258), or online at www.PGA.com.
