Still More Monday Morning Photos

What is it about Monday being the most photographed day of the week for the morning newscast?

Well, here we are with four members of the Army Community Theatre production of the musical Cats. In the the center is “Viewer of the Week” Juliana Romero. The Cats put some cat make-up on her face, which I think she wore to work.

And here are Cats Elizabeth Harrison, Shawna Masuda, Sarah Morkovisz and Cameron Krainin. It takes an hour to put on that makeup, and at least one cast member said she woke up at 1:30 am (!!) to get ready. The musical runs at ACT through March 11th.

Circus Side Note — Moonshine

After reading Ben’s post on the Cirque Hawai’i performance, I just wanted to add something that we received from a viewer. We got this email from Tony Kearney.

“I ride my bike past your studio daily and yesterday i got mooned by a naked man bending over in the studio window. Don’t you guys have a
dressing room, and how bout a beautiful wahine next time?”

Our studio has really big windows so you can see everything inside. I wrote back to Mr. Kearney apologizing for the nudity. The man he saw was NOT anyone from KITV. It was one of the Cirque Hawaii performers who decided to change in the studio. Anyone who knows theater know that performers/dancers/entertainers will often change any place without shame. We just had to crack up thinking he saw more than he expected.

aloha,
Mahealani
mrichardson@thehawaiichannel.com

The Dead Whale

First off, a warning: If you’re eating something right now or are a bit squeamish, I suggest you go immediately to the next post.

Part of living in an island state is that dead whales wash up on shore from time to time. I’ve never covered such a story until yesterday, when a two- to three-ton whale carcass was removed from a Waimanalo beach near the Makai Pier. I’d heard anecdotes from other reporters about how the worst thing about covering such an event is, well, the smell. Let’s just say it’s really, really, really bad and leave it at that.

What washed up on shore was described basically as a gigantic piece of blubber, which of course, is fat. Unfortunately, fat molecules are rather long, which also makes them very adhesive (without getting too scientific here, there’s just a whole lot of carbon atoms attached to hydrogen atoms; the whole hydrocarbon chain is more than happy to attach itself to other stuff, which is part of the reason why Americans are getting bigger — but that’s another story). So the odor lingers a bit longer in the area and in the nasal passages. I wanted a bowl of kim chee when I got back to the newsroom just so I could replace the vestiges of the bad odor with something potent enough to get rid of it completely.

There’s actually a part of a whale that was used in making perfumes. It’s called ambergris, a substance excreted from sperm whales, which was used as a fixative in fragrances. Most perfumes now use a synthetic version of ambergris.

Some people have already told me today they couldn’t watch the story to the end, because it was a bit gross to watch. However, they can be thankful that, for all the things that television can transmit, odors are not one of them.

Ben.
bgutierrez@thehawaiichannel.com

This Show is a Circus!

Some have called the morning newscast a circus. Thursday morning, it literally came true when the performers from Cirque Hawaii dropped in for a visit.

Condolences to Howard Dicus

In this business, many of us are friendly with one another, even if we are on competing stations. So it was sad to receive word this morning that Marilyn Dicus, the wife of Pacific Business News reporter Howard Dicus, passed away yesterday after a three year battle with breast cancer. She was 60 years old.

Marilyn Mae Smith, as she was born, was a local girl, daughter of a Matson steamship engineer, a graduate of Kalani High School and the University of Hawai`i, who worked as marketing director for TheBus. She and her husband also were a potent writing team for the Gridiron Show, the annual satirical fundraiser for the Hawai`i chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, for several years. She was a perfect match for Howard, always cheerful, at least with other Gridiron folks, despite her illness.

Howard and I first became acquainted when he worked at WTOP News Radio in Washington, D.C. That acquaintance turned into friendship once he and Marilyn moved here, and they became involved with the Gridiron. Of course, he also appears on KHON’s morning newscast, our competition, as well as on Hawai`i Public Radio and Hawai`i Public Television. And Howard gave me permission to write this, something I wanted to do since I have admired their parodies and their partnership. Even if it is competition, this is still family. And we’ve lost a member of that `ohana. When something like this happens, there’s always a void to be filled, mostly with memories. But oh, what memories!

Aloha, Marilyn.

Ben.
bgutierrez@thehawaiichannel.com

Sexy latin numbers

Last week Friday, we had a pair of dancers from Poland on our show to perform some sexy latin dances in the spirit of “Dancing with the Stars.” I can say that Joanna Grabowska and Robert Linowski definitely turned up the heat in our normally chilly studio.

Dan is a happily married man, but he was particulary taken by Joanna’s yellow dress and the flirting with her eyes that she did during her dance.

Joanna and Robert needed to use our restrooms to change into their outfits. I was just a tad bit startled when I walked in the ladies room and saw Robert in his bibidees. I apologized and made a quick exit. I think I was more embarrassed than the dancers.

aloha,
Mahealani
mrichardson@thehawaiichannel.com

And Now, Stage Left…

Above: Jessie Mowry as Charlotte

Wayne Harada mentioned in his column that I’ve spent evenings directing a production of Charlotte’s Web at Windward Community College. So I thought I’d show some of the college students I’ve been working with the past several weeks.

From L-R: Jonathan Oshiro (Templeton), Kimberly Wheeler (The Sheep), Debbie Mench (Fern), Ernest Stevens (The Gander), me, Christina Nolan (The Goose) and Isaac Waters (Wilbur).

The cast has been performing the play for elementary school students this week, and from what I’ve heard, it’s been a blast for them. By the way, the play will be performed this weekend at Paliku Theatre on the WCC campus. Then after that I can get my regular quota of sleep.

Ben.
bgutierrez@thehawaiichannel.com

Monday Morning Photos

From Monday, Feb. 13: Mahealani models what’s probably half a million dollars worth of jewelry from the House of Harry Winston. Winston staff members are on hand to make sure she doesn’t walk off with them.

Also from Monday, some delicious desserts from Ron Viloria, pastry chef at Tiki’s Bar and Grill. The desserts were history moments later.

Photos by Rich

How Do You Lift Four Million Pounds?

Aloha Stadium. The one with the stands that move from a football stadium configuration to a baseball stadium setup. And the one that may be locked in one of those positions permanently, either by decision — or by accident.

I got to go to the stadium today to see one of the stands move from football to baseball. Inside, crews were busy stripping the “NFC All Stars” paint from the end zone from Sunday’s Pro Bowl; more people were taking down the banners. And some members of the the Stadium Authority and the news media were going to be shown just how hard it has become to change the stadium from one way to the other. It’s because the equipment is getting old and less reliable, and there’s the possibility it could fail and end up immobile in the wrong configuration. It wouldn’t be good to have the stadium stuck in the baseball setup when its time for UH football.

I was looking forward to seeing this process, and apparently, so were some of the Stadium Authority members. We’ve seen the stadium in either setup, but very few of us have seen the change actually happening. From what I could tell, authority members were among those who’ve never seen it happen.

Well, I didn’t get to see it happen.

What did happen was that according to a stadium spokesperson, the contractors who bring in the big air compressors used to lift the stands were running behind schedule, so the move scheduled for 9 am was pushed back several hours — past my pau hana time. But it was interesting to go behind the scenes and get some of these stats from the folks who work at the stadium:

• Weight of each of the four movable stands: 4,000,000 lbs.
• Weight of each of the eight skybridges: 180,000 lbs.
• Time it takes for one stand to move: About 90 minutes
• Time, from start to finish, to completely change the stadium from one configuration to the other: One week
• Time between the Pro Bowl (football configuration) and the Great Aloha Run (baseball configuration): Eight days
• Number of football fans at the stadium in a season: 500,000 (approx.)
• Number of baseball fans at the stadium in a season: 6,000 (approx.)
• Cost to repair the thing: $129 million
• Cost to build a new stadium: $400 million plus (according to a Stadium Authority member, who also says it would take at seven to ten years to happen)

So the Stadium Authority is considering leaving the stadium permanently in a single configuration. It seems the board is a little split about which way to go, but I’m leaning toward football, as baseball games are now at Rainbow Stadium or Hans L’Orange field in Waipahu. There could be a decision late next week.

Ben.
bgutierrez@thehawaiichannel.com

The $64,000 Watch

On days like Friday, I really wish we had a dedicated guest wrangler in studio!

In one corner we had Sean Naauao and band playing for all 2 hours. In another corner we had the folks from Harry Winston, and with them I’m guessing a million dollars worth of exquisite jewelry, and the security folks to go with it. Then arrives Andy Bumatai, and the crazy local-style fun he brings with him.

Well all this excitement is building up to the big finish and as we fade to black, every one is happy and congratulating each other and there is a general sense of chaos as people relax and begin to pack up. Andy Bumatai has to get going, so he takes off pretty quickly, and Dan begins to ask where Andy went. Someone tells him that Andy just left and that Dan might still be able to catch him if he hurries. So Dan takes off after Andy, and leaves the studio still wearing a $64,000 Harry Winston watch!

Mahea quickly realizes what has happened and sends me out to get Dan back in the studio. I find Dan and Andy talking business in the lobby and I tell Dan he has to get back to the studio because he’s still wearing the watch. He’s not done talking with Andy, so he takes off the watch and hands it to me to bring back. Like an idiot I took it!

As I start back to the studio I begin to appreciate that I am holding more than a year’s salary in my hand and I begin to feel the weight of it’s value. I begin to think what if I drop it? What if I scratch it? Why am I holding this thing? If you saw me you’d think I was holding a detonator or something! My eyes were big, my skin was cold and I was just looking for somebody to help me by taking the watch out of my hands! I walked up to the Harry Winston people and said meekly “help me…please take this from me.”

Now Dan knows I am trust-worthy, and I know I am trust-worthy, but the Harry Winston folks don’t know me from Adam. In the hour that followed I actually became more concerned about the what-ifs of that situation and the liability I took on. I was pretty shaken up.

I think I’ll stick to my Timex!