r. } ust when you thought lion of federal money for you'd seen it all - the Honolulu's rapid transit project, gag order, the sanitized prompting Rep. Neil ....___...-_ Masked bid report, the inces- Abercrombie to crow, "I think sant and deceptive pro­ it's a tribute to our efforts in paganda campaign, the Congress" (referring to the Transit ballooning price tag, Hawaii delegation).More likely, the lawsuit - there's more. the allocation of the money is By Pat Tummons Recently, the House Public .m!!i;:s;:::,,.;,�- actually a tribute to the power Works and Transportation of lobbyists in the nation's capi­ andJulia Steele Committee approved $618 mil- tol. Here's Continued on Page 3 ·._ H o N ·- ·o · ... · L u L u , Volume 1 , Issue 16, October 30, 1991 Say/esmanshipy all appearances, and The Howling. John Sayles has had The MacArthur Foundation the kind of career that bestowed a no-strings-attached !most everyone loves to most aspiring writers "genius" grant upon him. He complain about the dailies. and filmmakers would published three more books, But just how valid is the cheerfully kill for. sold more screenplays, and criticism of Honolulu's two His first short story made more films, some inde­ A Critique newspapers? This summer, won an 0. Henry Award. He pendently, some formajor stu­ the Honolulu-Community published his firstnovel, Pride dios. Bruce Springsteen asked Media Council decided to of the Bimbos, at him to direct three bythe try to find out. The group age 25. His direc­ rock videos. He undertook a study of the torial debut in created Shannon s two most influential voices in the state: The Return of the Deal, a highly­ Honolulu Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star­ Secaucus 7 was a regarded (though Bulletin. The council commissioned fourretired critical success low-rated) series Mainland newspaper editors to analyze both and developed a forNBC. Community papers; they computed the ratio of editorial strong cult fol­ Despite that sig­ covetage to ads and compared this ratio to lowing. Sure, he nificant body of national averages; they conducted a survey of spent some time work, John Sayles Media close to 400 island residents involved in pub­ cranking out potboilers for is by no means a household lic policy-making or local government; and Roger Corman, but there still name. He may never be. And they spoke with current and formerstaff mem­ are people who speak admir­ it's probably not something Council bers of the dailies. ingly of his tongue-in-cheek that concerns him much, as Not everyone was thrilled at the prospect of scripts forPiranha, Alligator long as he Continued on Page 7 such an examination. The Continued on Page 4 Mauka to Makai •I'' hat was Halloween costumed freaks and gawking once? It was a pagan onlookers. Even downtown, super­ celebration to remem­ lhe market cashiers and bank tellers go ber the dead and to work in costume, and the nor­ acknowledge that they Evolutionof mally staid business district takes might come back to on a masquerade festivity. visit - and do harm. a Hawaiian Speaking of festive events, The holiday came from Europe and remember the Iraj Sayah parties of found itsroots in the United States in Halloween the '80s? Sayah, a man with bucks to the late 1800s, primarily through burn, threw a series of huge costume Irish immigrants. Clearly, though, feteseach Halloween. Each year the Halloween crosses lines of culture list of invitees ballooned (the last, forthe fear of unseen things is uni­ held in 1986, had more than 13,000) versal. With time and the advent of as did the size of the locales (Castle technology, Americans have become Park, Sea Life Park, the Waikiki generally less superstitious. But those Shell). It got to where these "par­ elemental fears still linger enough ties" seemed more like crowds of to be indulged in slasher movies and wandering souls. Rumor had it that scary novels - and in Halloween, this was all an elaborate scheme by the host to get the names and phone DeSoto Brown numbers of attractive women since everyone had to fillout a form with which allows us to dress up and a photo to get an invitation. Anyway, release our dark forces should we aftera few years, Sayah called a halt choose to. to the whole thing by moving to the Halloween wasn't always the big Mainland, so then it was back to the deal in Honolulu that it is today. In streets. the 1930s, adults could attend special Halloween was my favmite time shows at nightclubs like the of year as a kid. Going door to door Alexander Young Hotel Roof in a costume and then digging Garden in downtown Honolulu. By least locally.) By the time I was mak­ through the canny spoils was pretty the late 1940s, there were commu­ ing the rounds in the '60s, Halloween good but the best part was the sea­ nity gatherings sponsored by the city was observed widely, to the point sonal decor. After days of whining Parks Department. By 1955, the cus­ that stores were holdtng and pleading, the cardboard skele­ tom of trick or treating had been "Spooktacular Sales." tons and rubber masks were taken established here, as it had on the When I grew up, I didn't want to out of storage. The night itself Mainland. The now quintessential let Halloween go. Interestingly, a became an elaborate display of Halloween ritual was probably cr�­ lot of other baby boomers didn't blood-spattered dummies, dry ice, ------- seem to want to, either. We put on ated as a way for homeowners to all with parental acquiescence. Like � :-, costumes and went to parties and avoid the Halloween vandalism that my parents in the past, my indulgent CARTOON-TS had become a tradition as early as discos and bars. Increasingly, we co-workers today let me decorate 1 1 the '20s. The theory seems to have went to Waikiki to see and be seen, our officewith all the traditionalstuff been that by giving in to extortion until Halloween became the dis­ - and I still love it. I guess some demands fromthe little monsters, trict's biggest spontaneous event of things never change. • you could escape their wrath. the year. Today, Waikikiis jammed (Eventually the "tricks" died out, at with traffic, sidewalk parades of � :� MASS TRANSIT.MASS CONRISION ,: HONOLULU HawaiiCollectors E xpo '92 I I Hawaii'sPremi.er Art, Antique & CoUectibl,esMarketplace Febmary21, 22, 23-1992 Vol. 1; No. 16 ·1 I October 30, 1991 r BlaisdellExhibition Hall Publisher and Managing 14mdorInquiries llf,/come. Editor Laurie V Carlson I I CATALYST PRODUCTIONS Senior Editor Julia Steele PostOffice Box 10596, Honolulu, Hawaii96816 Calendar Editor Derek Ferrar Telephone 808545-SHOW, Fax 808533-1637 Editorial Assistant I I Ann Marie Swan .. Contributing Writers DeSoto Brown, Pat Tummons, Bob Green, Cecil Adams, Mary I I Brennan, Michael Berry Contributing Illustrators Linda Fong, Julia's Mom I I TE....... .... R MA Art Director Bud Linschoten Production Manager 1 ��·· .. Blaine Fergerstrom qw : . ,�..;. ... ··� 1 l.,g,;Jr et n -·..., ,1,,1,, } .\ o Contributing Photographers � · 1 W #l ::·s, , · . ... ,i;,>·:ij. I I Jnii>r .. u , · otfats Mark Williford ID . • Cartoonists Matt Groening, AS SEEN ON THE COVER OF: f..J,:. } 1¥Ltf•:t,;..,,M;:,J,,,.. if ·/ Slug Signorino Classified Manager I I Isabella Forster Honolulu Weekly Advertising Mindy Jaffe Honolulu Weekly I Name 1 ISSN #I057-414X Entire contents © 1991 by Address Honolulu Weekly, Inc. All rights reserved I I 1200 College Walk, Suite 212 Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 Please send me: D M D L D XLShirt(s) at $10. each. Telephone: 808 528-1 475 Include $2. per shirt forHawaii excise tax, shipping and handling. call 956-7235 for'moreinfo ortifrtilurite& to work. Subscriptions: I I $50/six months $75/year Allow 2 weeks fordelivery. Send to: CARTOON-Ts, 1138 Maunakea L.:., Ste. 301, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817. Tel: 599-2721 � 2 • October------- 30, 1991 • Honolulu Weekly ... ' News and Comment "HAWAIIANIs HAWAII'S ON-TIME INTERISLAND Continued from Page 1 what else the Department of AIRLINE: Weekly has learned Transportation until about the selection October of 1989, and funding of the joined the McNair proposed rapid Group in October HAWAIIAN.. transit system for of 1990. According AIRLINES Honolulu: to DOT spokesper­ Fact One: Last son Marilyn Kali, PROUD TO BE HAWAIIAN year, bypassing reg­ Wilson was hired ulations, the state by the McNair hired a Washington Group to help the lobbying group, the Group "transition McNair Group, to into" the sorts of help secure federal projects that she had funding for the been working on in rapid transit project, Honolulu. (Wilson at a cost of left the McNair $305,000; Group in mid-'91.) Fact Two: The AEG Westing­ McNair Group has house is doing well also represented in Honolulu. Last Westinghouse Electric Corp. in the approve a $305,000 after-the-fact November, the DOT released an past - the same Westinghouse that contract with the McNair Group. evaluation of fourproposals to build is a partner in AEG Westinghouse, a (The McNair Group· was not a people mover system for the air­ member of the consortium selected unknown to the DOT; in the past, it port, recommending that AEG to build the city's transit system; had, for$200,000, helped the depart­ Westinghousebe exempted frombid­ Fact Three: A former employee ment win special Congressional ding requirements and awarded the of the state Department of favors.) contract. The departmentadvertised Transportation was working for the The McNair Group put fivepeo­ forproposals to build the system on McNair Group when the firm was ple on the mass transitlobbying pro­ July 17, 1990; held a mandatory pre­ hired by the state to lobby for tran­ ject, at rates ranging from $100 to submittal conference forall interested sit funds; $150 an hour.