By The Way...

Hawaiians, who eat more SPAM per person than people anywhere else in America, can now celebrate their love of the SPAM family of products with a special limited edition can available only in the Aloha State. The SPAM Hawaii Collector’s Edition label will be available, in limited quantities, on the popular SPAM less sodium variety at most Hawaiian grocery stores. The can features Hawaiian-themed graphics, including hula dolls in grass skirts and a SPAM musubi recipe and photo.

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Hawaii’s local television station, OC16, is going to start broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Beginning September 3, OC16 will enhance and extend its current lineup of locally produced original programming to a 24-hour schedule. Four new shows will begin this fall, including Blood of the Samurai, The June Jones Show, Mental Tilapia and Hawaiian Classics. In addition OC16 will expand its popular high school sports coverage of local live games.

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Ho‘oka¯ko‘o Corporation, a non-profit organization that supports excellence in education, presented $696,000 to Waimea Middle School. The funds enable the public conversion charter school to focus on reducing class sizes, improving remedial reading curriculum to boost student literacy, enhance programs for the gifted and talented, and to increase parent and community involvement, all of which improve the students’ achievement. This is the first conversion charter school supported by Ho‘oka¯ko‘o Corporation.

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Adam Hill (r), a Kailua resident and a sophomore at the University of Hawaii, received a $2,500 scholarship from Lodge Le Progres de I’Oceanie for his continued college education at UH. Hill is attending the UH School of Architecture and intends to specialize in designing skyscrapers and art museums of the future. Le Progres Masonic Lodge Master, Dr. Rod Gammon, presented the check to Hill during a ceremony held this past summer.

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The Friends of Hawaii Charities and the 2002 Turtle Bay Championship golf tournament distributed $80,000 to twenty-one community service agencies on the North Shore. The grant monies were raised as a result of the exciting and highly successful PGA Champions Tour event held last fall at the Arnold Palmer course of the Turtle Bay Resort. The 2003 PGA Champions Tour Turtle Bay Championship tournament will be held October 6th to 12th 2003.

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Rocky Aoki, founder of the Benihana restaurant chain was recently in Waikiki to promote the release of his book, Sake, Water from Heaven. The book gives insight, information and the history of sake, as well as drink recipes and a comprehensive listing of 100 brands of sake commonly found in the United States.

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Dr. Carlos Juárez, associate professor of political science and program chair in the College of International Studies at Hawaii Pacific University, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant to spend part of the Fall 2003 semester in the Czech Republic. The prestigious Fulbright program is the flagship international educational program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

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Patrick J. Monahan (l) has joined Diagnostic Laboratory Services as vice president, strategic projects and vendor relations, a new position. Monahan was most recently a consultant with Mattice & Associates, a medical laboratory consulting firm in Vancouver, WA. Monahan has consulted with Diagnostic Laboratory Systems for several years. Rebecca S. Roberts (r) has joined Diagnostic Laboratory Systems as vice president, finance. Over the last 12 years, Roberts has held various positions, including controller and treasurer with affiliates of Queen’s Health Systems, including Queen’s Healthcare Plans, Queen’s Health Management and Queen’s Development Corporation. Prior to joining Queen’s, she was the controller for Pomare Properties and assistant vice president with the former Bishop Trust Company, Ltd.

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The Diamond Head Theater recently received $2,500 from Alexander & Baldwin Foundation to support show sponsorship. The funds will be used toward the theater’s 2003-2004 season opener, “Ragtime,” which will feature three professional guest artists from the national tour.

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The Hawaii chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently elected a new board. Elected were: President, Michael Chong, P.E., The AES Design Group; President-Elect, Victor Russell, DSA Engineering; Vice President, Ross Tanaka, Mechanical Enterprises; Secretary, Marites Shoji, Norman Wright Mechanical Equipment; and Treasurer, Sam Gillie, Hawaiian Electric Company.