http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna RSS Feed for Lee Cataluna en-us Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:02:46 GMT http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20111120_Governors_press_secretary_keeps_calm_in_face_of_chaos.html For the past year, Donalyn Dela Cruz has been in the most high-profile and possibly most challenging media relations job in the state, serving as press secretary for Neil Abercrombie, a governor struggling with low voter-approval ratings and a brutal economy. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20111113_School_thieves_punishment_little_more_than_detention.html Get caught speeding in a school zone and you face a higher penalty -- a fine of up to $250. A conviction for selling drugs near a school also carries a greater punishment than selling drugs on just any non-school street corner. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20111106_Moment_to_shine_on_screen_with_Clooney_thrills_actress.html Though she had dreamed of this moment from childhood, when the big day came she wore a dress she bought from Ross and told everybody that that's where she got the outfit. While others would brag about what she's accomplished, Karen Kuioka Hironaga is more comfortable making jokes about the clearance rack. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110731_Makiki_Bake_Shop_owner_opts_to_close_for_ohanas_sake.html On Saturday mornings, Burt Fujii drives a delivery truck from Honolulu to Pearl City, out to Waipio, Mililani and Wahiawa, then to Haleiwa, back around to Ewa, up to Makakilo and around to Nanakuli. It's a route that takes him five hours to complete. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110724_Train_tours_keep_Kauais_sugar_history_chugging_along.html The ride along 2,000 feet of historic track takes just a few minutes, even with the locomotive puffing along at a speed slower than a walk. There isn't much to see in the tangle of trees except the faint suggestions of what used to be. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110717_Roseanne_paints_Hawaii_in_a_strange_surreal_light.html What do you get when you put Roseanne Barr on 46 acres of Big Island outback, give her a gun, a seashell honu necklace, some grinning local buddies and a wild pig problem? Not sure. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110710_Abercrombies_attitude_goes_from_mellow_to_mean.html There was a time not long ago when the idea of ruthless, spiteful Mufi Hannemann running the state seemed scary and Neil Abercrombie, neatly combed and acting avuncular, appeared the more reasonable choice. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110703_Chores_are_a_little_messier_with_plastic_bag_ban_in_place.html At Kmart in Lihue, the cashiers are still apologizing with every transaction: "Sorry. We don't have bags. Sorry, yeah? No more bags." http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110626_Its_cut_and_died_artist_finds_niche_in_Steampunk_genre.html The online customer feedback is over the top. Some describe opening the box and bursting into tears. Others swear the pieces are imbued with some sort of magic. One woman quoted Jane Austen. From a garage workshop in Waipahu, the jewelry pieces have been shipped around the world. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/leecataluna/20110619__Aunty_Lei_s_aloha_for_all_led_her_to_care_for_lonely_graves.html Lei Girelli spent the last three decades of her life fighting for the dignity of long-gone strangers. She died June 4 at the age of 82. Her family says she died knowing that she had been victorious.