Waikiki no place for a ‘Tombstone’

Hooray for the influence of public opinion on at least one pending condo project, the 37-story highrise known variously as 2121 Kuhio or The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach.

It was gratifying to see the city Department of Planning and Permitting put a condition on its approval of the project. Before the project can proceed, according to the order, L.A. developer PACREP will need to redesign it to soften its appearance.

The complaints were essentially that the design placed the tower’s long side parallel to the mountains and ocean, creating what some call a "tombstone" effect — a wall of concrete reminiscent of an urban canyon. Waikiki is supposed to be a special design district, and this is not so special.

Among the ideas PACREP is supposed to entertain: graduated, stepped forms for the buildings, as well as elements evoking a "Hawaiian sense of place." It will be fascinating to see what it comes up with.

‘Hawaii 5-0′ puts spotlight on roller derby

Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman might have been responsible for some of the audience that brought "Hawaii Five-0" 9 million viewers on Monday, placing the CBS show second behind ABC’s "Castle," but let’s not forget that it also featured members of Pacific Roller Derby.

According to its website, "the all-female flat-track roller derby league has shown fans what it means to push one’s self to their highest potential and form a strong community around one of the world’s fastest growing female-dominated sports." Formed in 2008, it ranks 36th out of 45 leagues in the western division of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, which also has leagues in Canada, England and Scotland.

In the "Hawaii Five-0" episode, posted on the league’s website, the show’s Catherine (Michelle Borth) goes undercover to help find a murder suspect. The teams featured were from the league’s Leahi Diamond Dolls and South Shore Sirens.

We appreciate all the attention "Dog" has brought to Hawaii, and his star power — but in many ways the Pacific Roller Derby competitors were a lot more fun to watch.