From Mouseketeer to Hawaiiannette

The late Annette Funicello’s fame extended beyond her Mouseketeer days at Disney largely because of those beach-party movies of the early 1960s. The flicks usually centered on the Malibu-area setting.

But Hawaii’s profile was raised by all of that, too. Early on, a teenage Funicello recorded a 1960 album titled "Hawaiiannette," in a play on her first name. It’s all there on the Net for free nostalgic listening (one site is www.retro-cafe.com/60s/annette-hawaii.htm).

Several of the tracks are hapa-haole standards such as "Little Grass Shack" and "Hukilau." She finishes with the queen’s classic; however, it’s sung all in English ("Farewell to thee…").

Aloha ‘oe, Annette.

A welcome settlement on Okinawa

Relations between the people of Okinawa and the U.S. military establishment have been strained, to say the least, for many years. The lowest ebb may have been in 1995, when the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by military personnel ignited huge community protests.

Now at last there’s hope for a reset, with an agreement the U.S. struck with Japan to return some facilities and areas on Okinawa. About 8,000 Marines would leave, with 2,700 of them coming here.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa praised the deal. Along with the reduced military footprint in Okinawa (and, accordingly, reduced tensions), her statement underscored the importance of Hawaii in the new U.S.-Asia focus.

Will it inoculate Hawaii against those feared sequestration budget cuts to defense? Maybe not entirely, but it couldn’t hurt.