The Infiniti dealership and service center in Mapunapuna has shut down.
If you are an Infiniti owner, take note. The lone Infiniti dealership in Mapunapuna shut down Jan. 10, without public notice.
The closure was one of many among stand-alone Infiniti showrooms and servicing centers across the nation, due to cutbacks by besieged Nissan operations, forcing closures of the brand’s luxury division, Infiniti.
I learned about the termination of the Infiniti showrooms and service centers, when I made a Jan. 4 appointment for servicing and a safety check for my Q50 vehicle at the Mapunapuna plant. The brand ceased operations a week later, on Jan. 10.
Employees were told only that Nissan was downsizing, meaning that the Infiniti operations would be absorbed by parent company King Windward Nissan in Kaneohe. Some workers, like longtime service manager Alvin Niki, were leaving the company; others, like Jason Tokunaga, will transfer to Nissan, where the facility would embrace the Infiniti brand in the showroom and also accept servicing appointments for both Nissan and Infiniti, effective immediately.
According to the New York Post, automotive giant Nissan – which had nearly 200 Infiniti dealerships nation-wide – was forced to shut down Infiniti because of dwindling sales. The brand is under-performing; only 42,567 new Infinitis were sold in the U.S. in the nine months from January to September last year, down from nearly 87,934 in the same period in 2019.
The Post reports that Infitini showrooms averaged only 24 new car sales per month. Consolidating operations with Nissan would stop the bleeding.
For residents townside of the Wilson or Pali tunnels, servicing appointments will require strategic planning. I make routine service treks a couple of times a year; the drive from Hawaii Kai, where I reside, to Mapunapuna, near the airport, usually takes 30 minutes if I leave home at 6:45 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. appointment. Despite the early morning rush hour, with an early departure, the drive is smooth, unless there’s an accident or heavy rainfall affecting traffic.
However, to make the drive to King Windward, it has taken me 45 to 50 minutes mid-day to get there during weekdays; I imagine an early morning service appointment would be more than an hour, considering there would be early drivers from Kailua and Kaneohe heading to town or other destinations. So, a traffic challenge waits for my next service appointment.
Infiniti offers a loaner service; I’ve been advised that King Windward does, too.
Sharing this information for other Infiniti drivers who are not aware of the shuttering of the Infiniti operations here.
Have been toiling to complete a huge batch of 2025 Valentine’s Day pins and am happy to report that the project is completed!
Thus, the pins have been boxed and the first few batches are in the mail, since Valentine’s is about a month from today.
So folks on my mailing list should be watching their mailboxes, since the pins will be arriving in no particular order. It’s been fun to create the little pins, and they’re enroute to recipients in no particular order.
After being on The Billboard Hot 100 for the past 20 weeks, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s duet “Die With a Smile” has hit the No. 1 slot, in the Jan. 11 ratings chart.
Further, Mars’ duet “APT.” with ROSE, is lingering at the No. 5 spot.
Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga
It’s rare that an act has two charted tunes, but n Bruno’s case, it’s a shared honor since he co-sings two with different female leads. Since he’s not completed a new album, the formula to link with a woman singer has worked well.
Then there’s Sabrina Carpenter, a solo singer, who also has two tunes on the ratings list: “Espresso” is at No. 9, and “Taste” is No. 10…
Broadway grosses, for week ending Jan. 5
Though the $3 million-plus gross for “Wicked” is over, the musical about the pair of fabled witches still is the No. 1, for the week terminating Jan. 5. Its tally was more than $3 million, which still is a commanding lead.
The Top 10
1—“Wicked,” $3.294 million
2—“The Lion King,” $2.000 million
3—“Hamilton,” $2.379 million
4—“Aladdin,” $1.995 million
5—“The Outsiders,” $1.841 million
6—“The Great Gatsby,” $1.889 million
7—“Back to the Future: The Musical,”$1.875 million
8—“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1.864 million
9—“MJ the Musical,” $1.805 million
10—“Gypsy,” $1.799 million
The complete list, courtesy of The Broadway League:
For this last day of 2024, I’m listing The Waynies Award winners, which salute folks and events that mattered this past year, here and elsewhere.
Many positives, a few negative nudges in this special Show Biz countdown…
1—Cirque du Soleil’s launching of “‘Auana,” its Hawaii-aimed spectacle of nightlife entertainment, surely will be a major attraction at the showroom at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. Welcome to the future: It looks and feels like Waikiki’s show spectrum is being rewritten, making the traditional luau show for visitors somewhat obsolete.
2—The Kilohana Hula Show, replicating the long-gone Kodak Hula Show at the same locale at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell, came and went in a blink. Lesson learned: a title sponsor is vital in longevity, if it’s a freebie. (A scaled-down version is at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki).
3—Network TV shows from CBS disappeared (bye, “NCIS: Hawaii” and “Hawaii Five-O” and “Magnum P.I.”) but kudos to Fox, which launched “Rescue: HI-Surf,” even with a few locals in the ensemble. First responders (lifesavers) to the rescue, retiring the procedural crime drama format.
4—Ezekiel Kekuna played Young Simba in Broadway’s “The Lion King,” from late last year till August. Can you feel the love tonight? He did.
Daniel Radcliffe
5—The best Broadway musical I saw this year was “Merrily We Roll Along,” a Stephen Sondheim original that was a flop in 1934. It became a sell-out sensation, this and last year, even earning a few Tonys, thanks to having Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) in the ranks.
6—I travel to New York usually once a year, via Hawaiian or United because of their earlier direct non-stop routes. But both have had occasional one-stop hops (L.A. via Hawaiian, Houston via United) that extend travel time for those who value no stopovers. Think I may try Delta’s HNL/JFK run in the future. And there’s vigorous buzz that Hawaiian ain’t what it used to be since its merger with Alaska.
Celine Dion
7—Merci, Celine Dion. Her contribution to this year’s Summer Olympics –”Hymne À L’Amour,” sung in darkness from the balcony of the Eiffel Tower – resonated to spectators world-wide, earning glowing applause. Hereon out, her future residency, wherever it is, will include the enchanting tune.
8—And now you can’t ignore the pommel horse dude, Stephen Nedoroscik, who earned a bronze medal in the Summer Olympics, but beamed as if it was gold. Got him onto ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” where he was a finalist.
JenniferCleve Sojet
9—Unless you saw Manoa Valley Theatre’s “Tenderly,” a musical biography of Rosemary Clooney, you won’t know Jennifer Cleve Sojet, portraying Rosie. She sang every one of the 13 tunes in the production. The entire score!
Ruthie Ann Miles
10—“Aloha Oe” isn’t performed often anymore, but after former Honolulan Ruthie Ann Miles sang it, like no other, on a Memorial Day PBS telecast. Queen Liliuokalani composed it while she was still a princess in the Kingdom of Hawaii. And Miles, a Tony winner, delivered it like a queen.
11—Carpenter Media Group bought the Honolulu Star-Advertiser from Black Press in March, and its publisher Dennis Francis pledged an improved publication with enhanced coverage including new content at the time. Change is slow to come, however, and tapping Journalism 101 wonderment: Who? What? Where? Why? When? The morning paper also cut staff (supposedly 15, including some retirees, some not) without disclosure to the public this fall and the newsroom is virtually kaput, since most reporters work from home. Bad news ways.
Frank DeLima
12—Comedian Frank DeLima, who staged a Christmas finale at Blue Note Hawaii Dec. 15 at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel, has retired after a 50-year career doing stand-up. But he’ll do infrequent gigs with his buds Augie T and Andy Bumatai.
13—The best play locally — I’m a Bright Kid Foundation’s musical “Newsies” at Paliku Theatre — was remarkably luminous with a mostly a youthful cast singing and dancing, with an abundance of gleeful energy. The scene stealer was the two-piece, multi-purpose, maxi-moving set designed by DeAnne Kennedy. Our set designer community should deliver this calibre of scenery.
14—Did this year’s election spook you? Donald Trump surprised everyone, didn’t he? Number 47’s sequel will be Trump becoming the oldest of the POTUS, with a cabinet to watch. And that’s no lie.
15—“My Hawaii,” a hit song by The Rascals, historically has been a fave for those who grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s. An updated version, with The Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere and Dolly Parton taking turns soloing and dueting, boasts star power and lots of aloha, in a reboot in mid-October to benefit the Lahaina fire vicitms.
Taylor Swift
16—Taylor Swift undoubtedly is the world’s No. 1 entertainer, thanks to her Eras Tour that has circled the globe and staged in mammoth stadium venues, which was made into a film special aired on theater screens and utilized as a promo for her tour, which finally ended Dec. 8. She played to 10 million fans and grossed more than $2 billion! A book on the tour is out, too, and surely, a DVD will be released some day, meaning more pocket change for her. And she’s also had a global romance with Travis Kelsey, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, and gained appearances from videocam shots in NFL skyboxes.
17—Robert Cazimero perhaps is Hawaii’s busiest trouper – deservedly. He’s a favored kumu hula here and in Japan, where he goes frequently; a monthly attraction at Chef Chai’s; a featured performer among some legendary acts depicted in videos on Hawaiian Airlines.
18– Jack Cione, legendary entrepreneur, died Oct. 2 at 96. From strip show mogul to “Follies” show director-producer at Arcadia, he proved he could make anyone dance with costumed Arcadians lip-lynching to musical classics.
19—Hawaii, or rightfully her Lawai hometown of Kauai, has another local in Kaliko Kauahi, who co-stars as Val on NBC’s comedy hit, “St. Denis Medical.” She surely helps the medicine go down.
Cartoon Moana
20— “Moana” has been a gold mine for Disney, beginning with an early animated TV series, then a big-screen feature, then a movie sequel …all with the voices of Auli‘i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui. A live-action feature is in the works, and a currently running live-actor musical developed expressly for a Disney cruise ship. Question: Is Moana destined to evolve as a Broadway musical, to complete the cycle of life a la “The Lion King”?
Jade Stice
21— Jade Stice, a beloved stage actor, died in a hiking accident on June 6, leaving a gaping hole in the lives of her surviving family, in the theatrical spectrum of her stage roles, and in the operations of I’m a Bright Kid Foundation, where she touched the lives of future actors (kids) in a summer program. The heavens must have SRO musicals with her eminence.
22— Emme Tominbang, long-time TV personality who died Feb. 19 at 73, will be remembered for her “Emme Island Moments.” With her archival interviews of hundreds of celebrities over the decades, wonder who has access to these gems.
Patrick Mahomes
23—Two historical NFL football games we’ll never forget: The Denver Broncos missed a field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs, handing QB Patrick Mahomes a surprising win, maintaining a 9-0 undefeated sked at the time, and the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary pass that landed in the hands of Noah Brown against the Chicago Bears. Pigskin drama doesn’t get better than these unforgettable gems.
Joah Allen
24—Speaking of football: who’ll be MVP after this season and who’ll be Super Bowl champs? Last thing first: if luck continues for the Chiefs, Mahomes could make it as a three-peat Super Bowl champ. MVP? We like Josh Allen, QB of the Buffalo Bills, who’s cool, consistent, and confident and fits the MVP bill…and he’s engaged to actress Hailee Steinfeld…
