Archives for Peter Apo

Natatorium backer, Friends leader Ron Yasui has died

08-Apr-14 | 4 Comments

A memorial service will be held this Saturday, April 12, for one of the Friends of the Natatorium’s first members and most dedicated activists, Ron Yasui. Ron died March 15 at age 78. A 1953 St Louis School graduate, Ronald Hiroshi Yasui joined the Marine Corps after high school and served in combat during the Korean War. After the war, he had a long career as an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration. “Ron was a gung-ho Marine and always for the underdog,” his younger brother Byron recalls. “He was that kind of guy.” Natatorium Activist Ron channeled
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Tags: obituary, Peter Apo, Ron Yasui, and Ronald Yasui.

Natatorium Op-ed by Peter Apo: Demolition Moratorium

14-May-13 | 4 Comments

Don’t miss the opinion piece in the May 14 Star-Advertiser by Peter Apo. It’s important not just for the substance: Peter’s call for a two-year moratorium on threats to demolish the Natatorium, providing time and a safe space for a campaign to fund restoration. It’s also important for the eloquence and passion with which Peter makes his case. “A Measure of Who We Are” Read this passage, for instance: The Natatorium, Peter says, “is priceless as a statement of the character of Hawaii’s people. It is the stuff of which great cities are made. It can rise again, joining the
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, News coverage, and Uncategorized.
Tags: Friends of the Natatorium, op-ed, Peter Apo, Star-Advertiser, and Waikiki Natatorium.

Great Star-Advertiser op-ed on the Natatorium! Read it and post a comment in support

19-Oct-11 | 3 Comments

A very powerful and eloquent opinion piece in Wednesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser, calling for action that has been delayed far too long: action to preserve and then restore the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Six respected leaders joined together to issue this call. Leaders from the Hawaiian community, from the military, from the veteran community, from our water sports community, and from the professional engineering community. If you are a subscriber to the Star-Advertiser, you can read the op-ed here. Once you’ve read it, please join the lively debate in the comments. Speak your mind. Speak up for the Natatorium! If you’re
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Categories: Friends of the Natatorium, News coverage, Statement, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Tags: Benjamin Mixon, Brian Keaulana, Peter Apo, Star-Advertiser, Steven M. Baldridge, Waikiki Natatorium, William M. Smith Jr., and William Y. Thompson.

Just before Veterans Day? Really?

10-Nov-10 | 1 Comment

Published online today — the day before Veterans Day, of all days! — is MidWeek columnist Bob Jones’ call for demolition of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial. Naturally, we object — not only to the sentiment, but also to the column’s repetition of baseless assertions often heard from the small, but vocal, anti-Natatorium crowd. And we object, especially, to the choice of the eve of a holiday honoring veterans to call for the destruction of a state memorial to Hawai’i veterans and war dead. Peter Apo, president of the Friends of the Natatorium and newly elected trustee of the Office
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Categories: News coverage, Uncategorized, and Veterans.
Tags: MidWeek, natatorium, and Peter Apo.